Calling all NON morning people....

tauny78

So, if you're a night owl like me, but have to get up early for work, kids, etc, how do you do it? I've never been a morning person (although, I admit, I'd like to be) and no matter how many days in a row I get up at 6:30 or earlier, my body does not seem to want to get used to it! I'm always dragging myself out of bed and I hate the feeling of not wanting to get up and going! Most days lately once I can get up and moving I feel great and more energetic, but I still have to struggle to get started....I so want to just lay in bed and hide for a couple more hours! LOL I have to say that I've already adjusted to getting to bed earlier (except weekends) and I'm trying to get up a little earlier everyday. I just can't say no to that snooze! LOL Any suggestions or have any of you managed to turn yourselves from night owl to early bird?

tabinmaine

I work out around 5pm each day after working all day, afterwards I go home, eat, clean kitchen, check homework, laundry, check my emails, organize for the next day and get my kids into bed, I am DONE by 9pm.....

I have no problem going to sleep at night, not a night owl at all, in fact, on weekends, if I know I am going to be up past 10pm I HAVE to have a nap that afternoon or I can't do it. lol

What do you do all day to make yourself tired ?? Do you nap when you get home from work ? I have to keep myself going all day to secure a good nights sleep.

cabaray

I don't think I will ever convert to a morning person, but I do my workout in the morning because I won't get it done in the evening (no motivation). I set my alarm for 4:30. My alarm clock is all the way on the other side of the room. I hit snooze probably 3 times. By that time, I am up at 5:00, but I'm really just sleep walking I think. I get a glass of water and jump (I should probably say fall) on the stationary bike and start pedaling. After about a minute or two of pedaling, I find I am finally awake. I ride the bike from 5:00 to 6:00 (usually), get the girls out of bed half way through (I hate having to stop my ride for a couple of minutes, but I have to get the girls up). Getting done at 6:00 leaves me 50 minutes to make sure the girls are ready for the bus, then it's a shower and off to work for me!

Even after all of that, I find that I get tired about 9:30 and have trouble staying awake at my desk. I've been doing this about 7 months and can still honestly say I am not a morning person. I don't usually ride on the weekends and don't set my alarm. I don't wake up until about noon.

You don't have to say no to the snooze, just set your alarm earlier than you really want to get up and hit it a couple of times.

CoryIda

One word, six letters: COFFEE

newman84

I agree i am not a morning person in the least bit. I would reather stay up late and sleep in. I don't have much of a choice though.

newman84

One word, six letters: COFFEE

I can't drink coffee it doesn't agree with me and It just makes me hyper for about 2 hours then i wanna crash again.

TopazCarey

I'm not a morning person either. I've just kinda accepted it as fact at this point. Lol.

luvnthenewme

All the non-morning people in my part of the world are still sleeping You will have to wait until later to get replies!!!

amymeenieminymo

I don't think I will ever convert to a morning person, but I do my workout in the morning because I won't get it done in the evening (no motivation). I set my alarm for 4:30. My alarm clock is all the way on the other side of the room. I hit snooze probably 3 times. By that time, I am up at 5:00, but I'm really just sleep walking I think. I get a glass of water and jump (I should probably say fall) on the stationary bike and start pedaling. After about a minute or two of pedaling, I find I am finally awake. I ride the bike from 5:00 to 6:00 (usually), get the girls out of bed half way through (I hate having to stop my ride for a couple of minutes, but I have to get the girls up). Getting done at 6:00 leaves me 50 minutes to make sure the girls are ready for the bus, then it's a shower and off to work for me!

Even after all of that, I find that I get tired about 9:30 and have trouble staying awake at my desk. I've been doing this about 7 months and can still honestly say I am not a morning person. I don't usually ride on the weekends and don't set my alarm. I don't wake up until about noon.

You don't have to say no to the snooze, just set your alarm earlier than you really want to get up and hit it a couple of times.

This is me. The few times I've gotten on a routine to work out in the morning, I am falling asleep at my desk around 9 or 9:30. Many people say a morning workout energizes them for the day but not me....I need a mid-morning nap after an AM workout. As much as I love getting it done and out of the way, I've went back to PM workouts.

As for making yourself be a morning person, I'm not sure it's possible. I have to be to work at 8, so of course I make myself get up, but I will never really enjoy getting up early. I do try to get up around 8:30 or 9 on weekends so I don't feel like I've wasted the whole day away, but if I cannot wake up naturally then I am not happy. Waking by an alarm sucks. I think like some people just cannot stay awake late at night, others like us wake up early because we have to but we'll never wake up excited and bouncing and happy.

Helloitsdan

The human body sleeps in 3 hour cycles. So if you time your rest for 3, 6, 9 hours and wake up while NOT in REM sleep youll be wide awake.

The reason you are tired could be because you are trying to get up in the middle of a delta cycle.
Brain activity is extremely low at this time and its when the HGH hormone is is running around doing its housekeeping on your body.

3 hour cycles!

Your Friend,
The former insomniac...

Shaneekwa

I have the same issue. Seems like I'm living the vampire life. At times I wish I had a night job because it will be perfect. Since being consistent with my workouts (going to the gym directly after work...around 4:30 and staying in the gym for 1 - 2 hours) I been waking up with no issues but yet I still can't seem to get my behind out of the bed. I don't wake fully up until around 9 - 930 am...sucks

nnylee

Mornings are totally not my thing. And coffee does nothing for me! So I work out at night. It's the best time for me!

phoenixoncemore

I know exactly what you mean, I seem to naturally wake at about 10:30. Anytime before that my body takes issue with (which is everyday I work!) And anything less than 8 hours leaves me really grouchy and overtired all day.

I wonder if anybody out there has an answer or if we all just have to accept we are just not morning people and never will be! :yawn:

CoryIda

Mornings are totally not my thing. And coffee does nothing for me! So I work out at night. It's the best time for me!

Yeah, I didn't put that in my original post, but I work out at night, too.

farmers_daughter

One word, six letters: COFFEE

I can't drink coffee it doesn't agree with me and It just makes me hyper for about 2 hours then i wanna crash again.

Coffee tastes like butt.

Granted, I don't know what butt tastes like, but if I did, I can imagine it would taste like Coffee. :sick:

Trust me, I'd love to have some sort of pick me up in the morning, and I wish I liked coffee, I just can't do it. Especially without a dump truck load of sugar, or some sort of dairy creamer or whipped fluffy stuff.....

garnet1483

One word, six letters: COFFEE

I can't drink coffee it doesn't agree with me and It just makes me hyper for about 2 hours then i wanna crash again.

Try drinking cool water (or ice water, if you like it) instead. It perks you up without the crash. There are some mornings where I can barely keep my eyes open at work, but the water eases me over the morning hump, into the more wakeful part of my day. Morning is not my best time...

KimmieBrie

Have never been a morning person... I am up at about 530 every work day and hate it. Been doing it for years, for 5 of them had to be up at 5am because had a longer commute.

It hasn't gotten better or easier even with coffee. I'm just not a morning person but I force myself to get up. I also don't go to be early enough for when I have to wake up so sleep deprivation is also a factor. I can't make myself go to bed earlier. I'm a night person. I need a new job!

phoenixoncemore

Mornings are totally not my thing. And coffee does nothing for me! So I work out at night. It's the best time for me!

Yeah, I didn't put that in my original post, but I work out at night, too.

Me too, in the evenings after work and before dinner. I struggle to get up at 7:45 to get to work so there's no way I'd manage to do it before then!

aweightymatter

First -- I have some iced coffee or something already brewed. Haha.

Second, and I have the luxury of being able to do this (work from home, no kids), I've just adjusted my sleep cycle into two parts. I do creative work and my best stuff comes out at night, so I've decided not to fight it. So I do my thing as I please, go to bed when I naturally feel like doing so (anywhere from midnight - 2 a.m. on a typical weeknight), then sleep for about six hours.

This means I get up in time for other people's morning stuff -- I can answer emails, do early meetings, whatever. I do whatever I want or need to get done for a while, or keep working if I don't want to work on anything late night, etc. Then, when everyone else has commuting hell to deal with and I know I won't be getting many professional phone calls or emails, I take a "nap" for an hour or two

I understand this isn't practical for most people, but like another poster said, dividing up into intervals or at least scheduling a nap if you can will help.

SafireBleu

I do everything at night. When I go back to work I will still do that. I workout. prepare dinner for the next day or at least plan it, and set out clothes at night. I set the coffee maker on a timer so when I get up it is already brewing. I keep things simple for breakfast. I am miserable in the mornings. I can do it all at night so I just go with it.

a_robinson86

I HATE mornings, always have done and I always will do! The only thing I hate about having kids is the fact I have to get up early in the mornings and I don't even get a lay in at the weekends, it sucks! It doesn't matter how early I go to bed either, I've tried wearing myself out and going to bed early (like 10ish) but I still don't want to wake up when my alarm goes off! My alarm goes off at 6.45 to get up and get my eldest son ready for school but I don't get up for another 45 minutes because I'm so tired, no amount of coffee makes any difference for me either in fact it can make me feel worse sometimes! I've just had to accept the fact I'll never be a morning person, and look forward to when my boys are teenagers and I'm the one waking them up in the early afternoon! lol

Scarlett_S

I totally understand. I have three kids and full time job, so I have to exercise in the mornings or it doesn't happen. For me, I have a standing appointment with my trainer at 5 a.m. three days a week. I am a zombie walking into it (set alarm for 4:30, jump up, get ready, grab water, go) but by the time I do forty minutes with her I am ok and I knock out 45 minutes or so of cardio when do stretching.

Its difficult. It really is. But if you get over that hump of the first half hour of being up you'll be ok. Just make sure you are getting enough sleep overall.

unsuspectingfish

To be honest, my solution was to get a night job.

I also function off 6 hours of sleep. >_>

Usually, if I have to get up early, I get less sleep the night before, so I'm actually tired at a reasonable hour.

darkling_glory

I am not a morning person either, so here is what I do to make sure I'm out the door on time.

I have to leave the house at 6:30 to make it to work by 7.

I set my first alarm for 5:30. I also set my coffee pot to make coffee at 5:30. Very, very rarely do I get up when this alarm goes off. The next alarm goes off at 5:45. This is when I get up and stumble into the shower. I allow myself 15 minutes in the shower.

Then it is hair, make up, get the dog out t potty, and in the car.

The trick is to set up EVERYTHING you can, the night before. I set up my coffee pot and put my travel mug right next to it. I pack my breakfast (because like I have time to eat breakfast before work) AND lunch in my lunch box and put it in the fridge. I make sure everything I need for the next day at work is in my purse/shoulder bag. I even pull out what I am going to wear and hang it up on the closet door so I don't have to think about it.

My goal is to eventually set the second alarm back a couple minutes until I really am getting up at 5:30 (then I can take the dog for a longer walk). But the more stuff that is already done the night before, the better morning I am going to have. I don't have it in me to remember everything that early in the morning. I just don't.

Hope this helps!

yesthistime

One word, six letters: COFFEE

Yup. Immediately.

TheCats_Meow

One word, six letters: COFFEE

I can't drink coffee it doesn't agree with me and It just makes me hyper for about 2 hours then i wanna crash again.

Coffee tastes like butt.

Granted, I don't know what butt tastes like, but if I did, I can imagine it would taste like Coffee. :sick:

Trust me, I'd love to have some sort of pick me up in the morning, and I wish I liked coffee, I just can't do it. Especially without a dump truck load of sugar, or some sort of dairy creamer or whipped fluffy stuff.....

^^ this is me as well. I just can't do coffee no matter how hard I try to make myself without a crazy amount of sugar & creamer. And it does nothing for my alertness.

I have to work out in the evening after work. I tried working out in the mornings, but, like a lot of people, I was falling asleep @ my desk by 10AM and groggy throughout the entire day.

I'm not a morning person either. I'm the one that stays in the bed until the last possible minute then I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to get myself & the kids ready. It's a nasty, nasty cycle.

I have no advice, just know I feel your pain!

aweightymatter

Oh, also, I agree with setting your alarm across the room or something similar -- I have an alarm clock called "Clocky" that actually rolls off the night stand once you hit snooze! haha!

HOWEVER -- I don't agree necessarily with setting your alarm for half an hour before you *really* need to get up. I found for me it was better to train myself out of hitting snooze, and instead just getting up when it went off. I find that when I set a "false alarm," so to speak, I end up just getting a half hour or whatever of crappy/ not real sleep, when if I had just set the alarm for the "real" time I could have gotten the actual rest without the extra angst.

tauny78

Wow! So many people are just like me in the a.m.! I have to admit I'm surprised!! I work out in the evenings because that's when I have time. But if I could get up earlier I would work out in the morning before getting my girls up for school. I work at the school part time, from 9-2, then have lunch when I get home and by then I'm ready for a nap! Terrible I know....I try not to give in, but some days I just feel I have to. So either I nap or I do house work. Then in the evenings its workout, supper, homework with girls, and finally relax time with hubby in front of the boob tube! And after all that, I'm usually not ready for bed until between 10 and 11. And thanks for the info on the 3 hour sleep cycle; only problem is I usually have a problem falling asleep when I get to bed, so I may toss and turn for a while...so I don't know that I could predict my cycles...but I'll give it a try! It always seems that on the weekends when I don't have to get up with the alarm, I always want to wake around 9 - 9:30, no matter what time I go to bed. And bed on the weekends could be from 11pm - 2 am....Late nights seem to be the rare times that I have to myself!! Thanks for the ideas! Keep 'em coming!

aweightymatter

Wow! So many people are just like me in the a.m.! I have to admit I'm surprised!! I work out in the evenings because that's when I have time. But if I could get up earlier I would work out in the morning before getting my girls up for school. I work at the school part time, from 9-2, then have lunch when I get home and by then I'm ready for a nap! Terrible I know....I try not to give in, but some days I just feel I have to. So either I nap or I do house work. Then in the evenings its workout, supper, homework with girls, and finally relax time with hubby in front of the boob tube! And after all that, I'm usually not ready for bed until between 10 and 11. And thanks for the info on the 3 hour sleep cycle; only problem is I usually have a problem falling asleep when I get to bed, so I may toss and turn for a while...so I don't know that I could predict my cycles...but I'll give it a try! It always seems that on the weekends when I don't have to get up with the alarm, I always want to wake around 9 - 9:30, no matter what time I go to bed. And bed on the weekends could be from 11pm - 2 am....Late nights seem to be the rare times that I have to myself!! Thanks for the ideas! Keep 'em coming!

I say enjoy the nap if you have time while nobody else is around! Don't feel guilty. Better to be a little better rested for the quality time with your family.

Seriously, I don't know why there is such a stigma about adults taking naps. haha.

darylinny

I totally understand. I have three kids and full time job, so I have to exercise in the mornings or it doesn't happen. For me, I have a standing appointment with my trainer at 5 a.m. three days a week. I am a zombie walking into it (set alarm for 4:30, jump up, get ready, grab water, go) but by the time I do forty minutes with her I am ok and I knock out 45 minutes or so of cardio when do stretching.

Its difficult. It really is. But if you get over that hump of the first half hour of being up you'll be ok. Just make sure you are getting enough sleep overall.

I only have one kid but I have a killer commute that does NOT allow for me to work out in the morning (we are out the door by 6:45am to start the day), which is good because I am the extreme opposite of a morning person!!!

Maybe AM workouts are just not for you. I have a standing appointment with my personal trainer as well, it's just that we meet at 7pm. I like working out in the evenings, plus the evening crowd I work out with are super supportive and have simliar demands. After my evening work out a shower, recovery meal and bed ensures I sleep like a baby!!

Sweet_Potato

Oh, also, I agree with setting your alarm across the room or something similar -- I have an alarm clock called "Clocky" that actually rolls off the night stand once you hit snooze! haha!

I was just thinking about getting a Clocky yesterday. I'm actually pretty alert in the morning, even without coffee, but I have such a hard time getting out of bed. Even if I have to get up to hit the snooze button I end up doing this for at least an hour. I know it has a lot of do with my joints being incredibly stiff and sore first thing in the morning (anyone else have this problem?), so maybe chasing a crazy alarm clock around the bedroom would help.