Waking up early in a chilly winter mornings leaving the comforts of the warm bed, can be a real challenge for most of us. The sound of the alarm waking us up can be one of the cruelest sounds heard on such cold mornings during winter and forcing oneself to move out of bed seems like torture. One part of the mind tells to get up or else we will be late for some important work. Another part conspires with the lethargy in our body and is hell bent on slipping inside the comfort of the blanket for some more time.
In most cases, the later part wins and we slip back under the blanket. As a result the next stage comes with hurrying and rushing through the morning to somehow makeup for the lost time as much as possible. It is an undeniable fact that a few minutes of extended comfort in such a morning is one of the genuine pleasures of life but at times we really need to come out from the clutches of that pleasure.
If we look into the problem we will notice that the issue lies mostly at the physical level. Our bodies are not willing to overcome the inertia and come out of the comfort zone. Since the body is run by the mind, we have to use this same mind to help us out of the problem. In the following paragraphs, I will list down some ways and methods that can be used to get out of bed in a morning during winter.
The methods listed will be practical and simple ones, though none of them are absolute. To make this methods work, you have to have a firm resolution in your mind that you need to wake up at a particular time. Once you make sure of that, then you can go ahead and take the other steps. So read on and choose the one or a combination of multiple ones, that suits your need best.
Get yourself involved in something active
It is one of the great tips to make winter wake-ups easier. Getting involved in daily exercise can be somewhat tricky especially in winter days but doing something that is slightly more than usual can help you to wake up early like jogging or dancing for a while is undoubtedly a great idea to wake up yourself easily.
Take a shower ASAP leave bed
Going for a bath after leaving bed helps to keep your circulation going, and if you are taking a bath by adding some aroma, then it can help you to get more alert. You can also try to keep lemon or peppermint beside you as it is said that aromatherapy is quite helpful in the wake-up process.
Try to remind yourself of what you have to do
Fixing the upcoming work that you need to do the next morning can be helpful to let you wake-up early in winter days. You can take the help of small whiteboard to notice the work or make chits to keep beside you. Following such activity will help you to get up early in the morning.
Get self-belief to be a morning person
The basic problem of waking up late is self-belief that you show on yourself by start considering that you are not a morning person, but when you start showing self-belief to yourself by saying that you are a morning person, then it becomes easy to get up early. Getting up early in the morning can be quite difficult for your body for adjusting and that is only the time when you have to keep self-belief to be a morning person.
Going to bed early
If you have to wake up early and you still cannot resist enjoying the late night party, you are asking for trouble. You should make it a point to sleep by 10 pm the previous night if you have to wake up early, the next morning. When you sleep late and try to wake up early, your body may not get its full quota of rest. This will make it more difficult for you to drag yourself out of bed in a morning during winter. Once your body is rested, it will feel fresher and energetic in the morning and so you will have less trouble getting out of bed. It is best if you have a life routine that helps to maintain a consistent schedule for sleeping. If not, make sure that you do not sleep late when it is required to wake up early the next morning.
Dinner habits
A heavy and rich dinner can be a deterrent when you have plans to wake up early. It takes the body much more time and energy to digest and assimilate the heavy and rich food and will make you feel more lethargic in the morning. It is best that you consume you diner about three hours before going to bed for the night. This will help the body to digest the food properly and will also improve the quality of your sleep. It is best if you keep your dinner simple and light and keep the required gap between taking it and going to bed. Drinks containing alcohol, caffeine and other energy drinks before bedtime can also negatively impact the waking up process. Caffeine works as a stimulant and will prevent the process of sleep from happening normally, whereas alcohol will make you feel weak in the morning. So if you want to wake up in the morning during winter do not get tempted by that drink you love so much. Best is to keep it down to plain water.
Setting an alarm
We all know how important a role the alarm plays in waking us up. It is also said that harsh sounding alarm which wakes up abruptly from sleep is not the right choice. A more soothing alarm with a gradually increasing volume makes a better choice, as it prepares us in a better way to accept the state of wakefulness. It is also best to keep the alarm out of easy reach so that you have to get your body up and reach out to stop the sound. Pressing the “Snooze” option is also not a good idea as it will tend to plunge the body into those short cycles of sleep and wakefulness that we all have experienced. So avoid that temptation and make sure that you wake up once the alarm sounds.
Set up an activity that encourages you to wake up
Just the idea following the usual boring routine after moving out of the comfort of bed is strong enough to make us want some more sleep, especially in a morning during winter. So you can plan any short interesting activity that you can engage yourself into after moving out of bed. This can be something you love to do like reading the newspaper, or something you love to drink, like a cup of coffee. If you take your fitness seriously, you can plan to do some simple free hand exercises or yoga once you wake up. This will help in clearing the lethargy from your body and freshen up your mind. In short, plan an activity you look forward to do once you wake up.This will not only help you to wake up but will also result in a good, energetic start of the day.
Set up a proper environment
Our sleep cycles and the internal clock of our body are influenced by light, especially sunlight. So when you sleep, you can make sure that some morning light will come into your bedroom as soon as there is light. This will help your body clock to steer you into a state of wakefullness. In the same way, make sure that when you sleep at night you go to bed in a properly darkened room. The environment of the bedroom should also be properly maintained to get an improved sleep quality. Avoiding bright colors and if possible, making sure that the air in the room is fresh, can be really helpful to get a good night’s sleep and wake up early in the next morning. This will help you to fall asleep more easily. It is also advisable to avoid any media content or a bright screen immediately before going to bed. Before sleeping, you can read a book or listen to some light music. Once you are in bed, try to maintain a silent environment.This will result in a better sleep quality and help you wake up refreshed, even early in the morning.
Once you are up, stay up
So you have overcome the call of the bed and dragged your feet out of it, but the work is not over. To feel fresh and start the day without a sleep hangover is also important. There are some simple ways to let your body know that sleep time is over. One of such ways is to rub your hands together for a few times and place them over you face right after you are up. The next step is to splash some water over your face which will remove the traces of sleep from your mind. If you can take a bath after waking up, it is even better. Then fix up a tasty hearty breakfast and you will be ready for the day.
Join the early birds
Joining a group where all members wake up early in the morning to get engaged in some kind of physical or cultural activity can be a very good way to wake up early during the cold winter days. This type of engagements usually involve waking up each other right in the time, which is a sure shot way to not to miss the morning. Being in such a group will not only make it easier for you to wake up early but you will also not feel that you are the only one suffering due to waking up early when staying under the quilt is really pleasing. So, join a group of morning walkers, a laughing club or something like that to make it out of bed easily even during cold winter mornings.
Drink water before you go to sleep
This is a trick that can actually make you wake up early enough even during the chilly winter mornings. Once you drink water before going to bed, you are sure to wake up early enough for using the toilet. Once your deep sleep has broken off, it is sure to become much easier to leave the cozy bed once your alarm rings.
Use the coffee maker
Waking up by the sound of your coffee maker can be a welcoming surprise in the morning. The aroma of coffee will not only help you to wake up but the coffee itself will also work as a great reward for leaving bed. So, get a programmable coffee maker and set it at the time when you need to wake up in the morning. It is best to place the coffee maker near your bed, so that you can reach the cup from within your blanket. Once you have gulped down your coffee, you are sure to be sufficiently awake to leave the bed.
Do not reason with yourself for staying 5 more minutes on bed
Well, most of us who wish to wake up in the morning during winter but most of the time miss the alarm, suffer from the habit of reasoning with himself to stay 5 more minutes in bed. Staying 5 more minutes in the bed will not really harm the world but it can destroy your plans for the day. So, instead of reasoning with yourself once the sleep seems to become light due to the alarm, wake up and help yourself with a glass of water, which will help in waking up completely.
If you wake up before the alarm rings, get out of bed
Often it happens that our body clock make us wake even before the morning alarm actually goes off. However, most of the time, we prefer to go to sleep as soon as we find that there is still time. If you are serious about waking up in the morning, do not make this mistake. Just leave your bed as quickly as you are awake and do not wait for the alarm clock to go off.
Setting your alarm clock in the next room is another way of waking up early even during winter, but it is not certainly an easy way.
