So you are tired of your night owl ways and are finally ready to turn a new leaf. You are ready to start waking up at 5 am. And, yes, you also want to start waking up that early without feeling tired. I hear you. It’s no fun feeling like someone hit your head with a mallet last night when you wake up early in the morning.
And so, if you have ever wondered, ” how do I train myself to wake up at 5 am or early in the morning?” If you want to become a morning person, then, this post is for you. I will give you actionable tips to help you make waking up early your new good habit.
Just so you know, I am a recovering night owl myself. I used to be an early bird, but I somehow fell off the early bird wagon.
So now I feel it’s time I started waking up early again too. I miss the energy and how productive I was back then.
Cliche I know, but true. ” The early bird catches the worm.”And we have many proverbial worms to catch.
Also, I am done waking up and feeling behind. Plus, I have just been dragging along all day long for a while and I need to change my ways.
If I may be quite truthful, days do feel a bit blah to me since adopting night owl habits.
I do remember a long time ago when I used to be an early bird, back in my teaching days. The early mornings were the most peaceful.
I felt in tune with myself and I truly felt so calm and so much more productive.
But the question remains.
How do you wake up early in the morning, let’s say 4 or 5 am without feeling tired?
Yes, waking up with a plan to do all the things is great, but there is a right way to do it so you don’t feel tired all day long.
If you are a night owl you may be surprised to find that you too can start waking up early even without an alarm clock.
It is all body-mind training and it is beautiful. Think about how energetic you will feel and the pride you will feel when you have many amazing and productive days.
So, here you are ready to adopt an early wake-up time as well. I got you.
Benefits of waking up early
Waking up at 5 am has so many benefits. It allows you peaceful spend alone time before the whole world wakes up and the demands on your time begin.
The few hours you wake before you have to engage with other humans-even tiny ones, especially tiny ones are wonderful.
And you are a mom you know.
This is a glorious time to practice self-care. During those few early hours, you can work on a personal project- maybe even write a book.
If you are a blogger you know how precious those early morning hours of undisturbed times are.
Also getting up at 5 am or earlier allows you an unhurried way to get ready for your day.
Rushing in the morning is too hard on mental health and the morning rush makes everyone around you feel terrible.
You’re rushing the kids, the husband, and yourself and it is just a complete hustle for all.
So when you wake up early you can sip your coffee as you write in your journal.
You have time to meditate and center yourself. It is beautiful. The early morning is quiet, and I think just blissful. Waking up early boosts productivity and positivity and calm.
Once you see the benefits of waking up early and how truly it can change your life for the better, you will never want to be a night owl again.
So how do you actually start to wake up early without feeling tired when you are a night owl? Okay. Let’s see how. Shall we?
How to wake up at 5 am without feeling tired
Have your reason why
What is your motivation for waking up early? Initially having this driving motivation will really help you commit to waking up early.
For example, do you have a project you are working on that you really want to get to? Do you want to wake up early to work out because you are determined to lose that weight or stay in shape?
Do you like to wake early and have a blissful unharried morning routine? You see, you have to have that driving thing that is passionately calling your attention.
Start going to bed earlier
It follows that if you want to wake up early without feeling tired, then you must also sleep early.
But what is a night owl to do? She wants to do all the things at night! Well, the best thing to combat the habit of staying up late is to start slowly. Go to bed 30 minutes to an hour earlier each night.
I know how hard this is as I am a recovering night owl. I tend to never want to stop what I am doing to go to sleep as my brain refuses to feel sleepy early.
But I give myself a pep talk about how much more energy I will have tomorrow if I go to sleep now. So with that, I force myself to quit and I go to bed.
Commit to it
If you really want to change a habit, the first thing you must do is commit to your goal. It is the same thing when it comes to waking up at 5 am or earlier.
You must be committed to your reason for this earlier wake-up time. Write it down and look at it before you go to bed as a reminder to strengthen that commitment.
Ease into it
When it comes to doing hard things, like you know, waking up early, you need to ease into it. Build your early wake-up habit gradually. So start by waking up 15-30 minutes earlier each day.
That way you will slowly naturally get used to waking up at 5 am if that is your aim or even 430am. And before you know it you are an early riser, and reaping all the benefits of waking up early.
Have a calming nighttime routine
The key to waking up at 5 am or waking up early is having a good bedtime routine. A good bedtime routine includes an early, or in your case earlier bedtime.
And to accomplish that you need a few bedtime habits that will help you wind down, and calm your go-go brain down.
A good bedtime routine may include a warm scented bath ( I highly recommend lavender essential oils). Some bedtime yoga is really helpful, or sleep meditation.
Include journaling and bedtime affirmations to quiet your mind. Plus plan your day so you know exactly why you need to wake up early.
Plan your day the night before
Okay, now as mentioned, planning is important for a successful day. It is essentially critical to plan 2-3 things you really want to do when you wake up early.
The plan is also what else you need to accomplish the next day. Keep your list manageable so you don’t feel overwhelmed.
When you have planned your day, it will also ease your mind so you are not laying in bed worrying. Planning gives the order to your day and will also motivate you to wake up early.
Have a set bedtime
Have a set bedtime that allows you to sleep at least 7-8 hours so you wake up feeling rested. This way you are less likely to hit snooze and ruin your chances of waking up early.
Try not to deviate too much from your set bedtime.
Understandably, you will occasionally watch a Netflix marathon or something else may come up and keep you up later, just make sure you keep your bedtime most days.
This way you actually set up a routine allowing you to successfully wake up at 5 am most days.
Have a morning routine
Having a morning routine help you establish healthy morning habits.
When you do the same thing every day, it tends to become automatic.
You may include a few elements in your morning routine that help your brain know it’s time to wake up.
Habits such as morning affirmations, drinking a glass of water, opening the blinds, making your bed, stretching, and morning yoga all help you wake up.
Yes, you do have to get out of bed to do some of these, but they will energize you and wake your brain up so you can easily start your day.
Eat healthy food
Now you may wonder, ” what does eating healthy have to do with waking up early? ” But I will tell you, your diet has a lot to do with good sleep quality.
And you want good sleep quality to be able to wake up early without feeling tired.
First, some healthy foods naturally promote melatonin. And melatonin is the sleep-promoting hormone that is produced around 9 pm and sustained through the night until cortisol production starts in the early morning to wake us up.
These must work opposite of each other. But the key here is that having good sleep is what helps you wake up easily without feeling tired.
Additionally, you need to eat magnesium-rich foods as magnesium is a relaxing mineral that promotes good sleep.
Plus many healthy foods also help keep your hormones in balance. Hormones work to regulate many bodily functions including sleep.
For example; Insulin is a hormone that when out of balance leads to high blood sugars and that can disrupt sleep with excess trips to the bathroom thereby disrupting sleep and the ability to wake up early.
So you may wonder what exactly I eat for good sleep. I got you! I wrote all about foods to promote sleep here.
It is important to eat at least two hours before bed foods like bananas, cherries, figs, leafy greens, chia seeds, almonds, walnuts and many more. See the full list of the best foods for sleep here.
Take healthy supplements
Remember, you want to wake up early without sacrificing sleep. So you need to get enough sleep to start with so you can wake up early and not feel tired.
And that is where healthy supplements that promote sleep and fight insomnia come in.
Before you reach out for heavy-duty medications for insomnia, try some sleep-promoting supplements first. Some of the best sleep supplements include:
- Melatonin
- Lavender
- peppermint
- Valerian
- Chamomile
- Passionflower and more. You can read more here about how these work and research supporting their effectiveness.
And please keep in mind to always consult your doctor before you start taking any supplements.
Don’t hit snooze
Everyone will tell you that you should never hit snooze if you want to wake up early. What happens when you hit snooze is that you may end up sleeping another 15 minutes, maybe 30 or an hour later from the time you wanted to wake up.
So hitting snooze will foil your plans for an early wake-up time. The best thing to do is keep your alarm clock or phone clear across the room so you must get up to turn it off.
Avoid hitting snooze and you will be waking up at 5 am without feeling tired every time.
If you need more help to avoid hitting snooze, try this Hatch Restore alarm clock. It is a fantastic way to wake up early easily. The Hatch Restore alarm clock is the best sleep assistance there is.
With its many light and sound settings, this alarm clock eases you off to sleep, and its sunrise simulation settings and natural sounds gently wake you up.
Anyone who wants to wake up gently should one. This alarm clock will change your sleep for the better for good.
Lay off the screens within 2 hours before bed.
I know. It’s tempting to be on your phone scrolling through all the fun things the internet has to offer these days.
It has become such an ingrained habit for many of us. But it robs us of good sleep and we must resist and desist from screens at bedtime.
That blue light from your phone or other gadget stunts melatonin production so you don’t feel sleepy. This can delay your falling asleep time, and that means wanting to sleep longer to get your 7, or 8 hours of sleep. In order to wake up at 5 am keep off screens at least 2 hours before your bedtime.
Avoid alcohol
You may be tempted to have a night cup, but don’t. Not if you want to wake up early without feeling tired. You see, alcohol will make you feel so mellow and deceptively sleepy at first.
Oh but the lie of it all!
Alcohol is the devil. It will disrupt your deep sleep through the night and you will not get to your REM sleep.
When you don’t get to the deep sleep cycles you are then set to wake up like you never slept. You will be tired in the morning and most likely won’t be able to wake up at 5 am or as early as you wanted to.
Being awake in the wee hours of the morning is so peaceful. It is the perfect time to start your day calmly and feel at peace and start in a positive mood. It will boost your productivity, center you and energize you as long as you have ensured enough sleep first.
Waking up at 5 am or early requires you to get enough sleep to start with.
And I hope if you are a night owl ready to become an early bird, you feel now ready to start waking up at 5 am. I believe you can.
Tell me in the comments, are you an early bird or a night owl? If you wake up at 5 am or earlier, what helps you?
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