I want to be a morning person

[sbrylski]

I envy morning people. I get nothing done during the day, because it starts so late.

 

How can I become a morning person?

 

My first thought was to set my alarm as a great rock song with a relatively gradual buildup. Like:

 

 

I figure I'll be up and ready to go in ~30 seconds with that one. Any other songs might work?

 

Or any other, hopefully better, ideas on becoming a morning person?

[DougJones43]

Unfortunately, I think either you're a morning person or you're not. I've tried everything (caffeine, cool showers, vitamin B, going to bed really early, etc.), but it doesn't make much of a difference. I am always more energetic and focused at 8pm than 8am. I feel absolutely awful when I wake up, and pretty much throughout the morning. This makes working first shift very difficult. I'm much more productive after lunchtime than before lunchtime.

 

I think it's really hard, because I feel like I'm not in sync with the rest of the world.

 

edit: There is a legit clinical term for having these problems. Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome

[hawing]

Well, here are some tips that make sense.

 

The hard thing for me is staying off the internets before bedtime - especially during the baseball season.

[utdfan]

Try working out later in the day before you go to bed. I find that when I run or lift weights I sleep better and feel better when I wake up. You could also find something to do in the morning that you would actually enjoy. I never mind waking up early on weekends to watch the EPL, but I feel terrible in the mornings on weekdays when i have to go to class.

[Schlitz001]

Pretend that you've moved to Greenland which is 3 timezones to the east of Central Standard. The great thing about this is that you can continue to sleep in until 10am, except that it actually happens at 7am CST. This way you can be awake and participate with the rest of society early in the morning, plus you don't actually have to move to Greenland. That's two perks to this scenario.

[GoudaBrew]

Get a puppy. Even after they develop some bladder control, the latest you'll sleep in is 6 am.

[blatzlight]

Oddly enough I used to hate getting up the morning and would never really start getting into a groove until around mid morning. Then about two months ago I started working out in the morning (I go to the gym from about 5.30am-7am since I am not in the office until 8.30am) and found I am productive right off the bat and stay that way all day. I have no idea why, but working out in the morning now just helps me focus. It has also helped with my diet and sleeping patterns as I am usually in bed by 10.30 at the latest. Just my two cents.

[GormanHarvey]

I've always been a night owl even though I have been a student or worked 1st shift for my whole life (at least since school age). I have never been a good sleeper but I recently discovered something that gives me a lot more energy through out the day. I gave up drinking pop and now drink Cranergy juice drink from Ocean Spray. Its loaded with B vitamins and green tea extract and gives me tons of energy

[logan82]

Maybe if you wake up at 2AM you will be ready for the day by the time 8am comes around. I think being excited about the day is very important. I know when I have to get up early to go to a Brewers game I wake up much quicker than when I have to get up for work even though I have to wake up for Brewers games 3 hours before I would normally get up.(holy run on)

[bani1717]

I set my alarm and force myself to get up. Working out or showering right after waking up helps wake me up and give me energy for the day.

[burniebrewer]

Get a puppy. Even after they develop some bladder control, the latest you'll sleep in is 6 am.

Or a child. I wake my daughter up at 7:15 every morning and then walk her to school. A nice walk wakes me right up.

[GAME05]

i hear ya. even if i get 9 hours of sleep in a night, it's still awful to get up in the morning, and no matter what i'm always wound up at midnight.

 

there was a period i used to get up a half hour earlier than i had to. i'd use the time to actually eat breakfast, but often just to go outside, sit on the porch and have a smoke before work, just enjoy the morning. it was still hard to get up, but i wasn't in a rush to get ready for work, and it gave me the opportunity to slowly work my energy up slowly.

 

i'm glad to hear about working out in the morning, though. i've just started on that schedule, actually, so that's good to hear.

 

but in the end, i agree, that you're either a morning person or you're not. people always say Daylight Saving Time adds daylight to the day, but that's really just for the early morning people--who put them in charge?

[DHonks]

I'm a teacher so I get up at 5:15 each morning. After a couple of weeks, I get used to it.

[JimH5]

I used to love going for a morning run just as the sun was coming up. A little cool down afterward, a quick shower, and off to work by 7:00 a.m. The traffic was very light, I could get in to an empty office and start working without interruption.

 

The problem was, I was wiped out by 9:30 p.m.--and it was too tempting to stay up just a little bit, which ruins the next day.

 

Also, I was often starved by 11:00 a.m. and couldn't get many lunch companions at that early hour. . .

[ILuvDaBush]

Perhaps a little Limp Bizkit with "Break Stuff" would be a good wake-up song. Got me through my frosh year of college (8am tennis at UW-Madison....and having to hike to the tennis centre since the L was always full at 8). Also, if working out in the morning isn't your cup of tea, attempt to incorporate a stretching routine in your morning ritual. It's amazing how simply doing 10-15 minutes of stretching will set you up for a productive day....of tennis.

[Weirdos19]

Good topic. I used to sleep until noon everyday when I was a full time bartender. Not anymore.

 

I now own that bar and we open at 8AM. I do have a retired guy opening for me, but I'm usually there by 8:30 at the latest. Vendors and delivery people start showing up at 8.

 

I have realized that as I get older, there are more things on my mind, that stress me out (business, daughter, step kids). So it seems that when I used to roll over at 6:30, I now have a list of things on my mind. Example: Had a roof leak at the bar last night, was there by 6:30 today, calling a repairman. No alarm, no nothing. Just hop out of bed, feeling like I'm behind even before I get up.

 

So my guess is that the people that sleep in have nothing important to get up for. No early job, kids, dogs, etc.

 

My advice to people that can sleep in? Do it while you can, it won't last forever.

[MJLiverock]

So my guess is that the people that sleep in have nothing important to get up for. No early job, kids, dogs, etc.

 

My advice to people that can sleep in? Do it while you can, it won't last forever.

I don't know if it was your exact meaning and but this touches on a pet peeve of mine. Just because someone doesn't get up before 6 AM doesn't mean they are lazy or get nothing done or have nothing important to do.

 

I have never been a morning person and never will be nor do I want to be. As a kid, like 5 years old, I would stay awake until 10PM and fight with my mom about bedtime because I wasn't tired. Now as an adult I rarely go to bed before midnight and get up at 7:30 only because I have to be to work at 8:30. If it were up to me I would probably stay up until 2 and get up around 9. My parents are both morning people and my Mom used to worry because during school breaks I would stay up until 4 AM reading, watching TV, video games, etc. and would still be up sometimes when she got up at 4:30. My nephew is 2 and doesn't take naps, he goes to bed at 8 or 9 and sleeps straight through until 8 or 9 and then gets up and plays like crazy all day. I honestly think some people just aren't meant to get up early just like some people can't stay up late at night. My wife could go to bed at 8 PM but she would still hate getting up at 7 AM, she just despises get up at that time.

 

It used to drive me crazy when my Dad's friends' or even a woman I work with would make statments about how much they get done because because they get up 5 AM every day. The thing is they go to bed at 8 or 9 so while they sleep I get stuff done, it is like they think the world shuts down after 8PM. They can't ever go to dinner on a weeknight, see a movie, or do anything because they are wiped out at 8 and have to go bed. So while they sleep I clean house, get groceries, work out, pay bills, etc. all the things they do early in the day and think is so productive to be done with before noon so they can get to bed early.

 

Don't let the world tell you you need to get up early to get anything done, you can do it all at night just as well and with just as few interruptions.

[hawing]

I honestly think some people just aren't meant to get up early just like some people can't stay up late at night.

I agree, though it puts me in a weird spot, as I don't think I'm physically capable of staying up very late (if I do, I regret it for a few days following; I've never pulled an "all-nighter, not even in college), but I also have trouble getting up early.

[logan82]

The night time is the right time, the night time is the right time, the night time is the right time

[Marc Newfield of Dreams]

What MJLiverock said.

 

I have a friend at work who is trying this, and is making it seem like he just split a damn atom. It's incredibly annoying. I get up at 6:45, make it to work by 8, and still get stuff done.

[DougJones43]

Great post, MJLiverock. Pretty much summed up my feelings exactly. It's always a nice feeling to know that there are other people that are going through the same things you are...

 

For whatever reason, there seems to be a real societal stigma with people who prefer to sleep late, even if they are not actually spending more time sleeping than the person who gets up at 5 in the morning. It seems to be especially true in Wisconsin. If you go out at 9:30pm, everything is dead, even in the larger cities. And many people seem to think/imply that you are lazy if you sleep past 8am. "You're sleeping your life away! There's soooo much you could be doing right now!"

 

Like MJ said, what difference should it make if I'd rather do things at night? That's how my body tells me to live, and it doesn't mean I'm lazy.

[DHonks]

For clarification from this teacher, I'm up at 5:15 each morning and off to my job (at a school) by 6:15. My middle school starts at 7:49, so I use that time from about 6:50-7:49 to get set up, decompress, vent with colleagues, and have some of my non-stop meetings.

 

I was recently placed at a high school in the district for next year, so that will mean that school starts at 7:30, meaning that I'll probably shift my wake-up to 5 am. What makes it tough is that on weeknights I tend to go to bed at around 11 or midnight.

[jschris]

I have a friend at work who is trying this, and is making it seem like he just split a damn atom.

 

I loved this line. Inspired, I got up at my normal time of 5:00 today and decided instead of working out trying to lose weight I would split an atom.

 

It was a great day because, contrary to a normal morning, I at least made progress on the atom.

 

Seriously, though, there shouldn't be a right answer to this. Sure, I get up early and maybe somebody envies me for that ability. But I envy those that can stay up past midnight, too. It's a wash.

[EdgarDiazRocks]

I drive into work each morning at 3am and get off at 10. One thing I will say about my schedule is that anything you need to get done is a lot easier, no traffic, and when you sleep in till 6:30 on Saturday it feels wonderful.

[Weirdos19]

So my guess is that the people that sleep in have nothing important to get up for. No early job, kids, dogs, etc.

 

My advice to people that can sleep in? Do it while you can, it won't last forever.

I don't know if it was your exact meaning and but this touches on a pet peeve of mine. Just because someone doesn't get up before 6 AM doesn't mean they are lazy or get nothing done or have nothing important to do.

I seriously didn't mean to offend anyone with my statement.

 

What I meant was that as you get older, responsibility comes flying at you faster than you are ready for it. I would love to sleep til even 9 AM everyday, but my responsibilities (and many other peoples) make me get up early.

 

If you can do this while sleeping in, great for you. I have no problem with that. But have kids and you'll be in the same boat as many other people.

 

It may be jealousy on my part, I was able to sleep late when I was younger.