What do you do first thing in the morning?
Grab your iPhone and begin frantically answering emails.
Bound out of bed in a panic because you’re late (already).
Bolt into the shower. Put some product in your hair. Grab a handful of nuts and an apple and race to your car.
Yeah, I do that sometimes too.
But sometimes…
Sometimes, I do something that makes my morning feel
E X P A N S I V E.
Calm. Clear. Energetic. Easeful. Mindful.
That’s how I feel on days when I do this.
When I wake up early – several hours before I need to leave the house – stuff happens.
Magical and creative stuff. Stuff that I rarely find time for later in the day. (More on that in a minute.)
There’s a downside, of course: You have to go to bed earlier to get up earlier, which cuts into your social and family life for sure.
So why would you want to get up earlier? And once you decide to do it, how do you get your body to cooperate if it’s used to going to bed after midnight?
Let’s start with Why.
- Breakfast. It’s no secret that I adore breakfast. I’d eat breakfast and brunch food all day if it was practical. (Some days I make it practical.) I always make time to eat it before I leave the house. And despite recent media coverage to the contrary, I believe eating breakfast makes an immeasurable difference to your health and sense of wellbeing. If nothing else, sitting down to a proper breakfast gets you to slow down just a little in the morning – a much more sane way to start your day.
- Birds. I’m channeling my nature loving mother here, but the birds chirp like they’re having a party in the morning. And it’s cool! (See Mom. I like birds too. 😉 I’m not kidding. Just listen.
- Books. Reading in the morning – a novel, the newspaper, something other than email and social media – calms and focuses my mind before it starts diving into a to-do list.
- Coffee. Is there anything better than savoring your morning cup of coffee? Extra time = extra savoring.
- Movement. Not everyone rocks exercise in the morning, and that’s cool. If it feels better for you later in the day, there’s good reason to do it then instead. But if you’re as busy as most of my clients, exercising in the morning – before other people’s demands hijack your day – might be the way to go. And if you hate exercise, then just get it out of the way! Or better yet, find movement you love.
- Meditation. Yeah, yeah, I know. Meditation and its benefits feel a little like a fad these days. But I assure you – the hype is true. Try it for five minutes a day during your new expansive morning. THEN tell me it’s a fad.
- Silence. If you have kids, I imagine early mornings are a rare quiet time in your house. Claim the silence, lady (or gentleman)! It’s yours to take.
- Space. To think. To dream. To set intentions. To be present. Golden.
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Okay. You’re on board with getting up earlier. (It’s because of the birds, isn’t it?) HOW are you going to do this, especially if you’re a night owl?!
Take advantage of summer morning light to begin getting up earlier. Once the dark winter months arrive, it’s so. f’ing. hard. to drag yourself out of bed. In the dark. And cold. (Let’s just not think about, okay? It’s SUMMER!!)
Take it 10 minutes at a time. Bump up your bedtime by 10 minutes for three days and you’ve bought yourself an extra 30 minutes on day four.
Ditch blue light before bed. Nothing kills my resolve to settle in for the night more than “screen time.” If I get sucked into picking up my iPhone for even one second, I’m down the social media and internet rabbit hole… and suddenly it’s an hour past my bedtime.
My solution? Keep the iPhone in the living room at night and replace its alarm with a real alarm clock.
Melatonin regulates our circadian rhythms, making us sleepy when we should be sleepy; and, according to research, blue light messes with its production. Turn off your screens at least an hour before bed, and you’ll drift off sooner and experience a more rejuvenating slumber.
Drink some water. My number one tip for getting your day started with a bounce instead of a drag: Keep a glass of water by your bed and drink it when you wake up. Before juice (ie, a sugar bomb). Before coffee. Before anything.
Water. Drink some. Wake up. Simple!
Wake up gently. I hear that there are apps and devices – like this one (which I can’t recommend because I haven’t tried it) – designed to track your sleep patterns and wake you up at the ideal time. When you won’t feel like someone reached into your dream, smacked you on the head with a mallet, and bellowed “WAKE UP!!!!!”. I’ve not tried one yet. If you have, tell me in the comments. I’m curious.
Pick something you enjoy doing but rarely have time for – and do it first thing. For me, it’s writing. I need space and stillness to catch the words and shape them into something useful. Early mornings are the only time I get that. And now – after a few months of tweaking my sleep schedule – I look forward to them.
