Okay so we know that waking up and doing things in the morning is the
best way to achieve our goals in life. We can exercise, study, work,
meditate, etc. much better than other times in the day. However,
most of us feel pretty crap in the morning.
So what can we do about it? How can we wake up ready for work?
Ways to wake up feeling fresh in the morning
Here are some things you can do in the short term and the long term
so that you will wake up fresh and energetic in the morning. I’ve
divided them up into three sections; (1) the night before and (2) during
the night and (3) the morning.
The Night Before
1. Avoid coffee, red wine and chocolate the night before
To wake up fresh you need to get a good sleep and one of the best ways
to ruin a good sleep is to upset your gut. You really need to keep it
happy during the night.
Coffee, red wine and chocolate have been scientifically shown to
disturb your sleep more than any other food. They upset your intestines
in such a way that you will wake up constantly or have a very light
sleep that doesn’t re charge you at all. Try not to have these things
after lunch time.
2. Go to bed happy with your partner
One of the best ways to get a terrible sleep is to go to bed before you
solve a problem with your partner. In my relationship I never let the
sun set on an argument, even if I have to compromise a little bit on my
own ego.
Before you go to bed make sure your partner is happy (as much as you
can) and make sure that you are happy with them. It is also one of the
best things you can do for your relationship, let alone your sleep.
3. Meditate, pray and calm down before going to bed
Every night before I go to bed I do about 30 minutes to an hour of
meditation. This is amazing as it allows you to throw out all the days
worries and forget about the worries of tomorrow. The future cannot be
changed while you are asleep and the past is gone so there is no point
losing sleep over it! Let it go.
Meditate or pray or do whatever you do. Simply sitting there and
watching your breath is a great way to prepare yourself for a nice deep
sleep. Check out
this post if you want to learn to do a quick little
stress relieving meditation.
4. Don’t eat dinner right before bed
A lot of people run home after work, cook up some dinner and then eat it
and go to bed. This is a bad idea. The process of digestion takes a
while and you do not want to be laying down right after you ate a big
meal. Try and leave a few hours in between your bedtime and your dinner
and see how you feel the next day.
5. Organize your room according to Feng Shui principles
I know a lot of you probably think that Feng Shui is a load of bull but
just give me a second to convince you that it actually has some “western
logic” behind it.
For those of you who don’t know Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese art
of setting up your home in a way that balances the energies and vibes by
putting furniture in certain “hot spots”.
The bedroom is particularly important and I have found that since I
arranged my room according to Feng Shui principles I have had a much
more “rested” sleep. In particular the placement of your bed is
important. Feng Shui tells us that you should sleep where you can see
the door but not be in he direct path of the door opening. This helps us
sleep with a sense of security. I can see the practical reason for
this. You can get some more bedroom Feng Shui tips
here.
6. Go to the toilet
Even if you do not need to go to the toilet before bed you should still
have a go and squeeze out whatever you can. The reason for this is that
the kidneys will continue to work during the night and by the morning
your bladder will be nice and full. If your bladder fills up early you
might feel the need to go during the night and this cuts out valuable
time from your sleep.
You might think that sleeping is about the total time spent asleep
but this is incorrect. It is important to stay asleep without breaking
it because it takes some hours to get into the “zone” where you are
truly at rest. A toilet break interrupts this zone.
During the Night
7. Not too hot, not too cold
Another sleep related tip: your sleep is greatly affected by the how hot
or cold you are during the night. It is important to get a good balance
as this keep your energies calm and stops them from spiking.
Try and find a balance between clothes and bed covers. For example, I
like to sleep without any clothes but with a heavy blanket. This keeps
my temperature pretty consistent.
8. Keep the window open
One of the best things you can do for your health in general and your
sleep in specific is to keep your window slightly open during the night.
This has two benefits.
photo credit: volvidejapon
Firstly, the gap in the window will allow poisonous carbon dioxide to
float away. The reason the human body breathes out is because carbon
dioxide is poisonous. And during the night you take a heck of a lot of
breaths and your room fills up with this gas. Let it out the window.
The second reason is that you need to allow new oxygen to float in.
This might also help you regulate the temperature of the room.
9. Keep your sleep consistent
People think that you MUST have eight hours sleep to get enough.
Not true.
It is more important to go to bed at the same time and wake up at the
same time everyday. Not everyone needs eight hours. In fact, if I get
eight hours sleep I usually feel tired and groggy for the entire day.
Six to seven hours is about right for me.
Start by setting your bedtime at the same time each night. Forget
what is on the television and just go to bed at say 11pm each night.
After a while start setting your alarm for the same time each day; even
on weekends. If you don’t start waking up fresher and happier each
morning I will write you a personal apology.
10. Cut out noise, it’s actually killing you!
I recently read in
New Scientist Magazine
that your life is actually being shortened by noise during the night.
Yep, that’s right… that screaming police car or roaring traffic is
actually killing you! The magazine said that the noise has an effect on
your heart and waking up many times during the night puts your body
under a lot of stress.
Try and keep your room quiet by wearing some earplugs. You can get
earplugs that only cancel out certain sounds so that you can still hear
your alarm or a baby monitor on your bedside table.
The Morning
11. Drink a glass of water
A cool glass of water on an empty stomach actually has a lot of health
benefits as well as serving to wake you up. The water will kick start
your metabolism and as such you will wake up faster and feel more alert.
12. Exercise
When you are groggy in the morning and nice run in the fresh air can
wake you up fast. However, the interesting thing is that when you
exercise in the morning you will actually have more energy the NEXT day.
The more you exercise the more energy you will have as you become
fitter and healthier.
If you need some tips to get up and exercise early check out this post on
early morning exercise hacks.
13. Don’t drink coffee… everyday
Science is now showing that our body becomes accustomed to the caffeine
in our coffee and we have less of a reaction to it. This means that your
daily cup of coffee is waking you up less and less every day that you
drink it.
A better idea is to save the morning coffee for when you are really
tired and need a little bit of help. Perhaps if you had to stay out late
or get up extra early and you have disturbed your regular sleeping
habit. This is the time to have a cup of coffee.
14. Breathe deeply
The first thing you should do in the morning is take some deep breaths
into your stomach and concentrate on waking up. Imagine breathing in a
bright white light that makes your body feel happy and light.
15. Have something to be excited about
If you get up and go to a job you hate to work with a boss that drives
you crazy you are not going to really enjoy waking up. However, if you
have something you enjoy to go to you will be more likely to wake up
happy knowing you have a bit of joy coming your way.
If you can’t leave your terrible boss then you should make time in
the morning to do some sport or activity that makes you happy. Start
your day with something happy and fun as opposed to starting it with
work.
16. Get up straight away
When I was in the Himalayas a buddhist master told me that one of the
best things you can do to wake up early and feel alert and fresh is to
get up straight away. As soon as your alarm goes off you should get up
without snoozing it over and over again.
He said to me half jokingly: “You have to get up before your self cherishing does”.
17. Be grateful for not dying
The Buddha said that every time you go to bed you should consider that
you won’t wake up. That way, when you wake up you will be especially
grateful for the day you have ahead of you. Instead of seeing the day as
a burden that you have to “get through” you will see it as an
opportunity to do something meaningful and beneficial.
Why? Because you could die tonight.
When applied correctly this realization will bring you tremendous energy.
Conclusion on waking up freshly
Each of these tips works. I have tried it on myself and my friends.
And the great thing is that the more of these tips you apply the fresher
you will feel when you wake up. Try them yourself.
Do you have any other to add? I’d love to hear them!