Early to Bed, Early to Rise Makes…What Was That Again?

Early to Bed Early to Rise Makes . . . What Was That Again?

**This guest post was written and provided by our good friend Hapari International—a leading retailer of swimwear.**

If you’re like me, then the time of day you hate the most is the moment your alarm clock goes off. We night owls like to press the snooze button a few times before rolling, bleary-eyed, out of bed just in time to rush around frantically in an attempt to get ourselves (and our kids) out the door on time.

Let’s face it, waking up early is a nice idea, but some of us have a life that requires staying awake past 10 p.m. If you, like me, fall into this category, then here are a few tips to maximize on your precious morning sleep while at the same time de-stressing your routine.

1. Do everything that can be done at night.

You’ve probably heard this tip before, and may have even tried it a time or two before allowing yourself to fall back into bad habits. Don’t let yourself do this. Night owls can save a ton of time in the morning, when they are still half asleep and less productive, by doing things at night when they are wide awake. Make lunches, set out clothes, clean the house, take a shower. Look at your morning routine and decide what you absolutely have to do in a.m. (brushing teeth, for example), and then do everything else at night.

2. Drink a glass of water upon arising.

You’ve been asleep for a good 6-10 hours, and your body is dehydrated. Wake yourself up, not with a shot of caffeine (you can do that with breakfast if that’s your thing), but with a cool glass of water. This will refresh your body and your brain.

3. Get five to ten minutes of exercise.

Night owls may not be up for a full-on workout that early in the day (you should do one later, though), but a quick jog around the neighborhood or a quick dip in the pool can do wonders to awaken the body and enliven the mind.

4. Make breakfast a simple affair.

You can cook a nice, big, hot breakfast on Saturday, if you want, but on weekdays, keep breakfast fast. Just because it’s quick doesn’t mean that it needs to be unhealthy, however. Grab some light yogurt, a piece of fruit, or some whole-grain cereal for a filling, low-calorie meal on the go.

5. Don’t look at your email. No, not even on your smartphone.

I know you’ve all experienced it—you’re just going to respond really fast to Pam’s latest status change, when, BAM! You just spent twenty minutes checking out funny feline photos. Email and social networking are some of the biggest morning time wasters. There will be plenty of time to read and respond to correspondence when you’re fully awake. Don’t let this happen to you. Don’t even power on any of your devices until later in the day.

With these simple tips, mornings should become a lot easier and a little less hectic. I can’t promise that you will love getting out of bed, but at least you’ll leave the house fed, exercised, and clear-headed enough to take on the rest of the day.