Are you struggling to find ways to enjoy a stress free morning? Are you overwhelmed and frustrated when you wake up, rushing around in a frantic haze? If so, this post is definitely for you. While I don’t know your exact situation, I think I can give a few helpful pointers to give you a little more peace after you wake up.
Can small, simple improvements in your life really help you have a stress free morning? Can changing one or two things really be all that it takes? Yes! How do I know? I’ve tested it myself, and that’s why I am here now telling you about it. I used to hate mornings, but that was because I had the wrong idea about them. I would sleep in as long as I could before finally waking up last minute and then rushing around the house to get ready for the day. Does that sound familiar? If so – let me tell you have to fix it.
What NOT To Do For A Stress Free Morning:
When you set your alarms before bed, how many do you set? Maybe one, two, four, or seven? If you’re setting more than two, I’m sorry, but that’s a huge problem you need to kick. Stop setting multiple alarms! You’re only hurting yourself when you do, especially if you suffer from insomnia.
Beatrix A. Schmidt, Sleep Coach, Professional Speaker, creator of the Sleep Skills for Life Programme and the Author of The Sleep Deep Method® has quite a bit to say on this matter. In her post Why setting multiple alarms is bad for your sleep, especially when treating chronic insomnia, she writes, “This may have been something that you have done for many years, and you may believe this is the only way that you can get yourself out of bed in the morning.”
I’m guessing you probably agree that setting multiple alarms is the only way for you to get up in the morning, but Schmidt explains why you’re not only wrong, but you’re actually doing more damage than good. She continues, “You might wake up to the first alarm, hit the snooze button, and fall back into sleep for a few minutes.
“Then the next alarm sounds, you wake up again, perhaps this time you might actually turn the lights on because you know you have to start somehow getting out of bed. But then you snooze back again.
“That third alarm, or the last alarm in your sequence, will be the one that probably is going to get you out of bed.
“One of the things I see with this is that fragmentation at the very end of your night can really link to not being able to wake up refreshed. Especially if you struggle with either falling asleep or if you wake up in the middle of the night. Having this fragmentation at the end can really affect how energized you feel in the morning.”
Starting Healthier Habits: Setting ONE Alarm
I don’t know about you, but I used to struggle with both of those: falling asleep at a decent hour seemed impossible, and even when I did fall asleep, I woke up multiple times throughout the night. This made me set more and more alarms, snoozing and re-snoozing, because I thought somehow it was better. I thought it was a way to catch up on sleep a little after a restless night. Wrong.
Schmidt recommends setting one alarm for the time you need to get up, rather than breaking it up into segments. “Fragmentation of whatever sleep you can get at the end of your night is going to have a negative effect on your body’s ability to really commit to waking up. It makes more sense to set one alarm for the time you need to get up, and allow your body to rest until that time, getting a good chunk of really good sleep.”
Now you might be asking yourself, “What if I go back to sleep out of habit and there isn’t another alarm to wake me up?” Well, I have a simple solution for you. When you set your alarm, make sure you put your phone somewhere out of arms length, preferable across the room somewhere. Then, keep a lamp by the bed. When you wake up, turn on the lamp and go turn off your phone. After giving yourself time to adjust a little, go turn on the overhead light. DO NOT GET BACK IN BED. If you do this, you should be fine!
You could also try washing your face with cold water first thing, even if it’s still in the dim lighting, or going out into the backyard for some fresh morning air.
Building A Stress Free Morning:
So you woke up to your first alarm – now what?
If you’ve given yourself time, there are several things you can do in the morning to lift your spirits. What’s the number one thing to keep in mind when choosing how to spend your time in the morning? Make sure it’s something you enjoy, something that is healthy, or something that won’t stress you out or irritate you. One thing I do recommend – avoid scrolling on your phone when you first wake up.
Do Something You Enjoy:
- Stretching
- Practice breathing exercises
- Yoga
- Reading the Bible
- Writing in a journal
- Prayer
- A walk or jog
- Healthy breakfast
- Planning the day
- Skincare routine
- Drink a glass of water BEFORE coffee
- Meditate
- Everything shower
- Small exercise routine
- Read a chapter to a good book
- Make your bed and tidy the room
How To Get Motivated:
Okay, so maybe you’re considering this, but you still aren’t sure you could get yourself up in the morning. Well, that last recommendation I have for you is simple. Watch this video by Mel Robbins: Everything You Need To Know About The 5 Second Rule. Or, if you prefer reading, you could purchase her book about it HERE.
In Summary: Mel Robbins has a 5 second rule that she follows to get herself out of bed. She wakes up to her alarm, turns it off, and counts backward like a rocket about to blast off. 5…4…3…2…1 – then she gets up. It’s quite silly, and you might be rolling your eyes, but it works. I’ve tried it myself! It transformed my mornings, and it can do the same for you. I highly recommend doing research into Mels’ 5 Second Rule, and give it a shot!
Let me know in the comments what you thought about this post and if this is something you can relate to. Stay Blessed.
Until next time…
