health

13 morning people share their trick to getting out of bed early.

For most of us, our morning routine involves hitting snooze, oversleeping, then madly rushing to get to work before our boss.

The exception to the rule? Morning people. The kind of folk that hear their alarm go off at 6:00am and jump straight out of bed ready to seize the day. Fortunately this rare species have shared their tried and tested tips…

1. Don’t sleep next to your phone.

It’s far too easy to hit snooze otherwise.

“I tried *everything*, packing my bag, getting my clothes out, setting multiple alarms, envisioning my exercise routine. NOTHING,” says one early riser.

“Then I put my phone across the room and was up and getting dressed before my brain realised what happened.”

Listen: Radio presenter Robin Bailey only gets four hours of sleep per night. She shares how she copes, on The Well. Post continues after audio. 

2. Don’t stay up all night watching Netflix.

“It sounds obvious but go to bed early. Waking will be easier if you’ve had a good night’s sleep.”

3. Feet first.

“Get your feet on the floor QUICKLY. You snooze, you lose!!”

4. Think of breakfast.

If there’s anything worth leaving your cozy donna cocoon for, it’s avocado on toast, right?

“There is nothing that gets me up faster than the thought of breakfast. If you take time out to ensure you can make a really satisfying ‘weekend’ breakfast on a regular day, you’ll be up before you even register you’re moving.” (Post continues after gallery.)

5. Don’t count down your sleep.

Woken up in the middle of the night? Resist the urge to check the time.

“It guarantees you’ll start to think ‘gaahh, I have to get up in xx amount of time’ then you won’t be able to go back to sleep, then you will go back to sleep, then you won’t want to wake up.”

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6. Eat a banana.

Because the only thing that really beats desire to sleep is desire to eat.

“If you’re getting up to work out, put a banana on your bedside table so you get some energy into you straightaway.” 

7. See the light.

“Open your blinds a little to let some early light in.” Trust us, it’ll make waking up that little bit easier.

8. Bed time = no phone time.

“I find that if I check my phone once my lights are out, I will wake up multiple times throughout the night, so if I switch off or don’t check it, I’m guaranteed a better night’s sleep and won’t feel tired when I wake up.”
This is because all LCD lights decrease your melatonin levels, which is the hormone that makes you sleepy.

None of this. Image: iStock

 9. Eat.

Yes, really.
"Making sure you get enough nutrients during the day means that when you wake up in the morning, you're not super tired."

10. Don't think, just do.

"Look, I get up at 5am every day. The only way to do it is to just get up as soon as the alarm goes. Don't even try and think about it. Just stick one leg out after the other and get to the hottest shower possible."

11. Drink a cool glass of water.

Leaving one by your bedside table will wake you right up. Really struggling? Throw it over yourself. Bed won't seem so cozy after all.

12. Bring out the big guns.

"My alarm clock was actually designed for deaf people, so it's extremely loud and it has an attachment you put under the mattress that vibrates the bed. So often times when it goes off in the morning, it startles me and my heart is beating so fast that it's impossible to go back to sleep."

13. Know it gets better.

 "Realising getting up is the worst part and everything after that is easy."