Waking up in the morning during winter is a lot easier with a routine in place.
When it comes to energy levels, fitness, and general attitudes towards life, summer and winter are very different. During the summer you shoot out of bed in the morning, ready to tackle your day surrounded by beautiful weather and beautiful people. During the winter, the cold makes you want to stay in bed all day, covered in blankets, and hibernate until the leaves grow back, and your summer body is nothing but a distant memory.
Getting up in the morning is difficult no matter how you swing it, but there are ways to make it easier. The best way is to adopt a routine that you stick to every day. Getting out of bed is something we all have to do every morning, but turning it into a habit makes it much easier, especially during frigid weather.
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Get enough sleep. This one may seem obvious, but the best way to get up in the morning is to get enough sleep. Between 6-8 hours works for most people. Find what works for you, and start your morning routine the night before by getting to bed on time.
Don’t drink 2 hours before bed. While a nightcap may seem like a good idea sometimes, it will definitely make you feel sluggish in the morning. Cut out any alcohol 2 hours before bed to wake up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.
Keep your alarm out of reach, preferably near a window. If you have to get up, you’re less likely to hit the snooze button, which doesn’t ever actually make you feel any more rested. Keeping the alarm by the window will also encourage you to open the blinds.
Keep a full glass of water by the bed, and drink it as soon as you wake up. It will get your metabolism moving, and make it harder to fall back asleep.
Do not check your phone. Do I even need to explain why this is a huge time waster? Wait until after you have had your coffee to see what happened in the world while you slept.
Open the blinds immediately. Letting light in is the easiest way to remind our brains it is time to get up. Open the blinds ASAP.
Drink a cup of coffee. After getting out of bed, drinking a cup of coffee or tea first thing will help set your brain up to accomplish the day’s tasks.
Eat breakfast, even if it’s small. As part of your daily routine, eating some kind of breakfast is super important. Not only will it get your metabolism going, but eating at the same time daily will help keep all your rhythms in order, especially regarding sleeping and waking up.
It takes 33 days to create a habit, so if you follow these steps every single morning, at roughly the same time, eventually it will feel like second nature to you. That may be annoying when you find yourself awake early on a weekend, but on those two days every week, feel free to hit the snooze button.