How can you make waking up in the morning easier. What role does your circadian rhythm play in your sleep-wake cycle. Why is it important to establish a consistent sleep schedule. How can you optimize your morning routine for better wake-ups.

Understanding Your Body’s Internal Clock: The Key to Better Mornings

Our bodies operate on an internal timekeeping system known as the circadian rhythm. This “body clock” plays a crucial role in determining our sleep patterns and wake-up times. But how exactly does it work?

The body’s master clock, located in the brain, regulates our circadian rhythms over a 24-hour period. Environmental cues, particularly light exposure, significantly influence this system. When light enters our eyes, it triggers a chain reaction that affects our sleep-wake cycle, hormone production, metabolism, and body temperature.

Understanding and working with your circadian rhythm can be the key to easier mornings. By aligning your sleep schedule with your body’s natural patterns, you can wake up feeling more refreshed and energized.

The Science Behind Your Sleep-Wake Cycle

Your body prepares for sleep by lowering your core temperature and heart rate, while increasing melatonin production in your bloodstream. This process typically begins one to two hours before your regular bedtime. The sleep cycle reaches its peak around 3 or 4 a.m., after which your body gradually starts its wake-up process.

To harness the power of your internal clock, consider setting a consistent bedtime about eight hours before your intended wake-up time. Stick to this schedule for several weeks to allow your body to adjust and synchronize with its natural rhythms.

The Importance of a Consistent Sleep Schedule

Maintaining a regular sleep schedule is vital for optimizing your wake-up routine. Consistency helps regulate your body’s internal clock, making it easier to fall asleep and wake up at desired times. But why is this so important?

• Improves sleep quality
• Enhances daytime alertness
• Reduces the risk of sleep disorders
• Supports overall health and well-being

Irregular sleep patterns can disrupt your circadian rhythm, potentially leading to chronic health conditions such as obesity, diabetes, depression, and seasonal affective disorder. By prioritizing a consistent sleep schedule, you’re not just improving your mornings – you’re investing in your long-term health.

Identifying Your Wake-Up Motivation: The First Step to Better Mornings

Before you can successfully transform your morning routine, it’s crucial to identify your motivation for wanting to wake up earlier or more easily. What drives you to make this change?

Michelle Segar, Ph.D., a motivation scientist at the University of Michigan, emphasizes the importance of clearly defining why waking up on time matters to you. Your reasons might include:

• Having breakfast with family
• Incorporating morning exercise
• Enjoying moments of quiet reflection
• Reducing the stress of running late

Once you’ve identified your motivation, take it a step further by sharing your goals with family members or roommates. This added layer of accountability can be as effective as an alarm clock in helping you stick to your new routine.

Optimizing Your Morning Routine for Efficient Wake-Ups

Streamlining your morning activities can allow you to set your alarm for a later time while still accomplishing your goals. How can you make your mornings more efficient?

1. Prepare the night before: Set out clothes, shoes, and bags
2. Invest in time-saving devices: Consider a programmable coffee maker
3. Prioritize activities: Focus on what’s truly important for your morning
4. Create a consistent routine: Establish a sequence of activities to follow each day

By optimizing your morning routine, you can reduce stress, save time, and potentially allow yourself a few extra minutes of sleep. Remember, the goal is to create a morning that works for you and supports your overall well-being.

The Role of Light Exposure in Regulating Your Sleep-Wake Cycle

Light exposure plays a pivotal role in regulating your circadian rhythm and, consequently, your sleep-wake cycle. But how exactly does light influence your body’s internal clock?

When light enters your eyes, it stimulates the optic nerves, which then transmit information to your brain. This process helps regulate the production of melatonin, a hormone that induces sleepiness. In the absence of light, your brain increases melatonin production, signaling that it’s time to sleep.

Strategies for Optimizing Light Exposure

• Seek morning sunlight: Expose yourself to natural light soon after waking
• Use light therapy: Consider a light therapy box, especially during darker months
• Reduce blue light exposure: Limit screen time before bed or use blue light filters
• Create a dark sleep environment: Use blackout curtains or an eye mask if needed

By strategically managing your light exposure throughout the day, you can help reinforce your body’s natural sleep-wake cycle, making it easier to wake up in the morning and fall asleep at night.

The Impact of Diet and Exercise on Your Wake-Up Routine

Your daily habits, particularly your diet and exercise routines, can significantly influence your ability to wake up easily in the morning. How do these factors affect your sleep-wake cycle?

Dietary Considerations for Better Sleep and Wake-Ups

What you eat and drink can impact your sleep quality and, consequently, how easily you wake up. Consider the following dietary tips:

• Limit caffeine intake, especially in the afternoon and evening
• Avoid heavy meals close to bedtime
• Stay hydrated throughout the day, but reduce fluid intake before bed
• Consider foods rich in melatonin or tryptophan for better sleep

The Role of Exercise in Improving Sleep Quality

Regular physical activity can contribute to better sleep quality and easier wake-ups. Here’s how exercise can help:

• Reduces stress and anxiety, common causes of sleep disturbances
• Helps regulate your body’s circadian rhythm
• Improves overall sleep quality, leading to more refreshing rest
• Increases daytime alertness, making it easier to resist the snooze button

While exercise is beneficial, timing is crucial. Vigorous exercise too close to bedtime can be stimulating and interfere with sleep. Aim to complete intense workouts at least a few hours before your planned bedtime.

Technology and Sleep: Finding the Right Balance

In our digital age, technology plays a significant role in our sleep habits and wake-up routines. While some tech can disrupt our sleep, other devices and apps can aid in creating a more effective morning routine. How can you strike the right balance?

Potential Negative Impacts of Technology on Sleep

• Blue light emission from screens can suppress melatonin production
• Engaging content can keep our minds active when we should be winding down
• Notifications can disrupt sleep throughout the night

Beneficial Technologies for Better Sleep and Wake-Ups

• Sleep tracking apps and devices to monitor sleep patterns
• Smart alarm clocks that wake you during lighter sleep stages
• White noise machines or apps to create a conducive sleep environment
• Blue light filters for screens to reduce melatonin suppression

The key is to use technology mindfully. Establish a digital curfew, limiting screen time before bed, and utilize sleep-promoting technologies to support your wake-up goals.

Psychological Strategies for Easier Morning Wake-Ups

While physical factors play a significant role in our ability to wake up easily, our mindset and psychological approach are equally important. What mental strategies can you employ to make your mornings smoother?

Cultivating a Positive Morning Mindset

Your attitude towards mornings can significantly impact how easily you wake up. Try these psychological strategies:

• Practice gratitude: Start your day by thinking of things you’re thankful for
• Set intentions: Define what you want to accomplish or how you want to feel that day
• Visualize success: Imagine yourself having a productive and enjoyable morning
• Use positive affirmations: Repeat encouraging phrases to boost your mood

Overcoming Sleep Inertia

Sleep inertia, that groggy feeling upon waking, can make mornings challenging. Combat it with these techniques:

• Gradual wake-up: Use a wake-up light or app that simulates sunrise
• Mental engagement: Solve a puzzle or read something interesting upon waking
• Physical movement: Incorporate gentle stretches or yoga into your morning routine
• Hydration: Drink water immediately upon waking to jumpstart your system

By implementing these psychological strategies, you can train your mind to approach mornings with more positivity and energy, making the wake-up process significantly easier.

Creating a Sleep-Friendly Bedroom Environment

Your bedroom environment plays a crucial role in both the quality of your sleep and the ease with which you wake up. How can you optimize your sleeping space for better mornings?

Elements of a Sleep-Promoting Bedroom

• Temperature control: Keep your room cool, ideally between 60-67°F (15-19°C)
• Noise reduction: Use earplugs, white noise machines, or soundproofing techniques
• Light management: Install blackout curtains or use an eye mask
• Comfortable bedding: Invest in a supportive mattress and pillows
• Clutter-free space: Maintain a tidy, organized bedroom

Morning-Friendly Bedroom Features

While creating a sleep-friendly environment is crucial, consider incorporating elements that can aid in waking up:

• Natural light: Position your bed to catch morning sunlight, if possible
• Pleasant scents: Use an aromatherapy diffuser with energizing essential oils
• Easy-access necessities: Keep a water bottle and any morning essentials within reach
• Visible motivators: Place reminders of your wake-up goals where you can see them

By carefully curating your bedroom environment, you create a space that not only promotes restful sleep but also supports a smoother transition into your morning routine.

Adapting Your Wake-Up Routine to Different Life Stages and Circumstances

Your ideal wake-up routine may need to evolve as you move through different life stages or face changing circumstances. How can you adapt your morning habits to various situations?

Wake-Up Strategies for Different Life Stages

• Students: Balance early classes with adequate sleep, use power naps strategically
• New parents: Sync sleep schedules with infant feeding times, take turns with partner
• Shift workers: Use blackout curtains, maintain consistent sleep schedule on days off
• Retirees: Leverage natural circadian rhythms, establish a routine for structure

Adapting to Seasonal Changes

Seasonal variations in daylight can impact your wake-up routine. Consider these strategies:

• Winter: Use a wake-up light, increase indoor lighting, consider light therapy
• Summer: Use cooling techniques, adjust bedtime for longer daylight hours
• Daylight Saving Time: Gradually adjust sleep schedule in the days leading up to the change

Coping with Travel and Jet Lag

Frequent travelers often struggle with maintaining a consistent wake-up routine. Try these tips:

• Adjust to new time zones gradually, if possible
• Expose yourself to natural light in the new location
• Stay hydrated and maintain regular meal times
• Use melatonin supplements under medical guidance, if necessary

By recognizing that your wake-up needs may change over time and in different situations, you can adapt your strategies accordingly, ensuring that you continue to wake up easily and start your days off right.

11 Tricks for Waking Up Early in the Morning

If “rise and shine” in your life is more like “hit snooze and whine,” try these ideas for making friends with your alarm clock.

By Madeline R. Vann, MPHMedically Reviewed by Justin Laube, MD

Reviewed: November 27, 2017

Medically Reviewed

When ‘Rise and Shine’ Is Easier Said Than Done

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Lots of people set the alarm with the best of intentions, knowing that’s the time they need to get up to meet the day’s demands. But then the alarm clock seems to ring way before they’re ready to rise, so they’re hitting snooze and, eventually, running late. Something’s got to give.

The key lies inside your body. “An important factor in being able to wake up easily at the desired time in the morning is the timing of one’s circadian rhythm, or ‘body clock,'” says sleep researcher Leon C. Lack, PhD, professor emeritus in the school of psychology at Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia. Much of what you need to do to wake up on time starts by planning your sleep schedule the day and the evening before — and by making your mornings count.

How do our internal clocks work, and how much can we control them? According to the National Institutes of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), the body’s master clock, located in the brain, produces and regulates our circadian rhythms, which help determine sleep patterns over the course of a 24 hour period. Environmental signals, such as daylight and darkness, affect circadian rhythms, too. When incoming light hits the optic nerves, information is passed along from the eyes to the brain. When there is little or no light — at night — your clock tells the brain to make more melatonin, a hormone which makes you sleepy.

Our sleep-wake cycles, hormone levels, metabolism, and body temperature are all affected by our circadian rhythms, notes the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. When your rhythm is off, you may be at risk for more than just a few groggy days you drag yourself through. Irregular rhythms, the NIGMS notes, have been linked to chronic health conditions, such as obesity, diabetes, depression, bipolar disorder, and seasonal affective disorder.

But there are ways to recalibrate your system to get the sleep you need and wake up feeling refreshed and ready for the day ahead. Physiological and psychological factors come into play, and it’s not always easy to get a good night’s rest or adhere to a schedule so that you consistently go to sleep and get up around the same time each day.

If you’re not a morning person, and you find yourself struggling at the start of your day, try these tips and strategies to get going.

Know Why You Want to Improve Your Wake-Up Routine

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Michelle Segar, PhD, a healthy-living expert and motivation scientist at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, says that to make any change in your life stick, including waking up on time, you need to clearly define why it’s important to you.

What’s your motivation? Do you want to get up in time to have breakfast with your family, get in some exercise, or just have a few moments of reflection to be better prepared for your day? Maybe you’re just tired of the stress of running late every morning.

Once you crystallize your reasons, take a second step and tell your family or roommates about the change you want to make. Accountability helps as much as an alarm clock.

Streamline Your Mornings to Gain Time

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Now that you’re clear about what you want to do when you wake up and what it takes to get more sleep, consider trimming down your morning activities. This could let you set the alarm clock for a few minutes (or more) later.

If you’ve decided you want time to have breakfast with your family, save some time the night before by setting out clothes, shoes, and bags. Are you spending 15 minutes in line at the café to get coffee? That’s a quarter-hour more you could be sleeping by buying a coffee maker with a timer — another wake-me-up device that will also brew your favorite hot drink on your schedule.

Get to Know Your Internal Body Clock Better

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If you’ve been riding the sleep deprivation roller coaster for a while, you might not even know how much sleep your body naturally would want if you weren’t staying up late and slapping around the alarm clock in the morning.

Dr. Lack explains that, in general, your body makes changes in anticipation of your going to sleep, such as dropping in temperature and heart rate and secreting melatonin into your bloodstream one to two hours before your regular bedtime. This get-some-sleep cycle peaks at about 3 or 4 a.m., and then your body starts a gradual morning waking-up process.

One way to figure out what might work best for you is to set a consistent bedtime that starts about eight hours before your alarm is going to go off. Stick to that for several weeks (including weekends) to get a feeling for how well your body responds. Lack notes that some people are naturally night owls and will still find it hard to go to bed early (at least what’s early for them), even if they have to wake up early as well.

Try a Melatonin Supplement to Get Back on Track

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Your body naturally makes melatonin to stimulate your sleep, but you can also take a melatonin supplement to help reorient your body clock. Try the lowest possible dose to start — 0.5 to 5 milligrams is common — five to six hours before bedtime for a few days. Lack says that, “after several nights, this should result in an earlier timed body clock, earlier sleep onset, and earlier, easier awakening in the morning.”

Melatonin doesn’t work well for all of sleep disorders, and can even result in drowsiness the next day for some people. It’s always a good idea to talk with your healthcare provider before taking supplements because of possible side effects and interactions with other medication you may be taking. People with autoimmune disorders or diabetes, and those taking birth control pills, blood thinners, sedatives, or some kinds of blood pressure medication, should not take melatonin without first discussing it with a healthcare professional.

Power Down Your Devices and Turn Off the TV Before Bedtime

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Part of getting up on time is getting enough sleep the night before. And getting ready for bed is a process of winding down. Segar warns that spending time in front of screens — whether TV, laptop, or phone — right up until bedtime doesn’t lead to restful sleep. Use the alarm clock in your favorite gadget to set a reminder to turn everything off at least an hour before you turn in — no excuses.

Get Bright Light First Thing in the Morning

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Sitting in front of the bright lights of your flat-screen TV before bedtime can make it hard to go to sleep, but bright light for an hour or two once you wake up can help set your body clock to accept your wake-up time. “This can be from sunlight, especially in summer, or artificial bright light if it’s cold, dark, and rainy outside,” says Lack, who is part of a research and development team that has developed bright light devices for this purpose. If your schedule allows it, a walk in the morning sun or a restful breakfast on the patio would be good for both your mood and better sleep.

Reorganize to Lighten Your Evening Schedule

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To figure out what’s interfering with your sleep and therefore your waking up, look at your day and how you spend your evenings. You might have to reorganize some of your activities. For example, even if the only time you can get to the gym is after dinner, this time slot can result in poor sleep. Segar suggests finding another time to work out earlier in the day.

According to a National Sleep Foundation survey, about 12 percent of adults believe their work schedule makes it impossible to get enough sleep. If you’re overburdened on the job and constantly work late into the evening, try to find ways to share the load with a partner or colleague.

Get an Evaluation to See What’s Affecting Your Sleep

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Sleep disorders, such as obstructive sleep apnea, or health issues, such as allergies or depression, could be leaving you with poor quality sleep. No matter how hard you try to get to bed on time and wake up on time, you’ll still be tired in the morning and sleepy during the day.

For sleep apnea, your sleep partner may note snoring or gasping for air, or you may have a morning headache. Talk to your doctor about testing to find out if you have an underlying condition that’s making sleep difficult.

Make Hitting ‘Snooze’ More of a Challenge

Now that you’ve identified the obstacles to going to sleep on time, it’s time to create some obstacles to staying in bed. If your alarm is right next to your bed and the big “snooze” button is easy to reach without raising your head off the pillow, you’re probably going to try to sleep in longer. Put your alarm clock at the other end of your bedroom so that you’re forced to get up to turn it off.

Also consider setting a second alarm — far away — if you’re having a lot of difficulty getting up. When you’re trying to reset your sleep and wake times, you might also ask family members or roommates to help you get up until you’re in sync.

Stick to Your Sleep and Wake Schedule on Weekends

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If you’re running on empty by the time Friday night rolls around, sleeping in on Saturday could sound like heaven. But compensating on the weekends actually feeds into your sleepiness the following week because it interrupts your natural body clock, which doesn’t have a weekend setting.

Whatever your set bedtime and wake time are for the weekday, you’ll have to stick to them on the weekends, too. According to research published in the journal Chronobiology International, a consistent bedtime on the weekends seems to lead to better sleep and easier waking during the week. Plus, you get to spend that weekend morning time any way you’d like.

Keep a Sleep Log and Evaluate It Weekly

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Keep track of all the better sleep efforts you’re making and write down how you feel, suggests Segar. Do you have more energy? A peppier mood? Are you more patient with your family? Are you still sleepy or hitting that alarm clock snooze button?

After you’ve tried a new strategy or two for a week, take a look at your journal. If the steps you’re taking are working, keep them up. If not, take another look at the obstacles and consider other strategies you could try. Segar advises going through this weekly experiment-and-evaluate cycle for 6 to 12 weeks. “Don’t expect perfection,” she says. “That’s another setup for failure. Instead, be self-compassionate as you learn how to make this important lifestyle change.”

How to wake up easier

What happens when we wake up?

The body prepares to wake up in the hour or so before you awaken — your body temperature begins to rise, and blood pressure increases. Serotonin and cortisol flood the brain, and the neurons and activity start firing.

When waking naturally, sleep usually ends during a non-rapid-eye-movement (NREM) period of sleep, also known as light sleep. If using an alarm, which can go off during periods of deeper sleep, you might find that you wake up feeling groggy, especially if your bedtime and wake-up times vary day to day.

Per research, no one pops out of bed immediately ready to start the day, even if waking during light sleep. Everyone goes through a transition from being asleep to being awake, called “sleep inertia” — marked by reduced vigilance, impaired performance, and a desire to go back to sleep. For some, it lasts minutes; for others. Usually, it lasts less than 30 minutes, unless you’re chronically sleep-deprived.

How much sleep inertia you feel depends on your circadian rhythm and sleep habits.

Your circadian rhythm is your internal body clock, which is tuned to a 24-hour cycle, and research suggests those clocks can have natural preferences for day or night that show up in our DNA. Some people are predisposed to early wake-ups, whereas others naturally sleep later.

If you’re a natural night owl, there are a few things you can do to wake up with positivity and calmness. None of them include immediately checking work emails or scrolling social media from bed.

How to wake yourself up: the ideal morning wake-up routine

The right routine can help you wake up refreshed and ready to start your day. Taking some time to invest in yourself and your needs lets you remind yourself that you are worth focus and attention. Studies show that your morning expectations of how stressful (or not) your day will be, end up impacting how you experience and internalize what happens that day. So being intentional and positive about how you wake up can ground you in calmness all day.

Try these science-backed tips on how to wake yourself up in the morning:

1. Keep your wake-up time as consistent as possible. If you wake up some days at 6 am, others at 8 am, and still others at 11 am, you’re confusing your circadian rhythm. While some people plan to let themselves sleep as late as possible on weekends, that can actually be counterintuitive, throwing off your body clock even more. Make it your goal to wake up within the same 15-minute window every day, and try not to hit the snooze button. If you drift back into sleep, your next alarm may awaken you in a new sleep cycle and make it even harder to get up.

2. Let there be light. Studies show that exposure to bright, white light in the morning can increase alertness. Sunlight is great, simply open your bedroom curtains — but bright inside lights work, too, if you have to get up before the sun.

3. Meditate. Starting your day with a daily wake-up meditation can help set the stage for a successful day. By cultivating your peace of mind before jumping into your day, you can put yourself in the best position to treat yourself and others with kindness, even as stress, pressure, or obligations make themselves known.

what useful morning habits to start your day with

This is not just a saying, but a completely fair remark with a deep meaning. Indeed, our daily productivity largely depends on what we do in the morning.
If you develop a few right habits, then waking up will be a joy. At the same time, throughout the day you will be filled with energy and vitality.

Why is it important to start your day right?

Difficulty waking up, setting the alarm “another 10 minutes” forward, jumping out of bed suddenly with
realizing that you are late, quickly packing and leaving the house – a familiar situation, isn’t it? After such a rise
throughout the rest of the day, a person feels a breakdown, his productivity noticeably decreases. Outcome – part
scheduled cases remain unresolved. Because of this, there is a feeling of dissatisfaction with oneself, a person
becomes irritable.

However, another scenario is also possible – you wake up early in a good mood, slowly perform your usual
morning rituals, have a tasty and satisfying breakfast, after which you get down to business with a bright head. Already by lunchtime
You will be pleasantly surprised to find that most of the planned has been completed. Remaining free time
myself.

There is only one conclusion – if you want your day to be as productive as possible, and you to be full of strength and energy,
it is important to properly organize your morning. Here you can not do without a well-defined regime and a set of
a few simple rituals that should become a habit.

9 rules for a perfect morning

Everyone has their own idea of ​​the perfect start to the day. For some it is to see the ocean outside the window,
then still soak up in a soft bed, not hurrying anywhere. For others, get up on time and calmly get ready.
without haste or delay.

In any case, the question is always relevant – how to start a good morning. There are some simple guidelines
which will help you “enter” the day correctly and make it as productive as possible.

early rise

Probably many of you have already noticed that waking up early you can do a lot of things.
At this time, there is a special energy and a surge of vitality.

It has been proven that for a full restoration of the body, a person needs to sleep at least 8-9 hours a day.
At the same time, the most favorable time for the morning rise is considered to be 5-6 in the morning.
It is at this time that the body begins to actively prepare for an early awakening:
metabolism and blood circulation are accelerated, body temperature rises.

A few simple tips to help develop the habit of getting up early:

1. Changeover to the new regimen should be smooth – if you always get up at 10 am, then you don’t need to immediately
   try to wake up at 4. It is better to do this gradually, reducing sleep time by 10-15 minutes daily.
2. In order for the body to have time to recover, it is also important to go to bed on time. Try to fall asleep no later than
   21:00-22:00, then it will be much easier to get up in the morning.
3. Create all the necessary conditions for maximum relaxation during sleep: take a hot shower in the evening or
   bath, ventilate the room, try not to overeat, if possible, completely protect yourself from any negative
   information (news, world events, forecasts, etc.).

Glass of water on an empty stomach

Many doctors and nutritionists agree that the first thing to do in the morning
it is a must to drink a glass of warm water on an empty stomach. Optionally, you can add a slice of lemon or a circle to it.
cucumber.

What are the benefits of this morning ritual:

• water helps to remove toxins from the body,
• there is an acceleration of metabolism, which helps to get rid of excess weight faster,
• improve the functioning of the digestive tract by stimulating the production of gastric enzymes and peristalsis
  intestines,
• strengthening the body’s defenses against various infections and pathogenic bacteria,
• daily consumption of pure water on an empty stomach is an excellent prevention of the development of diseases of the urinary system,
• improves skin condition (becomes more elastic, cleared of acne and rashes).

Easy charging

Morning exercises help to cheer up and tone up.
This can be a set of simple exercises with 2-3 sets, classic stretching or jogging near
Houses. What to choose for yourself is up to you.

Morning is considered the ideal time to exercise in the gym.
Firstly, in the morning it is much easier to force yourself to go to the gym than in the evening after work/study.
Secondly, such classes are much more productive. Thirdly, during the rest of the day you will
feel an incredible surge of strength and energy

Ventilate the room

Special attention should be paid to the microclimate in the room. As a rule, the windows in the room are closed at night. This
leads to an increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide.

Bottom line – a feeling of fatigue and weakness is felt even after a recent awakening, and sometimes a headache appears.
pain.

Make it a rule to start the morning well by airing the room.
But even here there are often
problems:

• it gets chilly in the room in winter,
• in hot weather, dust, dirt and soot penetrate through an open window, which safely settle on the windowsill and
  other surfaces
• there is a risk of plant pollen entering the room. Because of this, allergy sufferers exacerbate seasonal hay fever.

What to do in this case? The solution to the problem will be the purchase of a Tion 4S breather. This is smart ventilation.
with air purification.

Thanks to this device, you can create round-the-clock gentle ventilation in the room. At the same time, incoming flows
air is cleaned with special filters.

In case of frost, the breather has a special option – air heating to a comfortable temperature.

Cold and hot shower

To finally wake up, start taking a contrast shower in the morning. It is especially effective after sports.
The whole body will feel light and weightless.

Useful properties of the morning contrast shower:

• helps to quickly cheer up and get in the mood for work,
• improves the quality of the skin, it becomes more elastic and firm,
• helps to strengthen the immune system,
• increases the elasticity of blood vessels, which reduces the risk of blood clots,
• alternating flows of cold and hot water also affects the work of the heart. Such manipulations
  act as training loads.

Proper breakfast

Many of us are accustomed to leaving the house with an empty stomach. Maximum – a small cup of coffee with something sweet.
However, this is a very gross mistake that affects the quality of life in general.

A healthy, balanced breakfast is essential for a productive working day.

From a medical point of view, the need for a hearty breakfast can be explained as follows:

• helps to quickly increase blood glucose levels to normal levels after sleep. It makes up for the lost
  energy reserves,
• restores glycogen levels in muscles and liver, which affects performance during the day,
• provides a person with the necessary amount of carbohydrates. The result is high physical activity and endurance,
• helps reduce blood cortisol (a hormone that causes stress),
• a hearty breakfast will relieve hunger until the very dinner. This is especially useful for losing weight – it will not
  the need for frequent snacks.

morning rituals

You should also make a few habits for yourself that will allow you to cheer up in the morning and tune in to
working mode.
What are the options here:

• doing morning meditations will allow you to calm down, become more organized,
• pronunciation of affirmations (programming yourself for a positive result, successful achievement of the intended
  goals and objectives),
• morning yoga classes will help put your thoughts in order (this is a complex of spiritual, physical and mental
  practitioner),
• reading a few pages of a book (this could be psychology, fiction, or any other books on
  taste).

Many of us are used to starting our mornings by checking social media.
This clogs your head with unnecessary information, making it difficult to properly tune in to the upcoming day.
In addition, browsing the news feed or social networks takes a lot of time. Surely you have often caught yourself
on the fact that they just wanted to go online for a couple of minutes, but in fact they sat there for at least an hour.

Making a plan for the day

Another very useful habit for becoming more organized and disciplined is writing
a detailed agenda for the day ahead.

Make a list of things you need to get done and set aside a specific amount of time for each task.

Such a plan can be drawn up in the evening or written in the morning. As you complete tasks, cross them off your list.

Getting Started

After completing all the morning rituals, it’s time to go about your daily business.
Here you can also give
some useful tips:

• do the most difficult tasks first, then the secondary tasks will be given easier and faster,
• when planning your working day, listen to your “inner clock”. For example, for mental work
  the most favorable time is from 9:00 to 12:00 in the afternoon. During this period, there is a peak of brain activity, and hence
  the result will be better.

What NOT to do in the morning: 5 bad habits

We have already figured out what to do in the morning. However, there are some actions that are better on the contrary.
refuse.

Bad habits in the morning:

1. Waking up to an annoying alarm signal – perhaps it will allow you to quickly wake up, but the mood
   will be corrupted. It is better to install a prettier, but at the same time invigorating melody.
2. A cup of strong coffee on an empty stomach – it will invigorate, but in return you will get heartburn and irritation of the stomach lining.
   This aromatic drink is best to drink after a hearty breakfast.
3. Quick packing for work – constant haste over time leads to irritability and development
   aggression. That is why it is important to wake up early in order to comfortably pack up and leave in a good mood.
   Houses.
4. Immediately after waking up, plunge into current problems and failures – first let your body wake up and
   recover from sleep. An optimistic attitude will allow you to find the right solution.
5. Leaving the house with an empty stomach – every morning you must have breakfast. Light snack here
   fit. You need a complete meal, rich in all the necessary nutrients. This will allow you to stay
   productive and not thinking about food until lunch.

Remember – do not try to take on too many tasks at once, dramatically changing your usual way of life.
Overestimating your real capabilities in the near future can lead to moral exhaustion and burnout.
Therefore, it is important to know the measure in everything!

10 morning rituals for a productive start to the day

Productivity

November 23, 2020

On average, a person wakes up 25,000 times in a lifetime. Use these opportunities correctly.

You can not only read this article, but also listen to it. If it’s more convenient for you, turn on the podcast.

Every morning is a clean slate. This is an opportunity to change one day for the better. And our life is made up of such days. If you want to achieve your goals, ask yourself the question: what do you do after waking up and how do you feel?

1. Don’t reset the alarm clock

We used to hate the sounds of the alarm clock, so we press the reset button or pause it: we feel good, we don’t want to get out of a warm bed at all. Although 10 extra minutes of sleep makes us feel worse.

Evolution is a slow process, and mankind as a species is not yet accustomed to waking up from artificially created noise. So we just ignore it.

When we wake up, our body starts producing dopamine, a chemical that suppresses the feeling of sleepiness. Its effect is comparable to drinking a cup of coffee or energy drinks. When we sleep, serotonin, the pleasure hormone, is released.

After resetting the alarm, two hormones with opposite effects start to be produced at the same time. Due to such a load on the body, we wake up disoriented and inhibited.

2. Think beyond rewards

We use rewards to motivate ourselves to do something, like waking up early in the morning and taking a shower. But, as Charles Duhigg, author of The Power of Habit, argues, rewards alone are not enough to establish a habit.

Need to identify the signal that causes the unwanted behavior and replace it. For example, instead of pressing the end button on your alarm clock and falling back to sleep, you can reward yourself with a cup of aromatic coffee. The smell of coffee in the room can serve as a signal for this action. If you live with someone, ask them to make a drink every time they wake up.

3. Follow the right strategy

The average adult needs 7-9 hours of sleep, but some people get 6 hours of sleep and others 10 hours less. Find out which category of people you belong to, and it will be easier for you to create your own strategy and understand what advice to follow.

Gretchen Rubin, in her book Better Than Before, writes that all people can be divided into four groups, depending on how reward motivates them:

• Adherents of rules and regulations: always follow the rules – both external (set by the authorities) and internal (which they come up with for themselves).
• Bound by promises: only work well under pressure from authority and when they feel justified obligations to other people.
• Those who seek common sense in everything: for each business they need internal motivation, some meaning for themselves, if they find it, they do the work.
• Rebels: any task makes them want to do the opposite.

4. Wake up to natural light

In one experiment, a group of adults suffering from insomnia were sent on a camping trip for a week. For several days without artificial lighting, the participants of the experiment not only began to fall asleep faster, but also got up easily in the morning. The inertia of sleep has almost completely disappeared.

Research organizer Kenneth Wright came to the following conclusion: in order to sleep soundly at night and wake up easily early in the morning, you need to get up after the sun.

It is quite possible to do this in the city: sleep in a room with a window, or better yet, put your bed closer to the window to get the maximum amount of light in the morning.

5. Meditate

Meditation is for everyone. At the same time, it should be different for everyone. There are dozens of its varieties – conscious, transcendental, yogic. But no specialist can say for sure which one is right for you.

On the other hand, the benefits of meditation are quite obvious: the level of anxiety decreases, labor productivity increases, memory improves.

For example, using MRI, scientists have found a decrease in beta-wave activity in the brain after a 20-minute meditation session. This means that during meditation, the brain stops processing distracting information, so we calm down.

If you don’t know where to start, try one of the quick techniques or use the Headspace app.

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Price: Free

Download

Price: Free

6. Minimize decision making

We are all subject to decision fatigue. This process takes away our strength, so in the future it becomes more and more difficult for us to make a choice.

As you can see, I only wear gray and blue suits. So I try to make fewer decisions. I don’t want to waste my energy and think about what I will eat or wear. Because I have too many other things to do.

Barack Obama

To simplify the process, Obama uses special notes that are divided on his desk into three piles: “agree”, “disagree” and “let’s discuss”. This method speeds up the feedback cycle many times, which means that things are completed faster.

To make your morning more productive, think about what decisions you can make automatically every day. Here are a few simple steps that will help you: choose an outfit before bed, eat the same thing for breakfast, get up early to avoid traffic.

7. Eat the Frog

Psychologist Brian Tracy in his book Eat the Frog! 21 Ways to Learn to Be on Time” writes that each of us has our own frog – the biggest and most important task we procrastinate on.

If you eat a frog in the morning, the rest of the day promises to be wonderful, because the worst of today is over.

Mark Twain

writer

Therefore, the first thing to do in the morning is to eat your biggest frog, even if you don’t feel like it at all. Our reserves of will are limited, so we need to start the day with an important thing, while there is still strength.

In addition, the level of creativity is higher in the morning. This is confirmed by research: after waking up, people experience increased activity in the prefrontal cortex – the part of the brain responsible for creativity.

8. Do one important thing

Psychologist Kevin Kruse, studying the habits of millionaires, Olympians and entrepreneurs, found that none of them mentioned a to-do list.

Keeping a to-do list has several disadvantages:

• Time is not taken into account. When a person sees a long list of tasks in front of him, he proceeds to tasks that will take less time. Therefore, tasks that require consistent, long-term execution remain unfinished (about 41% of the tasks from the entire list, according to iDoneThis).
• There is no distinction between urgent and important matters. Again, on impulse, we rush to do the urgent and ignore the important.
• Increased stress levels. The to-do list provokes the well-known Zeigarnik effect in psychology: due to unfinished tasks, annoying uncontrollable thoughts appear in the head. Therefore, we feel tired all day, and at night we hardly fall asleep.

Instead of a list of tasks, choose only one task that you must complete today. After completing it, you will feel satisfied and easily deal with the remaining less significant tasks.

9. Get ready in the evening

How you feel when you wake up and throughout the day will depend on how well you sleep.

Numerous studies show that electronic devices contribute to disturbed sleep cycles. If you regularly experience problems, try turning off all devices 2-3 hours before going to bed (this also applies to e-books).

The cold glow of screens hinders the production of melatonin, the hormone that coordinates our internal clock.

In the evening it is necessary not only to get enough sleep, but also to decide how to spend the next day.

Greg McKeown, author of Essentialism. The path to simplicity, ”recommends that before planning the next day, first write in a diary how your day went. If you don’t figure out what you did right and wrong today, you won’t be able to create a productive action plan for tomorrow.

How to plan things? We have already mentioned that successful people rarely use a to-do list. However, Cruz noticed that almost all of them use a calendar.

The calendar method of scheduling tasks doesn’t have all the shortcomings of the to-do list that we talked about earlier:

• you can manage your time;
• you can schedule the most important things to do at the beginning of the day, when you still have reserves of willpower;
• you will avoid overexertion because you can include scheduled breaks in your calendar.

10. Take a shower to wake up

Misogi, or awakening shower, is a ritual practiced by Japanese samurai. Every morning they poured a bucket of cold water over their heads.

Domestic analogue of misogi is a contrast shower, when we alternate hot and cold water flows.

Studies show that hydrotherapy has a positive effect on health: stress is reduced, the immune system is strengthened, the body starts to burn fat better and fights depression more effectively.

If you decide to try the contrast shower for yourself, follow this order:

1. First shower at normal temperature. Then turn the faucet handle so that the water becomes ice cold. Stand under a cold shower for 30 seconds.
2. Now turn on the tap so that the water is very hot. Under such a shower, capillaries open, blood circulation improves. Stay under it for 30 seconds.
3. And again switch to cold water, under which stand for another 30 seconds.

It seems that everything is very simple, but at first you can experience a real shock.

Every morning, Benjamin Franklin asked himself, “What good can I do today?” Before you get to the workplace, you must recuperate and prepare for a new day.