6 steps to supercharge your sleep and wake up refreshed

We have all been there, alarm clock blaring, phone buzzing, family or partner constantly nagging, cat/dog jumping on you, ok maybe that last one was an exaggeration, all this just to get you up and out of bed. Sound familiar? For most of us this is the start of our daily routines.

Waking up early in the morning is hard enough on the best of days, so it doesn’t help that the reason most of us have to drag ourselves out of our slumber is to make that dreaded daily commute to a job we have no feelings for and in many cases a job we hate, and what makes it harder is when you are living in a country like the UK when most days are as miserable as your face when you are forced to get out of bed! Many of us already know that good sleep and a good start to the day translates into productivity, but why are we so reluctant to wake up?

Well what if you were told there is an easier way? A way where you would be able to jump out of bed with a smile on your face and an abundance of energy, instead of hitting the snooze button every 5 minutes and end up feeling worse.

“I’m just not a morning person”, you say. Well the truth is there is no such thing and excuses won’t help, but with these 6 tips you will see just how you can get a good night’s sleep and become an early riser.

Step 1

Set clock 15 minutes earlier incrementally

Ever been rushing around trying to get ready for work wishing you had more time? Wondering why you didn’t get up early? Well use this tip. For example if you usually wake up every day at 7am and would like to wake up an hour earlier at 6am, it seems daunting to try that the next day probably with little success too. So set your alarm just 15 minutes earlier and every couple of days another 15 minutes earlier until you reach your target time and make it your habit, before you know it you’ll be waking up with your alarm.

Step 2

Put down any electronic devices 1hr before going to bed

This is for most of us especially the younger generation, put down your phone! The fact is we shouldn’t actually be using any type of electronic devices, whether it is a laptop, tablet, television etc. Technology is new and our bodies have yet to evolve long enough around it. We are nocturnal creatures so any type of light, be it from our phones, TV or even room light will keep us awake and alert as well as distracted. So a good rule of thumb is to put down the devices at least an hour before bed. Instead do a bit of light reading, preferably a book or kindle (something that will keep you away from the urge to check your Facebook or Snapchat updates), meditate, do whatever to relax and go sleep.

Step 3

Do exercise. Jump out of bed

Exercise, there are countless benefits of exercise and staying active. One benefit is that exercising keeps us healthy, calm and relaxed. You could do some light exercise a couple of hours before you go to bed to burn any excess energy leaving you with a nice peaceful night’s sleep. You could also jump straight out of bed when you wake up and start doing exercise to get the blood flowing and the brain going as part of your morning ritual to help kick off a productive day. Just don’t forget to stretch.

Step 4

No snooze will power

The snooze button, to most of us is our best friend, the one thing that saves us from our nagging alarm and gives us that priceless extra sleep time, but the only problem is when we are semi-conscious we need to know when to stop pressing it. Constantly snoozing the alarm is actually one of the worse things you can do when trying to wake up refreshed as it disrupts the sleep cycle over and over again. The best thing you can do when you wake up is to get up straight away; sounds pretty straightforward right? But in actuality when you are in sleep mode it’s harder than it sounds and I’m sorry to tell you this but this will require a great deal of will power especially for heavier sleepers to train yourself to make it a habit. So the next time you hear your alarm, open your eyes, take a deep breath and stretch it out.

Step 5

Give enough sleep time

This tip is the very basic. Get enough hours of sleep, it’s obvious isn’t it? But the fact is a lot of our sleep problems stem from not getting enough shut eye. In a world where there is too much happening and not enough hours in a day some of us sacrifice our sleep to tend to other tasks. It’s time to take a step back and fulfil one of our most basic needs. Studies show we need around 7-9 hours of sleep every night and anything less will create a sleep deficit, so make sure you are getting yours.

Step 6

No caffeine/stimulants/big meals

If you want to wake up every day with energy it is imperative that you avoid eating big/heavy meals, and avoid drinking any type of caffeinated or alcohol drinks. Not eating heavy before bed seems obvious but the problem is in our society we tend to have our biggest meal of the day for our dinner. What we all need to understand is that our bodies take a while to digest food in particular heavy meats and carbs which could be detrimental to energy levels, leaving you feeling tired and groggy in the mornings. If this is true for you try to adjust your diet or eat a couple of hours before you go to bed and if you really feel peckish an hour before you head to bed try having something light like yoghurt or fruits. Just like food, caffeine and alcohol are very good at disrupting our sleep, completely avoid any drink with these substances or you’ll be left in a light, interrupted sleep.

As we all know acquiring and getting rid of a habit takes a while with some researchers concluding that it takes 21 days or perhaps up to 30 days to develop a new habit depending on who you ask. Try some of these tips and see how that works out for you. Feel free to leave a comment and let us know your progress.