It's morning and the alarm goes off. What's your reaction? Do you jump out of bed or hit snooze and continue sleeping?

If you have trouble getting out of bed in the morning, you're not alone. Each of our bodies is programmed to function best at certain times of the day, depending on our chronotype.

But, if you're one of those who likes to sleep late at night but wants to improve your morning routine, don't be discouraged.

Although part of your ability to wake up feeling energized in the morning depends on your body's biology, there are still many small tweaks you can incorporate into your daily routine to make waking up a little easier.

So whatever the reason you want to become a morning person, in this article you will learn about people's sleep patterns and how you can start waking up early in the morning without feeling tired and "out of sorts."

What makes someone a "morning person" and what doesn't?

Have you ever wondered why so many of us have a hard time waking up in the morning, while others effortlessly get out of bed as soon as the alarm goes off to start their day?

The answer lies in the individual clock that each of us has in our bodies - known as the circadian rhythm.

Circadian rhythm comes from the Latin expression "circa diem" which means "around the day" and refers to the 24-hour cycle that regulates the bodily functions of almost all living beings, from sleep to waking.

So each person can have slightly shorter or longer natural cycles, which means that if your cycle is shorter, you go to bed early and wake up early in the morning, and if your cycle is slightly longer, you probably like to stay up late and "snooze" in the morning.

Is there a way to train yourself to become a morning person?

According to scientists, the answer is "yes" — at least, to some extent. About 50% of your sleep-wake cycle is predetermined by your DNA, giving you some leeway to adjust your sleep patterns.

In other words, you may never become a true morning person who will always wake up early in the morning, but with a few simple changes to your daily routine, you can start waking up earlier in the morning.

What is certain is that waking up even an hour earlier can have a very positive impact on your health and well-being.

The benefits of waking up early

Becoming a morning person can be a grueling process. But the truth is, waking up at dawn has many perks. Here are some benefits of waking up early:

• Morning people are happier. The overly jerky behavior of morning people is often the subject of jokes from others. But as it turns out, their attitude of starting their day early and being productive while everyone else is sleeping could be one of the reasons they're so happy in the first place. According to researchers from the University of Colorado at Boulder, waking up just an hour earlier can reduce your risk of depression by 23 percent . One theory is that people are exposed to more sunlight in the morning, which triggers the brain to release mood-boosting chemicals like serotonin.
• Morning people are healthier. Nutrition experts say that morning people are also more likely to make healthier dietary choices. In a study published in the journal Obesity , researchers found that late risers were more likely to eat less protein and choose sugary foods in the morning, putting themselves at higher risk for obesity and metabolic problems later in life. They also found that night owls had poor sleep patterns and were less active compared to morning people.
• Morning people are safer drivers. Whether you're dropping off the kids at school or heading to work, driving in the early hours of the morning is unavoidable for many people. Unfortunately for night owls, driving in the morning can be a dangerous endeavor. In a 2014 study from the University of Granada, researchers asked a group of morning and afternoon people to drive at 8 a.m. Unsurprisingly, they found that early risers were more alert and made fewer mistakes than the afternoon people.
• Early risers are more likely to be successful. Some of the most successful people in the world – including Apple CEO Tim Cook and LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner – wake up at 5:30 a.m. Why? Because waking up early gives you the rare opportunity to work undisturbed before everyone else is weighing you down with their problems. Early mornings can also make you more productive by increasing your exposure to sunlight, making you more energetic and putting you in a state of alertness for the rest of the day.

How to become a morning person?

If you want to change your habit of going to bed late and waking up late in the morning, don't worry. You can learn how to become a morning person with a few simple changes. Here are some tips to help you change your sleep habits.

1. Maintain good sleep hygiene

Before you start changing your sleep schedule, it's a good idea to establish some good sleep habits, commonly referred to as " sleep hygiene ."

Sleep hygiene includes a set of habits that are said to promote better sleep, such as:

• Regular exercise
• Avoiding caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol, especially before bed
• Avoiding long afternoon naps
• Creating relaxing routines and activities before bed

Sleep hygiene also includes setting up your bedroom to promote better sleep, creating a dark, quiet, and cool environment. Some things that can help you improve your bedroom are using blackout curtains, investing in high-quality bedding, and keeping your bedroom clutter-free.

2. Calculate how many hours of sleep you ideally need

The second step to becoming a morning person is to figure out how much sleep you need to feel rested and refreshed in the morning. This number varies from person to person, but according to sleep experts, most adults need seven to nine hours of sleep per night.

Not sure how much sleep you need? Just take stock every morning based on how you feel after different hours of sleep. Eventually, you'll get a good idea of ​​how much sleep your body needs to function properly.

Once you know how many hours of sleep you need, you can set a bedtime that will help you reach that number each night. So, if you need eight hours of sleep and want to wake up at 5:30 a.m., that means you should go to bed no later than 9:30 p.m.

3. Start your day with sun exposure

Light and darkness have a strong effect on our circadian rhythm, as they give our body the message when to be active and when to sleep.

To wake up quickly in the morning and avoid procrastination, open the curtains and expose yourself to plenty of bright, natural light. Exposure to sunlight early in the morning not only helps you stay alert during the day, but it also helps you sleep better at night by resetting your sleep-wake cycle.

Summer is a great time to become a morning person. But if you need to change your sleep schedule in the winter, smart lights that mimic the gradual sunrise can help.

4. Limit exposure to blue light at night

As we mentioned in the tip above, light plays perhaps the most important role in regulating our circadian rhythm. For the same reason, it would be a good idea to reduce your exposure to bright light at night. Blue light in particular is known to disrupt sleep by suppressing the release of melatonin, which is the hormone associated with controlling the sleep-wake cycle.

For better sleep quality, dim the lights in your home at least two hours before bed and install blue light filters on your electronic devices. If you have trouble falling asleep at night, you can also try wearing a sleep mask to block out all light. It's much easier to fall asleep when you're surrounded by complete darkness.

5. Prepare the night before

You can help yourself start your day more easily by preparing the night before. Want to get up and go for a morning run? Get your gym clothes ready the night before and don't give yourself any excuses not to do it.

The less you have to do in the morning, the more likely you are to not postpone waking up and your morning plans for a new morning routine.

6. Don't let food ruin your sleep

Most people know that certain foods can affect the quality and duration of their sleep (hello, caffeine!).

But did you know that when you eat your last meal is just as important for sleep? In a 2020 study on diet and sleep patterns, researchers found that night owls tend to eat their dinner much later than morning people. Their findings also revealed that midday eaters are more likely to make unhealthy food choices compared to morning eaters.

Experts say that eating too close to bedtime—especially a big dinner—can disrupt your sleep. If you want to fall asleep earlier, eat your larger meals earlier in the day and just eat a light dinner.

7. Create a relaxing bedtime routine

It's certainly difficult for someone who's not used to waking up early in the morning, but arguably the real challenge is going to bed early the night before. Many people who enjoy staying up late and find themselves productive during those hours usually don't get sleepy until midnight, so they end up staring at their bedroom ceiling for hours.

Fortunately, bedtime routines and rituals can help significantly. Engaging in relaxing activities before bed - such as practicing meditation and reading - can help you truly relax and make it easier to fall asleep than usual.

An equally effective ritual to help you relax before bed is the use of a Prosleep Gravity blanket. The gravity blanket harnesses the power of Deep Tactile Pressure - a scientifically proven stress treatment - to relax the nervous system and increase the right hormones that will help you feel calm and sleepy.

8. Establish a morning routine

Struggling to get out of bed? We've all been there. Even morning people sometimes struggle to resist the warmth of their warm bed.

To start your day, create a wake-up routine that will make you feel happy and more productive. Drink a big glass of water to hydrate and wake up your body, put on some uplifting music, go for a run, read a book.

Also, don't forget to make your bed. This way, you'll be less tempted to dive back under the cozy covers and thus won't ruin the effort you've put in up until that moment.

9. Stay consistent with the schedule

While it may sound simple, maintaining a consistent schedule is key to becoming a morning person. If you start hitting the snooze button on your alarm, you'll inevitably fall back into your old, nocturnal ways. Besides, post-snooze sleep isn't high quality. In fact, it's likely to make you feel more tired, dizzy, and disoriented.

Instead, stick to a schedule and try to gradually give up using an alarm clock altogether. If you go to bed at a decent hour, your body will start to wake up = naturally after a full night's rest.

10. Give yourself something to look forward to.

If you're struggling with your new sleep schedule, think of small ways to get yourself into a process of looking forward to waking up in the morning.

What is your vision for the extra time you will have when you master the habit of waking up earlier? Have you considered the impact of this vision if you stick to your new habit?

For example, if your morning vision is to run for 20 minutes every morning, but you don't like running, then the brain associates waking up in the morning with something unpleasant.

Plan to do something you love when you wake up in the morning. When your morning routine includes something you're excited to do, you have a lot of reasons not to put off getting up in the morning.

Think about it: if your goal doesn't sound exciting, you'll always see waking up in the morning as a punishment, which won't motivate you to jump out of bed when the alarm goes off.

Tackle stress and insomnia with a gravity blanket

Gravity blankets are the most effective way to deal with insomnia and stress without medication, as they have been used for many decades to help people suffering from anxiety disorders, autism, and other sensory disorders.

How do they work?

They are designed to apply gentle, steady pressure to the entire body, which occupational therapists call “ Deep Tactile Pressure .” This steady pressure relaxes the nervous system and helps the body naturally increase levels of serotonin and melatonin (the hormones of happiness and sleep) while reducing levels of cortisol, which is responsible for stress.

As a result, the mind stops "racing", the heart rate drops, the mood improves and the body enters a state of complete relaxation.

Choose the one that weighs closest to 10% of your body weight and upgrade your sleep from the very first night.