How to become an early riser

Yogis, scientists and morning people alike all tout the benefits of being an early riser. It’s been linked to professional success, time management and cheap deals on parking – essentially, having your life together. But for most of us, when that 5am alarm is ringing, all enthusiasm for sunrise stretches and long showers evaporates when challenged by the prospect of a few more minutes’ sleep. Aside from generic advice about putting your alarm out of reach from your bed (which doesn’t even work, by the way), there are a few practical ways to start getting up earlier.

Do it in bits

When starting new habits, it’s attractive to set a brand-new alarm for a brand-new, early-rising you. But in reality it’s adjusting your wakeup time incrementally, by five to 15-minute segments, that’s both easier to do and to maintain. Not only are incremental shifts less abrupt when it comes time to get up, but getting into a routine of waking slightly earlier makes the transition smoother and easier. After even a week of setting your alarm 10 minutes earlier, you’ll be able to wake up over an hour earlier than you did before – without really feeling the difference.

Get enough sleep the night before

It seems obvious that getting to bed six to eight hours from when you want to get up will make it all the easier to do so. Whatever your current sleep schedule is, your body is attuned to natural sleep cycles, and using them to your advantage will make it all the more easier to wake up when you’re aiming to. But it’s more than counting backwards from when you want to wake up – make sure you factor in things like not drinking coffee four hours before bed, and getting off screens at least an hour before you bunker down.

Get up and move

Exercise is probably the last thing you want to do after waking up, but it’s hugely beneficial. I’m not suggesting anything like a morning run, or even a clichéd bout of sunrise yoga. Instead, a few simple stretches (think back to warming up for PE classes) of the arms, legs, neck and back get the blood flowing and get you in the mood to be… well, awake. You might even want to go the extra mile and jump – literally jump – straight out of bed when you wake up: it’s apparently a great way to start the day, or so I’ve heard.

Eat a good breakfast

It’s the most important meal of the day – and also signals to your body that you’re no longer asleep and have joined the land of the living. Eating a decent breakfast is not only a way to keep you going throughout the day, but it also gets you up and moving earlier. Plus, it’s a great incentive to actually wake up when you know there’s going to be a good breakfast at the end of it. Take it with a glass of cold water for an extra boost to start the day.

When all else fails, go back to sleep

Waking up early isn’t for everyone. As many benefits as there are to morning jogs and lengthy showers, when they’re balanced by insufficient sleep and dreaded alarms, the picture isn’t as pretty. If you can afford a few less minutes for your morning routine, it’s a lot more important to feel rested and refreshed than it is to get up at the crack of dawn. Maybe it’s in your best interests to swap to the late shift, re-enrol into a later class or just take a nice sleep-in – and there’s nothing wrong with that!

Chelsea Paisley

Chelsea is studying International Studies at the University of Sydney, but has a lot more contact hours with Netflix.

Image: Knuton, Flickr Creative Commons license