Getting out of bed can be a challenging thing to do, especially if you haven’t had enough sleeping hours during the night. The shorter your deep rest during the night, the more your body will protest against waking up. Chronic sleep deprivation, on the other hand, will usually lead to chronic morning drama. 

Ready to hear the good news? If you make conscious efforts towards improving your sleeping hygiene, waking up in the morning will come more naturally than you might suggest. In fact, a healthy sleeping schedule often results in waking up before the alarm clock – fully alert and ready for the day. 

If all of the above sounds like science fiction to you, you might need some extra tips for waking yourself in the morning. So, fasten your belts because we’re going on a sprightly sunrise trip!

Why Is Getting Up so Hard?

First of all, we should make one thing clear. Having eight hours of night sleep is fundamental for experiencing a healthy daily routine. Still, there is probably nothing wrong with you if you’ve had your eight hours, but you’re still finding it hard to leave your bed in the morning. 

Sleep inertia is a real thing, and it’s a state of your brain during which not all cognitive processes are running properly. This transitional phase between sleep and wake is characterized by reduced alertness, impaired performance, and a (sometimes rather passionate) desire to just go back to sleep. It can last anything from 15 to 30 minutes, during which some parts of your brain are literally still sleeping. 

If you’re chronically sleep deprived, sleep inertia can even last up to 60 minutes, making it harder for you to cope with simple tasks in the morning. Anyway, this is a normal biological process, and it’s absolutely expected to feel sleepy in the morning.

How Do You Fight Sleepiness?

There are multiple ways to shorten your sleep inertia and naturally decrease its intensity. Some ideas to try might include:

• Open the shades and ensure you get plenty of natural light in the morning. Natural sunlight works best, and it is combined amazingly well with fresh air and a brush of wind on your face. 
• Rehydrate yourself with two cups of room-temperature water. Your body has lost a lot of water during the night, and good hydration will kick off your systems for a natural energy boost.
• Make it physical. Your morning routine can include mild stretching, a brief walk outdoors, yoga, meditation, or breathing exercises. Physical exercises will help activate blood circulation, increase awareness, and boost concentration. 
• Don’t forget your breakfast. Easing a protein-rich meal for breakfast will sharpen your focus and will give your body an energy boost beyond the sleep inertia phase. A smoothie bowl will be your best friend if you don’t have time to cook in the morning. 

Last but not least – you can play uplifting music and try a bit of aromatherapy to help you wake up swiftly and efficiently. Citrus essential oils and peppermint are perfect to use in the morning, along with your favorite feel-good tunes.

How To Wake Up Earlier?

If you’re ever too drawn to the snooze button, you’re not doing yourself a great favor. In fact, snoozing the alarm makes sleep inertia longer and harder to cope with, sometimes interfering with the entire course of your day. 

This being said, setting up the alarm an hour before you actually have to go out of bed is a big mistake. Normally, you should stick to longer deep sleep and a faster wake-up procedure if you want to feel fresh and well during the day. 

If you need to wake up earlier than usual, the only intelligent strategy would be to just go to bed earlier to avoid stressful sleeping pattern deviations. 

What Will Wake Me Up When I’m Tired?

Sometimes, a healthy sleeping schedule is easier advised than achieved. Unconventional working hours, parenthood, stress, and health issues can interfere with how much you sleep – and sometimes, you’ll have to have a plan B. 

If you need a quick wake-up strategy for the days when you’re really tired, here are a few ideas:

• Give yourself a healthy adrenaline rush. No need for emotional stress – a cold water face splash, an ice cube wrist rub, or a glass of ice water will do more than enough to wake you up.
• Take a walk outside first thing in the morning. No direction, no aim, no stress. Just you, your headphones, and the freshness of the morning. Puppy owners know that feeling, and it’s super efficient for a swift reality check. 
• Play a podcast. Mental stimulation is just as efficient as a morning stretch when it comes to waking up. So, after you make that precious cup of coffee, play your favorite show or audiobook to quickly rewire your brain.

Speaking of coffee, it’s no coincidence that people call it a liquid hug. It will boost your dopamine and serotonin levels along with waking you up, and it will work even better when combined with a cup of citrus juice. Grapefruit, orange, and lemon are well-known mood-boosters you can grab along with your coffee and enjoy a better morning even when you’re really, really tired.

How To Wake up a Heavy Sleeper?

Though envied by many, the superpower of heavy sleeping can quickly turn into a curse. Heavy sleepers are unbothered by alarm clocks, sunlight exposure, and even background and environmental noises. Instead, they just keep sleeping soundly, as if the night is young and the clocks have stopped ticking.

Surely enough, that evolves into a problem when a heavy sleeper has to wake up.

Research suggests a few tricks on how to wake up a heavy sleeper without them knowing, as well as how to wake yourself up if you’re a heavy sleeper:

• Try a vibrating alarm clock or a vibrating smart clock that adds tactile stimulation to the noise activation.
• Eat breakfast every morning to stimulate your circadian rhythm. This way, your metabolic system will know it’s time to wake up, making your mind more alert to noises, light, and touch.
• Make technology work for you. Nowadays, the market offers anything from robot alarms running around the house to smart home solutions that will make your bedroom act like a nightclub at 7 AM. Just choose your thing and let it work for you.
  
• Get a pet. It’s not wise to have puppies or kittens just for the sake of never oversleeping again… But these pals will surely do their best to get you out of bed as soon as they wake up. 

You can always reach out for expert help because sometimes, heavy sleeping might be a red flag for physical and emotional conditions that need to be addressed. If heavy sleeping interferes with your quality of life, don’t hesitate to reach out to your healthcare provider and dig deeper to find the reason. 

At the end of the day, a good night’s sleep is the first step towards a fresh and easy morning – so provide that luxury to your body and enjoy the results. 

American psychologist Martin Seligman studied helplessness in animals and depression in humans—until he realized that his work was making him gloomy and impatient. Since then, the researcher and professor from the University of Pennsylvania has devoted his time to developing positive psychology, a branch of psychology that believes well-being can be defined, measured, and taught. Surveys, longitudinal studies, meta-analyses, brain imaging, and more resources are used in this branch of psychology to ensure that people use evidence-based strategies to become happy.

Seligman and his colleagues launched many positive psychology interventions in the past few decades. However, the research regarding happiness never stops and they led to these exciting trends in positive psychology interventions:

Group strength-building interventions

Strength-based interventions are a positive psychology practice where a person’s resources, resilience, and positive attributes are recognized. Acknowledging one’s kind deeds, capacity for love, interpersonal skills, courage, and perseverance shifts their mindset and empowers them during tough times.

While this is usually done one-on-one during therapy, a review by researchers from the University of Miami and the Université du Québec à Montréal shows that this positive psychological intervention can also be used in building up community well-being. The review recommends participatory and collaborative interventions to encourage community members to recognize their collective strength and leverage them toward social change. Through this combination of positive and community psychology, citizens and local governments can utilize the resources needed to improve public spaces.

Virtual gratitude visit

Our article entitled ‘The Simple Pleasures in Life’ highlights how being grateful for simple things, such as talking to a grandparent or cuddling with someone, can brighten up even the most ordinary of days. Acknowledging these things and thanking the people involved can bring more meaning, depth, and happiness to your life.

Seligman’s original concept of a gratitude visit follows this by encouraging people to write a letter of gratitude to another person to help them enjoy the positive exchange and build a stronger bond. Psychologist Dan Tomasulo revised this intervention for people who want to thank individuals they are no longer in contact with through virtual gratitude visits. In this intervention, people will sit across an empty chair and pretend that their loved one is in the chair as they express their gratitude.

Nutritional psychology programs

When it comes to your mental health, the saying “you are what you eat” rings true. Studies have shown that dietary habits impact one’s mental health, which is why Maryville University predicts the future of psychology will involve more research studies and treatment interventions regarding nutritional psychology. Most of the current research discusses how poor nutrition can lead to severe mental illnesses and vice versa, but there are already new studies that explore how positive psychological interventions improve eating behaviors.

In fact, a recent qualitative study on positive psychology constructs showed that optimism and strength-building can help people eat healthfully. By providing positive reinforcements for health behaviors, more people will be encouraged to practice healthy eating habits.

Positive youth development

Positive psychology recognizes that people can learn to practice optimism. So aside from promoting healthy eating habits, positive psychology has also been integrated into educational interventions to support youth development.

The Palgrave Handbook of Positive Education on Springer Link recommends positive youth development interventions like social-emotional learning, which teaches kids how to manage negative emotions and boost positive ones. The handbook also suggests character education, which is quite similar to strength-building because it enables students to realize their potential for excellence. Through these educational interventions, students can learn skills that will help them navigate life with a positive attitude.

There are plenty of experiments being conducted on positive psychology interventions because researchers want to figure out how people can improve their mental well-being every day. Through these exciting trends in positive psychology, more people can try out psychological interventions that can boost their happiness.

Article specially written for https://relaxifyapp.com/ by Amy Colleen,[email protected]