How to Become a Morning Person
Pages in this Story:
- From Snooze-Button Addict to Morning Person
- Sizing Up My Zzz's
- Resetting My Internal Clock
- Creating a Sleep Sanctuary
- Bypassing the Snooze Button
From Snooze-Button Addict to Morning Person
I have always wanted to be one of those women who jump out of bed and into a pair of running shoes at 7 a.m. What an amazing feeling: to stroll into work after a three-mile jog, a Spinning class, or a series of sun salutations. I wouldn't know.
"Um, really?" my husband asks on Monday night when I tell him I'm going to the gym the next morning at seven. Why the skepticism? He shoots me a knowing look.
Tuesday
7:00 a.m. Alarm blares. Ugh, I should get up.
SNOOZE
7:15 a.m. My gym clothes are right there! I laid them out on my chair last night!
SNOOZE
7:30 a.m. I should at least get up and do a workout DVD.
SNOOZE
7:45 a.m. Too late to work out; might as well cozy up and sleep some more.
SNOOZE
8:00 a.m. Now I have to get up or else I'll be late.
Clearly my morning sluggishness is cramping my workout style. But can I change my night-owl ways? Because I've snoozed through the better part of three decades, I'm pretty sure I'm just inherently lazy. But I'm determined to try, so I call in the troops: the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. After I tell them about my mission to get more out of my mornings, they set me up with my very own sleep guru, Colette Haward, MD, a psychiatrist in New York City. At our first meeting, my future as an early riser looks bright. "There's a genetic component to your circadian clock. But for many people, behavioral changes make a big difference," Dr. Haward says. She tells me that it typically takes a few weeks to get on a better sleep schedule. I'm yawning already.
What do you think of this story? Leave a Comment.
I LOVE THIS ARTICLE!.. I thought I was the only lazy, snooze freak in the world. I definetley going to try it because I am tired of feeling tired. change is not easy and if your not 100% sure you want to change, you will fail.
1/13/2012 05:18:13 PM Report AbuseI agree with a lot of other comments - I am already at work at 7! Please can there be some suggestions for people who already get up early. It is not viable for most people to get up at 4.30am just to exercise!
11/26/2011 01:44:58 PM Report Abusethe intent of this article was good, but obviously as we can see from all the comments here, this isnt reality. im @ work by 6am and get up at 5am. i go to school and work full-time so getting up before 5am is not going to happen. as one posted mentioned, this article should be written by someone who has more of a demanding schedule
11/26/2011 07:51:56 AM Report AbuseGreat suggestion, but I get up at 5AM and I really don't want to get up before that to exercise! By 5:00 when I get out of work, I'm too tired to do much of anything. Perhaps a little exercise during the day (10 minutes here and there) is all that is possible.
11/4/2011 09:47:19 AM Report AbuseWow! I just thought I was lazy... My mother has always been a really early riser and she claims the quiet mornings are the best time to relax and reflect. I'm gonna give this a try and see if my mother is right. :)
1/14/2011 12:00:43 PM Report Abuse