Becoming a morning person
Why hello there, cup o’green:
Remember when I mentioned those blended salads I used to have alllll the time? Well, I had to make one after that! I used to do this in the Valdosta days, and figured that it would be a fun way to get in some extra veggies. In the blender, I added handfuls of spinach, a few tomatoes, 1/2 bell pepper, 1/2 cucumber, salt, pepper, garlic, a little Dijon, lots of lemon juice, 1/2 avocado, some flax oil, water,
and pureed it on high. To be real, I didn’t love it quite as much as I used to. I think next time I’ll make a regular salad, but this was a great portable option for our afternoon adventures. Liv, on the other hand, went crazy for it. She kept saying, “More? YUM!” after each sip. It was kind of like a green gazpacho.
I’m writing this post in advance, because when it publishes, I’m hoping I’ll be driving home from a very early yoga class.
I say “hoping” because I have no idea if I’ll actually wake up and go.
Waking up early has been a little rough for me, especially since Liv starting sleeping through the night (umm.. a year ago….). I realized I could get glorious sleep as long as possible and actually feel rested. Rested! It seemed like a unicorn of a concept -you hear about it but never see it- but it did happen eventually.
Currently, Liv’s nap time and at night are when I get work done, but if I could wake up early and take care of work/emails, a workout, or study, I would have more time to relax at night after she’s asleep. I love working out early in the morning -those endorphins last all day!- and was on a good run for a while, then we started going to bed later, and later, and later (that darn “Sing!” app haha). The snooze button is once again BFF status.
I haven’t been crazy about our usual yoga class since our favorite instructor moved, so I figured I’d try something different with a new-to-me studio and instructor. Usually with the drive time and class on Wednesday nights, I don’t see much of the Pilot, so this way, I’ll start my day relaxed and get to hang out with him tonight.
If I go.
I’ve never been a “morning person,” (and later found out that the reason for that was hormonal) but made it happen when it needed to happen. Work and school often had me waking up very early -4:30am. What?!- and since they were commitments, I just did it. Snooze button wasn’t an option. Since I have the option to sleep later on the days I’m home with Liv, I’ve been enjoying it. Maybe I need to make it non-negotiable…and just get to bed earlier!
So, all you early birds out there, please share your secrets with me! What time do you wake up? When do you go to bed? Is there anything that helps to prevent the snooze button? “Becoming a morning person” was on my before 30 bucket list. I was half-joking, but it would be awesome if I could change my ways.
Hope you have a fantastic Wednesday! Livi said to tell you thank you for the half birthday wishes <3
xoxo
Gina
Edited: I woke up and did it. And now, I’ll feel energized all day 🙂
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Kerri, when I first glaced at what you wrote, “MOVE the alarm clock across the room…” my first thought was, “she throws her alarm across the room when it goes off?” Not that I haven’t felt like doing that every morning! Actually, what I’d really like to do is hit it a couple times with a bat!
My suggestion, and as awful as it is, works: when your alarm clock goes off in the morning – GET UP! No hitting snooze because you’ll fall back asleep for 5 minutes or so and feel way more worse than if you just got up the first time.
Or if you’re like me, you’ll fall back asleep and sleep through the alarm when the snooze ends. The noise of the alarm is sometimes in my “snooze” dreams (weird) but doesn’t wake me up. Then my whole day is off to a bad start because I’m late AND tired!
So you may be groggy when the alarm initially goes off but once you’re up and moving around with your morning routine, you’ll start to feel more and more refreshed than if you hit the snooze button.
Haven’t worked out in the early morning in months. I love it, but lately I’ve been loving the snooze button more. I love working out early because I’m not fully awake and half way through the day I forget I even did it. I also tend to skip my evening workouts. Better go set my alarm haha.
I read a tip somewhere recently that if you really feel like you HAVE to hit the snooze button, set 2 alarms that are 2-3 minutes apart instead (way shorter than the average “snooze” time of 5 or 10 min). It doesn’t allow you to fall all the way back asleep, so when the second ones goes off, it’s MUCH easier to get up. I’ve been doing it for about a month now, and I really think it helps!
I am not a morning person either and I would love to change. I think my circadian rhythms are just opposite like I should live in a different time zone or something. I would love to learn about a hormonal cause as well, aside from melatonin, because this has been a struggle my entire life.
This is a great post!!! I work a lot of nights, out at midnight or 2 a.m., but I would love
to “reset” my rhythms.
That way, I could get more done on my two days off!!!
In my experience, all of the above tips are so effective! Particularly
setting more than one alarm, setting things out the night before,
and a special breakfast or smoothie is a nice incentive!!!
If not, then those three little words: coffee, coffee, coffee. 🙂
Like so many of your other lovely readers, I would suggest the following:
1) Get all of your gear together at night so you’re ready to go once your feet hit the floor in the morning
2) Visualize yourself going through the next day’s workout and remind yourself what your goals for the workout are before you go to bed (sounds completely cheesy but I find myself actually embarrassingly excited for my sweat sessions when I do this)
3) Remember how awesome and accomplished you will feel when you’re done, especially knowing most of the world is still asleep 🙂
I’m a total morning person and attribute it to the fact that I was heavy into competitive sports from my early childhood through teens and was always up and at the rink, gym, or stables before dawn for one of two daily practice sessions. I literally don’t know any different and am super thankful this habit of getting a workout done early in the day has stuck with me into adulthood as I’ve now got two children under two and would be hard-pressed to get my sweat on at all otherwise. An added bonus is that the absence of “workout anxiety” means I’m a much more zen mama who’s better equipped to handle whatever my girls throw my way 🙂
More than anything I’d say you should come up with a plan you think will work for you and then stick with it for three weeks. Long enough to make it a habit and see if it really is sustainable for your lifestyle long term. Good luck!!
I used to have a rough time in the mornings, but now that I have a 3-year old (who has been a super early riser since birth), my body won’t let me sleep in, even when I want or need to. If I’m still in bed at 7 I feel like my day is going to be rushed. We also live in Hawaii, so the sun sets pretty early, even through the summer, and that really helps to get in bed earlier. I love the feeling of getting up and getting things done before the day starts, and I MUST have breakfast to function, so I make sure not to rush through it, and if I know I have a busy morning, I prep everything the night before.
Hurray for making it to your yoga class!
I’m a total morning person. I wake up at 6 am naturally everyday – but for a while over the winter it was more like 4:30-5 am, which was SO not okay with haha. I tend to go to bed around 10:30 pm, so I guess I’m just ready to wake up by 6 am.
Hey Gina!! congrats on doing it!! At my last job I would work 10 hour days and have Fridays off. I would be up – RUNNING! – at 5am, and them be at work at my desk by 7am. Now, at a different job, things are a bit more relaxed, and I’m trying to get up – don’t laugh at me, people! – at 7am :-/ I feel you on getting REAL rest! It’s hard to push sleep out of the way when it does the body good!
So – TONS of good tips in the comments! way better than mine but I just wanted to throw in my 2 cents….
Good news: once getting up earlier becomes a habit, it will be easier (duh! but how does it become a habit?!)
Lately when I’ve been trying to wake up earlier and earlier (let’s say 6am), I actually feel nauseated getting up if I’m not rested. Like – stomach churning nauseated. Anyone else? maybe the hormonal/iron thing? Regardles…
What *has* helped me is just to wake up, get out of bed, and start doing something to “stimulate” my mind or just get moving – I tend to set my alarm (phone) across the room from my bed, and then I’ll place it on top of a new magazine or something that gets my mind going. Lately I make coffee and though I don’t *need* it to function, it just gives me something to “start doing” to get up out of bed. Although I love the idea of setting the coffee machine timer and then just getting up to drink it! Ha! :p
Not sure if this is feasible in your house – but have you thought about a peppy show you like that you could record and watch in the morning, for like 30 minutes, as you drink your coffee? I’m thinking Ellen! 🙂 So you have a “Gina time” reason to get up and wake your mind up for 30 mins in the morning before getting out the door – something to look forward to so you can step out of bed!
I’m sure the motivator depends on the person 🙂
Congrats and keep it going! 🙂
hey gina 🙂 thank you so much for posting this, because i need help too. i know i would feel so much better about myself and my day and my life in general if i could just get out of bed before 7! it shouldn’t be this hard, but it is for me! no matter how much i try, i just can’t do it. however, once i’m up, i am FINE, it’s just the physically getting myself out of bed, and before i snooze a million times would be wonderful! i wonder if it’s a hormonal/iron issue for me too…i know when i asked my doctor about my physical inability to get out of bed early, she said to try more protein. well i’ve been doing this, and it’s not working… so these comments are very helpful. thanks! 🙂 here’s to new efforts to get up early and get the day started right!!!
Omega 3s and 6s are a must.
What was the hormonal problem? It has always been a struggle for me as well.
Oh I have no tips but I definitely sympathize, I am a night owl and have never, ever been a morning person! Since I have to get up early for work now, I’m enjoying the tips offered here.
Try putting your alarm farther away from you so that you have to get up to turn it off! Usually the act of getting out of bed was enough to wake me up enough. Last year when I lived with a roommate, I felt really bad for my 5am alarms, so that guilt was enough for me to pop up and turn it off quickly!
Major kudos to you. I have NEVER been a morning person, and right now my sleeping schedule is REALLY messed up. This post has given me a bit of motivation to change it!
~Ann
I get up at 5:30 a.m., but dont have time to workout because I have to get myself ready as well as my two-year-old daugther. I go to bed by 10am the latest. But this post is giving me inspiration to try and get up at 5 a.m. to get a short run in! I think if you aim to get at least 7 hours of sleep at night you will be able to run. Also, definitely have a cup of coffee after hydrating after the run. That should help! At least that is what I am telling myself:)
I’ve been a morning person my whole life. My parents taught me how to turn on the TV at age 2 so I could entertain myself before they woke up! Even so, I still have days where I struggle to get up for early morning workouts since they do seem sort of “optional” as you mentioned. My internal dialogue usually goes something like this: “How much better will 1 more hour of sleep make me feel for the rest of the day? How much better will a 1 hour workout make me feel for the rest of the day??” The workout is usually the clear winner.
I am NOT a morning person, at all. But, I still try. My work schedule alternates between 6a-2p and 2p-10p. Recently, I set my alarm even on days that I don’t work until 2p. It allows me to get things done and work out, even on a work day! In the past, I would use work as an excuse for not working out or getting something done and it just added more stress at the end of the day. No excuses! Good luck 🙂
I have hard time getting up before 6:45. I just don’t give up. I set my alarm, and eventually, my body just wakes up when it needs too.
Get all your gear ready the night before.
Set your alarm (maybe even two alarms).
I wake up a 4:30am. It’s hard but I know I have to do it. I CrossFit at 5:20 in the morning and have to be at work by 7:30AM (hour and 10 minute drive). I generally go to bed around 9.
You’re work start and drive sound similar to mine. How long do your crossfit sessions go for and what do you do about breakfast? Something easy in the car on the way to work or are you able to eat at you desk perhaps?
It’s all those little things that need doing in the morning that make me feel like there’s no point trying to exercise before an early shift at work. However I think it’s pure laziness and procrastination that are my driving force these days unfortunately.