9 Ways To Make Waking Up Just A Little Easier

Everyone knows just how hard it can be to get up some mornings (like this one...) and for the night owls out there, it can be that much harder.

Newsweek has a helpful guide today on nine ways even the sleepiest night owl can become a morning person.

According to Dr. Nancy Collop, director of the Johns Hopkins Hospital Sleep Disorders Center in Baltimore, it all comes down to routine, routine, routine. She recommends trying "to get up at the same time each day--even on weekends and days off. Disruptions in your schedule could throw off the body's sleep pattern for weeks."

Second on the list? Sunshine.

Sleep in a room with eastern exposure, and with the blinds up, so the morning sun shines in...Or, if your room lacks early sun, invest in a "light box" that greets you with full-spectrum light mimicking the sun. Light boxes typically shine 2,000 to 10,000 lux, depending on how far away you sit. Collop recommends an hour of 2,500 lux each morning, but even a half hour will help. Although some people can reduce the time they sit before the light box as the body adjusts; many relapse quickly into their old sleep habits when they stop using the light box altogether.

And that's not all - you should make sure that you're not doing any late night grocery shopping either!

At night it may be helpful to avoid spending too much time in stores with bright lighting in the evening. One 2003 study of Japanese junior-high-school students concluded that those who went to convenience stores after sunset stayed up longer and slept less.

For the remaining 6 tips, read the rest.

Comments

[StrayTalk]

I don't have a problem with any of the suggestions except maybe #1 Routine, routine (boring, boring which could be an issue also! ) My added suggestion: Get an ipod. If you have wakefulness use the time in a relaxing way: Music, podcasts, even self-hypnosis mp3s. The main thing about sleep is creating a relaxed state. You know what helps you to relax. Fretting about sleep is NOT relaxation. The other neglected issue in this article is physical activity. Plan it out everyday and you'll notice a big difference in your sleep.
Note: your stress filled day is not physical activity unless you are a bicycle messenger, laborer or walking mail carrier, etc.

[Tator]

Getting a good night's sleep is easy. Same as gaining wealth. It just takes making good choices. Eat a healthy diet, exercise, and stay away from all drugs (caffeine too).

And please don't give me I have a hard life BS. I have had some of my best sleep after working a double shift. I socked aways some savings and got a good workout. On top of that when the double was the 4PM to midnight I was working saving money when my Liberal friends were out getting drunk and *issing their money way.

40 years later those Liberals are still getting drunk and have all kinds of financial problems brought on by their bad choices and they wonder and blame others why they can not sleep or save....it is bad choices, nothing more.

[guajiro]

I see you've got the "sleep" part down, now all you're missing is the "empathy" part.
"Empathy is the capacity to recognize or understand another's state of mind or emotion. It is often characterized as the ability to "put oneself into another's shoes", or to in some way experience the outlook or emotions of another being within oneself. It may be described metaphorically as an emotional kind of resonance or mirroring.­" Not to be confused with sympathy: "Sympathy is the feeling of compassion for another, the wish to see them better off or happier". There are many reasons for sleeplessness and learning about it through blogging is definitely cheaper than having to go pay to see a doctor. For those who were raised to ignore their own needs this type of advice is helpful. For those braggadicios, like yourself, who have no need for this advice and have nothing but contempt for those who do, why in the world are you still friends with Liberals who get drunk and *iss their money away, 40 YEARS LATER? Guess all that money and values didn't elevate you to a group of friends "better" than what you've got now. More likely, it's your Liberal friends who taught you how to earn a better living and who have more in savings than you.

[AtomiClash]

Interesting that you assert liberals are "still getting drunk and have all kinds of financial problems..­." I'm liberal, manage to have PLENTY o' fun, and still sleep well at night. Not to mention the fact that myself, as well as ALL of my liberal friends have secure jobs (we're in our early 20s) and plenty of savings to spend on the fun you're obviously losing out on... And we are clearly making better choices than your generation ever did.

[hilaritee]

that advice is all well and good but i have tried it and then some without success. i even tried using an alarm clock for the blind and deaf. i plugged a lamp into it that would flash on and off when it was time to wake up; this was synched up with a vibrating disk that you put under your pillow...i­t would buzz when the alarm went off and shake your face. in addidtion the alarm would sound a very high pitched screech. not even the combiation of all three could kick start me. at this point you should pity my poor husband who put up with all of this. i need a reverse ambien but i do not think it is in the works. sigh.

[BobEvansZombie]

What if you work graveyard shift?

[wadenelson1]

Get caffeine completely out of your diet. Honest to god. It's a drug. It's a lot stronger than you realize. A month off "the juice" and you'll be sleeping like a rock.

[rini]

yeah,

I wish all of the above were feasible for most people. Many people cannot get to bed early on weekdays due to commitments at home and at work. They have to get up early as well. Therefore, the weekends are the only time that they can catch up on sleep and sleep in to do so.

These are the lucky ones. Many have too many commitments on the weekend as well, and end up with chronic sleep deprivation. I have one colleague who wakes up before four am on weekdays and many weekends to take his kids to swim practice. Then he puts in a ten to twelve hour day and stays up at night until midnight with family and preparing talks and doing paperwork.

I'm sure that waking up in the dark with all that sleep deprivation is not easy for him.