Isn’t that such a clickbait title? Sorry folks, the algorithm made me do it. But in all honesty, I do think that this week’s topic is crucial to getting up early and enjoying your morning. Anyhow, let’s get into it, shall we?
Week one recap: why don’t you like the morning?
In the first week of this challenge, we looked at why we prefer to hit snooze, rather than popping out with the lark. For me, it was the feeling that mornings were just a rush of ‘to dos’ before sitting down for yet another work day. Who would want to get up early for that?
To change this mentality, I made my mornings into something slow and enjoyable. First, I set aside 15-20 minutes to prayer, while sipping a little cup of tea. Then, I read until about 7am, when I get cracking with all the life admin, like breakfast and getting out of PJs. It’s made mornings so much more enjoyable! I actually look forward to getting up now. I think mostly it was taking out the expectation of working out in the cold mornings, but we’ll leave that for another day.
Week two: hack your bedtime routine
Towards the end of week one, I started turning off the lights around 9:30pm. I was just far more tired after being up at 6:10am every morning. Unsurprisingly, it made it easier to get up when I’d had that extra half an hour of sleep.
What does your bedtime routine look like? Mine is usually watching TV or hanging about on my phone until 9:30pm, then faffing about before lights-out at 10pm. My husband and I usually end up chatting for another half hour, so I’m getting to sleep around 10:30pm. Not the worst, but certainly not helpful when the alarm goes off.
Things like screen light, caffeine, sugar and even exercise can wake you up, right when you’re trying to unwind and sleep. Reducing or eliminating these things as you prepare for bed can help improve your sleep quality. It also helps to add in soothing things, like reading, warm showers/baths and herbal teas.
Reset your night for a better morning
This week, keep up your enjoyable morning routine, whatever that looks like for you. Feel free to tweak as you go, but don’t fall of the morning-person wagon. You got this!
Now, add in a better bedtime routine. Have a look at what time you’re getting to bed. Are there things cutting into the quality of your sleep? What you can do to improve your night so that you’re well-rested and ready to bounce out of bed?
[…] enough about that. I’m sorry I didn’t write the week three morning challenge post for you all. I got taken for a pretty rubbish ride on the hormone roller coaster and struggled […]