How did you become a morning person?

JDMPWR
JDMPWR Posts: 1,863 Member
in Chit-Chat
I have been suffering from this dilemma forever, working for myself previously I would wake up at 8-9 and get to work at 10 but work till 8-10pm, those days are now long gone.

I am a night owl by nature but my job ready does require me to be up at like 5-7am but I fight every morning to get out of bed. I normally don't fall asleep till between 12-2am. I have started to implement the no laptop, Ipad or Iphone as much as possible. When I do get to bed early I love to wake up early but I just don't feel well rested at 4-6hours and most of the time endure a headache or a migraine with any less sleep then that.

I also don't get done with my work day till at least 5-6 and don't make it to the gym till at earliest 5-6pm, the norm is between 7-9pm.

What have been some of the practices you have applied to break this habit? Advice would be greatly appreciated.
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Replies

  • elenathegreat
    elenathegreat Posts: 3,988 Member
    I read somewhere that being in very bright light(eg. sunlight when you get up can help a lot.)
  • Jade17694
    Jade17694 Posts: 584 Member
    I'm not sure, when i started exercising daily i just couldn't stay in bed once i was awake - i was up at 9 on the weekend and today and yesterday even though its my easter break. I just can't stay in bed. I'm weird though.
  • IamRoJ
    IamRoJ Posts: 530 Member
    For me, the morning workout helps. Feels good to get it out of the way, and I'm too braindead at the early hours to make excuses to not run or exercise. Now that I'm working out in the evenings, I too, am finding it hard to wake up early. And earlier bed time (of course) and putting phone/ipad/laptop in airplane mode has helped my sleep be sounder. I've a theory that the vibration buzzes trigger something in my subconcious and keep me from getting all the way to sleep. LOL
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  • CoryIda
    CoryIda Posts: 7,870 Member
    I have never been a morning person, but I can function as one.

    I get up a little after 6 just about every morning, I gave up coffee recently, and I also usually work out at night (normally after my son goes to bed, which isn't until 8:30, so it isn't unusual for me to get home from the gym at 10).

    Drinking plenty of water helps me ward off headaches, as does making sure I eat regularly to keep my blood sugar up, and making an effort to get to bed a bit earlier (11 or so), even if it takes me a while to fall asleep, has really helped me get better quality rest so I am not so tired.
  • skinnywithin
    skinnywithin Posts: 1,392 Member
    I dont know...I just woke up that way !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! funny thing is , I have been doing it ever since !
  • PrincessLou71186
    PrincessLou71186 Posts: 741 Member
    If I have to be up then I am up and alert straight away, if, however, I am woken up and don't have to be up, the person doing the waking better run fast.
  • Alice_Liddell
    Alice_Liddell Posts: 78
    I became a morning person? :laugh:

    I plan on getting up at 7 from now on to make breakfast for my husband before he leaves for work (and for myself, since I'll be awake), but let's see how long that lasts (probably three days, tops).
  • MdmAcolyte
    MdmAcolyte Posts: 382 Member
    I am not a morning person by any stretch of the imagination... but I can be if I go to bed early (10/1030). You need to download and unplug when you get home. I dont know what your family responsibilities are, but take care of those, then take a hot bath to relax, and then go lay down with a good book or something and go to bed. That's what I have to do.

    P.S. I love your profile pic ~ we just went to the reason rally the weekend before last!
  • Eleisabelle
    Eleisabelle Posts: 365
    I could be wrong, but I don't think it's that easy to change your body's natural tendency. However, you can find an equilibrium.

    Like a few others here, I can get myself going in the morning if I get up and immediately get active--do yoga, go for a run, etc. Then I feel better.

    However, no matter what I've done, my body still resists being awake in the morning, and revels in being up late at night. I have to put in effort to be awake and productive in the morning. My best time of day is between about 3 pm and midnight, still.

    I wish the world made it easier to work with our circadian rhythms better...
  • bigdawg025
    bigdawg025 Posts: 774 Member
    I never have... I have to get up between 5 and 5:30 for work... and I am regularly falling asleep on my hour drive to work every single day. I hate mornings. It doesn't matter when I get to bed, either.
  • TylerJ76
    TylerJ76 Posts: 4,375 Member
    4am everyday for me.
    I have ALWAYS been a morning person though. I can get a lot done in the morning.
  • LinzCurlyQ
    LinzCurlyQ Posts: 94 Member
    I don't hate mornings. I just hate getting out of the bed, but once I'm up I'm good to go. The bed is just so nice and warm at 5:15 :yawn:
  • SofaKingRad
    SofaKingRad Posts: 1,592 Member
    Have a kid. You will be up and out of bed early every single morning.
  • Kityngirl
    Kityngirl Posts: 14,304 Member
    I will never be a morning person, but I can get up at 6am and be functional. I can't exercise in the morning though, no matter how many times I have tried. I get up with exactly enough time to get showered, pack my lunch, and get to work on time. I definitely have to force myself to go to bed by 11pm though.
  • Carl01
    Carl01 Posts: 9,307 Member
    I had to start going to the barn to milk cows before school when I was 13 (father was ill) and every job since then has required getting up early so it is ingrained in my system now.
  • cici1028
    cici1028 Posts: 799 Member
    I have successfully transitioned from night-owl to early bird. I used to sleep 8 - 9 hours a night and now I automatically wake up after six, no matter what.

    The first thing is a morning exercise routine. It makes it a lot easier to have a reason to get out of bed. So I go to bed at 11:00 every night and wake up at 5:00 am every morning. (I tried going to bed earlier but just woke up earlier instead.)

    Natural light is helpful too. But honestly, what made me transition was moving my workouts to first thing in the morning. You feel so fantastic after that it is easier to transition.
  • taldie01
    taldie01 Posts: 378
    I remember in my Pscy studies that there are real biological differences between day and night people, mabe do some research about it. We may just be genetically screwed. I am not a morning person either.
  • rachelhohenbrink
    rachelhohenbrink Posts: 179 Member
    Working out late in the evening to keep you from being able to sleep at night. Getting up early and working out first thing would be your best bet. It will help you to be tired at night because you have gotten up early and spent day at work. Try coming up with a routine at night to help you sleep like taking a hot bath.
  • amysmartin
    amysmartin Posts: 84 Member
    have a baby... or repitition of the alarm going off at 5am every morning regardless if I want to get up or not... eventually you just get used to it. Year ago I signed up for a boot camp that went from 5:30-6:30am Mon-Fri, I cried at the thought of waking up so early, but in the end just got used to it and it was ok.
  • CrazyDaisysMommy
    CrazyDaisysMommy Posts: 472
    Get a puppy. Puppies have no respect for our sleep patterns...or our carpets. Since adopting my two pups, I have been getting up between 5am-6am every day.
  • galegetsthin
    galegetsthin Posts: 1,340 Member
    Never did. Never will.
  • hpsnickers1
    hpsnickers1 Posts: 2,783 Member
    When I stopped eating grains and flour all daytime sleepiness disappeared. I don't drag myself out of bed anymore. When I sit up I am wide awake.

    This is a first for me and I'm 41 years old.

    Plus I don't eat a lot during the day. When you're eating every few hours your body is spending the entire day digesting food. That will wear it down. My biggest meal is at night. If I eat a lot through out the day I have a harder time getting up the next morning. I don't know why.

    You can also look into how good your sleep is. Quality of sleep is very important.

    I'm still a night owl. I get between 6-7 hours a night and I feel great.
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
    I had kids. There's nothing like a hungry baby to get you out of bed.
  • Kristy1214
    Kristy1214 Posts: 198
    Like Lady Gaga says "I was born this way"

    I have to giggle about the people who say have a baby, just cause you are up early for whatever reason, doesn't make you a morning person ;]
  • agentscully514
    agentscully514 Posts: 616 Member
    Never have, never will. Night owl for life.
  • strandedj
    strandedj Posts: 128
    I' ve always been a morning person, but then I'm sort of a nightowl as well. Makes for little sleep! I think its genetic!
  • Il_DaniD_lI
    Il_DaniD_lI Posts: 1,593 Member
    I was born a morning person. I couldn't imagine sleeping past 8 am.
  • mgero212
    mgero212 Posts: 96
    It takes time for your body to adjust to a new sleeping pattern and it will take time for you to get use to waking up early. I was never a morning person and made myself one over the summer when I started my job after graduating from college. I get up at 5am each morning to go to the gym before work so I don't have to worry about doing it afterwards. All I want to do after work is go home and relax. Also when your alarm goes off early in the morning turn on a light thats bright on a nightstand right away. I also set a timer on my tv to turn on at 5 am so it wakes me up more. I am still struggling some mornings but these methods have worked for me.
  • supermom2002
    supermom2002 Posts: 180 Member
    I'm not and never will be a morning person. Unless its for "fun" things...and then can go back to sleep.

    I've tried time and time again to drag my *kitten* out of bed at 6am to workout early--I just can't do it. I used to go to work at 5am and really don't know how i did it. Last year i was commuting an hour to work and many times i'd find myself falling asleep during the drive.

    The best thing is to just shut off the world. Turn off the phone-the laptop-the ipad. And go to bed.

    A guy i dated downloaded a sleep app for his ipad--i thought he was nuts. but it worked for him. just white noise type stuff that helped him sleep--as he was at work for 6am.

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