"21 Days" They Say...

I don't know about you, but waking up in the morning seems to be close to impossible for me. Rolling over to the cool spot in my bed and then cuddling my fluffy body pillow in a new position just feels...so...darn...good! I can fall right back to sleep as if I had just laid my head down, every time. My biggest problem is that I'm a chronic snoozer. I'll have 17 alarms set, hours ahead of the time I actually need be awake because I know I'll just sleep right through them.


Lord be with the man I marry because he will need nerves of steel.

Even though I am more than aware that I need to get up, I still come up with 8 new excuses as to why I should tap that snooze button just one more time and try to squeeze in a few extra minutes of "sleep". An hour later, I'm even more exhausted than I was when I first woke up.

Mornings for me feel like a constant race to shower, dress, and not think twice about eating breakfast before bursting out the door! Oh, and my make-up is generally done in the car on the way to work that I'm generally 2 minutes late for, mind you. Let's not even talk about the days it snows. Utter. Chaos. The saying "You'll be late to your own funeral", was literally created for me.

Phew, if you didn't have anxiety before reading that, you probably do now! I know I'm not the only one that would love to be able to get up more easily in the mornings. So I thought I'd share some of the information I have gathered with you all, in case this applies to you as well!

Two words on how to become a morning person: 21 days.


There's lots of research out there claiming that it only takes 21 days to make or break a habit. That's only 3 weeks. Think about it, our parents used to say "it seems like I just graduated high school yesterday!" all the time. As I get older, I realize that couldn't be more true. I mean, it's already almost been a decade for me...like...WHAT?! Keeping that in mind, how hard could it be to do something for 21 then? A few weeks is basically nothin', right? Well, we all know that may not be the case for everything. Especially when it comes to, say, weight loss or smoking. Those habits can be a bit more difficult to change, but 21 days is a start regardless! Just keep repeating it, 21 more days and then 21 more days and before you know it, a year will have passed and look at that! Maybe you broke your habit and you didn't even notice!


Now, I know, no one likes change. So it's better to start small, you can maintain your motivation better that way. Try making fewer small changes in your every day life instead of many big ones.


In terms of trying to become a morning person in 21 days, start by changing your sleeping habits first.


Overall you want to GET MORE SLEEP. Sleeping longer than 6 hours at night will help you to become more optimistic and proactive in your everyday life. You'll be less stressed and start to become healthier all in all. When you get less than the recommended amount of sleep at night, it can cause you to gain weight because you will eat more throughout the day in hopes to up your energy levels, your blood pressure will go up and your reaction time will be slowed. Over time, these things can cause negative long term effects on your body.


There's a few things that we should all start off doing to get a better nights sleep:

1.  Turn it off. If you're anything like me, I will lay in bed getting lost on Instagram or reading new articles on Facebook. You don't even realize that it's been an hour and now you're getting to sleep even later and not to mention the strain it's placing on your eyes. Try to put all electronics away at least 45-60 minutes before you go to bed. That includes phones, tablets, laptops, and anything work related. This allows your brain and eyes some time to unwind and relax. Take that time to meditate and let go of everything that has happened that day or think about what you need to do tomorrow. You'd be surprised just how quickly you'll drift off to sleep!
2.  Get Comfy. A lot of times the position you sleep in will greatly affect the quality of sleep you get. If you suffer from indigestion or acid reflux, as many of us do, it is said that sleeping on your side can help alleviate those symptoms at night. Sleeping on your back can help with back pain and sleeping on your stomach can help with snoring. Although, sleeping on your stomach can sometimes cause neck and back pain. 
3. Watch what you eat. Dessert and late night snacks are both delicious and satisfying, yes. However, they might be adding unwarranted caffeine into your system before bed, making it difficult to fall asleep! Chocolate has sneaky caffeine and sugars that can spike your blood sugar giving you a boost of energy before bed. Spicy foods can cause heartburn and indigestion issues. Alcohol inhibits your body from falling into a deep sleep and cause multiple trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night. So it's best to try to stay away from those things at least 2 hours before bed to allow your body some time to digest these things peacefully. Doing so may also help with weight loss as well, so that's just an added benefit on top of better sleep. #winning!
4. Read about it. Grab a book as you get into bed. Reading a physical book has so many hidden benefits that we often forget about because we get so caught up in the convenience of technology. Aside from expanding your vocabulary, imagination, memory, knowledge, and your writing skills, it can also act as a sleep aid. Reading causes your eyes to get tired thus allowing you to drift off to sleep naturally and unencumbered. Reading a novel also distracts you from your thoughts and stresses by placing you into a new realm of reality within the book. Or, maybe you feel inspired at the end of the day and would rather write those thoughts and feelings down in a journal. Writing can help to organize your thoughts and help you to mentally vent your feelings and get things off your chest that you otherwise may not want to say to someone else.
5. Hop in the shower. Obviously it's good to take a shower before bed regardless, but if you find it hard to fall asleep at night, taking a warm shower can help! The drastic change in temperature from the hot shower to your cool bedroom can cause you to feel sleepy and more tranquil. (Bonus tip: Put on lotion before stepping out of the steamy bathroom to avoid drying out your skin!)
6. Turn on the tunes. Try turning on some sort of noise or sounds or music to fall asleep to. There are many free apps out there that play white noise and ambient sounds to help you fall asleep. These sounds help tune out stray sounds that can distract the mind when trying to fall asleep. There are various binaural beats as well that channel certain brain waves that will put you into a meditative state and induce deep sleep. Once you get used to the sounds, they're actually kind of pleasant to fall asleep to.
7. Sleep on it. Make sure you have a good mattress. If you are having body pains at night or when you wake in the morning, your mattress is most likely the culprit. We spend around 2,500 hours a year sleeping, that can average to about 26 years asleep. Don't you think you owe it to yourself to have a mattress that is supportive and comfortable, if you're going to spend 26 years of your life on one?
   

If you didn't notice, all of those tips come hand-in-hand. If you try to do just one of those things, the others will just fall into place naturally. Some other changes you can make involve how you actually get up in the morning.


So how do you make sure you wake up on the right side of the bed every morning? Try these things:

• Create a routine. Think about your shower routine, you probably get in and wash everything in a certain order, just about every time, right? You don't even think about it anymore because it has become so mechanical. Going to bed should become mechanical to where it just happens naturally without thinking about it. So, create a bedtime routine, i.e. wash your face, brush your teeth, moisturize, get your outfit ready for the next day (also saving you time in the a.m.), then get in bed. Your body gets used to the order of operations and you won't have to try to force yourself to go to sleep anymore.
• Consistency is key. Try to get up every day at the same time, and yes that includes weekend days as well! It's okay to get a few extra hours of sleep on the weekends but while you are in the process of trying to change your sleep habits, this plays a major role as to if you are going to be able to stay consistent during the week or not. When you stay out till 3:00am and sleep till 11:00am on the weekends you are breaking all the progress you made during the past week. Weekends are for rest and relaxation so try to go to bed at a decent time and get up when you normally would during the week. You can get more accomplished that way and you then you are able to use the rest of the day to go out with your friends...or just lay around and be lazy! The day is yours.
• Take it slow and steady. Waking up early sucks! But, being rushed and late everyday sucks even more. Try to set your alarm clock to wake you up earlier, little by little. Try it in 15 minute increments every few days to allow your body time to adjust appropriately. Before you know it, you'll have given yourself an extra hour in the morning to get ready!
• Don't scare yourself awake. Get an alarm the has soothing or fun sounds that gradually get louder. When you wake up to something peaceful instead of an alarm or obnoxious beeps it keeps you in a good mood. Being scared into waking up can make you defensive and aggressive for the rest of the day.
• Get moving! This one seems like more of a challenge to me, but try to get up and moving as soon as you wake up. Like the saying "jump out of bed" you can literally do some jumping jacks or just shake off the sleep from head to toe. This will raise your heartbeat and get your blood moving which helps to wake you up and keep you awake.
• Commit. Make a promise to a friend or significant other the you will send them a text every day or Snapchat them a picture of your empty bed by a certain time. This makes you accountable for keeping a commitment, plus messages have timestamps that don't lie! Don't disappoint your friends!
• NO MORE SNOOZING! As I mentioned, the snooze button and I are BFF's but it is SO BAD to do. Not only does it disrupt your sleep cycle, but it affects your cognition during the day and makes you feel more tired because you got a less restful sleep overall.

Working out is a very important part of my day, especially as I get older. I try to go every day after work, mainly because, well, as of right now there's no chance that I'm going to make it to the gym before work with the 20 minutes I give myself to get ready anyway. So this is my new goal once I reestablish myself as a morning person. Get to the gym in the morning.


It's said that morning workouts are better for your overall health anyway and a little bit goes a long way. So start your engines early and try to get a little exercise in before you start the rest of your day. Research states that you tend to burn more fat and build more muscle if you workout before you have breakfast, think "fasted cardio" or "intermittent fasting".


If you accomplish any or all of these tips, reward yourself!

• Treat yourself to a new radio or clock and wake up to some nice music as I mentioned in #6.
• Get outside! Granted it's not freezing, raining or blistering temps, take a quick jog around the block. Vitamin D helps raise your overall quality of life, exercise boosts your mood and you will feel accomplished for just getting out there and doing it!
• Channel your inner Zen. Pick a time and a place to meditate every day and just focus on your breath letting go of all of your stresses.

Making changes in your life takes time and consistency, I hope these tips were motivational and informative! Try these things with me over the course of the next 21 days to see if it improves your mornings as well as your overall quality of life! Before you know it, maybe we will all be waking up with the sun and feel great doing it!


THANKS FOR READING!!