5 Simple Steps to Become a Morning Person

Mornings, I find, are a bit like marmite – you either love them or you hate them. Over the numerous lockdowns we experienced during COVID, I had developed a habit of snoozing later and later each morning. This led to low mood and feelings of stress and overwhelm when I couldn’t kick that fuzzy head feeling and panic of not having enough time to get everything done. So I began wondering how I could become a morning person.

As work was picking up and the need for routine became more important, I decided a change was needed. Experts say that the earlier we start our day, the more likely we are to see improvements in our sleep patterns and overall mood. This in turn helps our mindset and overall ability to manage stress.

It’s essential first to consider why you want to become a morning person.

• Is it to be more productive at home or work?
• So you feel less like a zombie in the mornings?
• To help spend more quality time with those you love?
• Better ability to manage your stress levels?
• Or to improve your mood to allow you to enjoy life to its fullest?

Once you have answered the question about goals and decided this is a positive change you want to make, you can follow these 5 achievable steps that can help you make the change.

1. Follow the Rule of 15

Small adjustments over a week or two can make the change much easier to stick to. If, on your journey to become a morning person, you are planning on getting up earlier, you will need to go to bed earlier so that your total sleep is not impacted.

However, when I tried to make large shifts in timings, I often found myself lying in bed wide awake with my mind just not ready to switch off. Instead, adjusting bedtime by 15 minutes over a week or two means that before you know it, you are going to bed a whole hour earlier and feeling ready for it.

Getting to bed earlier is one of the most important steps to help you become a morning person. The NHS recommends that adults should get between 7-9 hours of sleep each night, so aim to have the lights off a minimum of 7 hours before you’re due to wake up.

2. Set the Mood for Bedtime

Have you heard of sleep hygiene? Don’t worry if you haven’t. And no, it’s not about showering before you get into bed.

The idea behind sleep hygiene is about creating a restful environment to help you not only fall asleep effectively but to get a restful night of sleep, too.

Turn off the TV, put your device down, and turn the lights down low at least 30 minutes before you go to bed. The earlier you can get rid of these distractions, though, the better – devices with screens emit blue light, which can disrupt your sleep.

Read a book, take a warm bath, or write in your journal to help get out all the things that are busying your mind. We are looking to create an environment for good sleep.

Creating a personal bedtime routine can not only help you to become a morning person, but offers a great opportunity for self-care to help improve your overall mental health.

3. Try the 5-Second Rule

I think we can all agree that alarms are the worst. Whether it’s your phone, or a classic double-bell alarm, nobody likes to be woken up by one. But we’ve all got things to do and places to be, so they’ve become a sad necessity.

It’s so tempting to set your alarm early so that you can snooze it a few times before getting up. But if you find when that alarm goes off, you instantly reach for the snooze button, try this exercise to break the habit.

When your alarm starts ringing and you reach over to snooze it, stop yourself and then count back from 5 slowly.

This mindful process gives you the opportunity to process being awake and to make the more meaningful choice of sitting up rather than turning over.

4. Stick to a Sleep Schedule

I know it can be tempting to relax your sleep schedule at the weekend. But this can seriously impact your body clock. If you want to become a morning person, those Saturday morning lie-ins are going to have to become a rare treat, unfortunately!

But it’s worth asking yourself – do you really gain anything from sleeping in on a weekend? You might gain a few hours back if you stayed out late the night before, sure. But otherwise, you’re just losing valuable hours that you could utilise for, well… anything!

You could use your weekend mornings to explore a new hobby, go to the gym, practise mindfulness, or just catch up on some family time.

Sticking to a regular sleep schedule can really improve our quality of sleep and our body’s natural rhythm – a crucial step to help you become a morning person.

If you really cannot resist that weekend treat, then try not to sleep more than an hour later than normal. You should also try to be more physically active on that day, too.

5. Eat Well to Become a Morning Person

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I absolutely stand by that statement because it is so true.

Eating after sleep replenishes your supply of glucose, boosting energy levels and helping you to feel more alert. Experts say that eating within 2 hours of waking can improve our memory, concentration levels and mood – as a way to help lower stress levels.

A sugary cereal or pastry won’t cut it, though. Eat something that will provide a good and sustainable source of energy. Include complex carbohydrates for slow-release energy, protein to help fill you up, and fruit for some extra fibre. The NHS has a great range of healthy breakfast recipes on their website.

Conclusion

To help you become a morning person and stick to your new sleep-well plan, try to introduce exercise into that early morning routine. This will help you feel more energised when you wake up, plus you’ll notice the physical and mental health benefits of exercise as you stick with it.

You could also start the day with an activity you enjoy. Try getting up to get your prep for the day done, or have a quiet cup of tea. Taking some time to yourself without the rest of the family interrupting can make all the difference in your motivation to get up and go.

Be sure to track your progress throughout your journey, too. Noticing and capturing positive changes on your journey to become a morning person can spur you on and motivate you to keep your new, healthy routine going.