For some people, getting up early is a very tough challenge. Scientists use the term sleep inertia to describe feeling tired, dizzy, lazy, and difficult to wake up that often haunts you in the morning. Attacks of sleep inertia starting to disrupt your daily life? Follow the simple tips in this article to make it easier for you to wake up in the morning feeling refreshed and energized.
Step
Part 1 of 3: Get Up Quickly
Step 1. Let the morning sunlight into your room
Your brain will respond to this natural light and then "demand" your nervous system to increase your body temperature, produce the hormone cortisol, and reduce levels of the hormone melatonin in your blood. These are all important keys that will keep you fully awake.
- Make sure your bedroom windows are not lined with curtains that are too thick and can block the morning sunlight from entering your room.
- As soon as you wake up, immediately open the curtains in your room and let the morning sun shine in your room.
- During the rainy season, usually the morning sun will not shine at the hours it should. If this happens, try setting up an alarm that emits light when it goes off; at least, the light from the alarm can encourage your body to process properly in the morning.
Step 2. Make your alarm hard to ignore
There are many ways you can do this, such as:
- Maximize alarm volume. Loud sounds – even if they are annoying – can stimulate the production of adrenaline so that it will automatically increase your self-awareness.
- Keep the alarm so you have to get out of bed to turn it off. You can also hide it somewhere so you have to find it first to turn it off.
Step 3. Don't hit the snooze button
Even though you're likely always tempted to do so, resist the urge! Remind yourself that this behavior will develop into an unproductive habit. In addition, the sleep that is done after pressing the snooze button will also decrease in quality. Consider this:
- If you press the snooze button and then go back to sleep for a short period of time, your body will re-enter a new sleep cycle.
- The normal snooze range is 10 minutes, and 10 minutes is not enough to reach REM sleep. In fact, REM is an important phase that greatly affects the quality of your sleep.
- Each time you hit the snooze button, you'll actually have a harder time getting up afterwards.
Step 4. Use technology as a helper system
All smartphones offer a variety of alarms that can be downloaded and help the user wake up quickly. Some apps don't even provide a snooze button so it's effective for those of you who have a hard time getting up in the morning.
- Take advantage of apps that can log your sleep cycle. Most of these apps come with an alarm that will automatically wake you up when your sleep has entered its lightest phase. The sleep cycle usually lasts 90 minutes; if you wake up in REM (deepest sleep) sleep, you're more likely to feel dizzy, irritated, cranky, and have trouble waking up afterwards.
- Download an alarm app that requires you to solve a math problem or similar problem before turning it off. This way, you will be “forced” to focus and concentrate so that it is easier to wake up afterwards.
- Download or purchase an alarm that requires you to shake it vigorously to turn it off.
Part 2 of 3: Staying Awake After Waking Up
Step 1. Keep moving
Don't respond to the temptation to lie back down after your alarm stops ringing. After waking up, immediately leave your bed! Some activities that can encourage your body to keep moving are:
- Exercise to improve blood circulation. Exercising stimulates the production of endorphins, which can relieve stress and anxiety, and improve your blood circulation. As a result, your spirits will be pumped and your self-awareness will increase.
- Try doing high-intensity exercise that involves all parts of your body such as push-ups, squats, or jumping jacks). You can do these three sports in your room, right after you wake up
- Outdoor sports such as jogging or jogging are also recommended by experts.
Step 2. Do deep breathing
Breathing deeply can improve concentration as well as make you more energized in the morning. Try practicing diaphragmatic breathing or yogic breathing; both can pump energy and oxygen in the blood.
Step 3. Drink water
After a night's sleep, the body will often feel dehydrated; As a result, not infrequently you often feel tired and lack of energy when you wake up in the morning. Therefore, immediately drink a glass of water as soon as you wake up. Some experts believe that drinking water right after waking up can improve your metabolism and even help you lose weight.
Step 4. Eat a healthy breakfast menu
Breakfast is the most important part of your daily life; therefore, make sure you eat a healthy and nutritious breakfast menu so that your stamina can be maintained throughout the day.
- Choose a breakfast menu that is rich in protein and fiber. According to experts, the combination of protein and fiber can increase a person's energy and maintain their stamina throughout the day. For example, try eating nuts for breakfast, especially since they are rich in fiber and protein that your body needs.
- Avoid consuming too much sugar at breakfast. For a moment, a sweet treat might just make you feel energized; however, a significant spike in blood sugar levels will actually make you tired for the rest of the day.
- Choose a breakfast menu that contains complex carbohydrates. Non-complex carbohydrates that can be found in various breakfast menus such as donuts or pastries tend to be digested faster by the body and can make you feel tired after eating them. Instead, choose a menu that contains complex carbohydrates (found in whole grains and fruits) because complex carbohydrates can release the body's energy slowly and prevent you from feeling weak in the morning. The combination of complex carbohydrates and protein will also keep you full longer.
Step 5. Stimulate your senses
Use your senses of smell and touch to increase your energy and vitality in the morning.
- Smell the coffee. Scientists have found that the smell of coffee in the morning can relieve the negative effects of sleep deprivation.
- Essential oils or aromatherapy. Apart from coffee, the aroma of essential oils like peppermint, eucalyptus, and rosemary can also increase your awareness.
- Take a cold shower. Cold showers can improve blood circulation and get rid of your sleepiness in an instant.
Part 3 of 3: Preparing the Night Before
Step 1. Go to bed early
Without a doubt, good quality sleep (approximately 7-9 hours at night) will make it easier for you to wake up in the morning. Try to get quality sleep the night before.
Step 2. Reduce coffee and alcohol consumption
Caffeine has been shown to affect the quality and quantity of your sleep at night. While alcohol, although sometimes used as a "sleeping drug" by some people, in fact also has a negative impact on the quality of your sleep. Although alcohol makes you sleepy easily, it can actually reduce the REM sleep phase which reduces the quality of your sleep. Reduce caffeine and alcohol consumption to improve the quality of your sleep, so you can wake up more easily in the morning.
Step 3. Complete the things you could have done the night before
Take time to complete things that can make it easier for you in the morning. This method prevents you from feeling unnecessarily tired, while encouraging you to focus solely on getting up early and increasing self-awareness in the morning. Some of the things you can do include:
- Prepare breakfast in the evening.
- Prepare things that must be brought to work or school at night, so that the next morning you don't have to rush to get them ready.
- Choose clothes that will be used the next day, and put the clothes in an easily accessible place.
Step 4. Give yourself time
If you're constantly having trouble getting up in the morning, try not to focus on short-term solutions, but rather to make adjustments in your routine. For example, if you have a meeting at 8 a.m., set your alarm three hours in advance (even though you usually wake up at 7:30 a.m.). Give yourself enough time to “really wake up” without feeling stressed, anxious, or even grumpy afterward.
