Let me guess\u2026<\/p>\n
You drag yourself out of your warm cocoon every morning, bleary-eyed and miserable, ready for another slog at work.<\/p>\n
You know you\u2019ll feel tired all day, and then have no energy to actually do anything fun when evening finally rolls around.<\/p>\n
All because you can\u2019t get a decent night\u2019s rest.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve struggled with mornings in the past and finally knew it time to address it to improve the quality of my day.<\/p>\n
So in this article, we\u2019ll cover exactly how you can wake up refreshed in a few simple steps.<\/p>\n
But first, let\u2019s look at why a good night\u2019s sleep is so vital\u2026<\/p>\n
Many people assume that sleep is a passive process but research shows that some parts of the brain are actually more active during the night.<\/p>\n
When sleeping, we\u2019re processing the day and forming new connections in our mind.<\/p>\n
Sleep plays a huge roll in our mental and physical health, so if you\u2019re constantly waking up groggy, then the long term effects can be detrimental.<\/p>\n
So what are the warning signs of sleep issues?<\/p>\n
So if you\u2019re suffering from the above and need to some simple ways to improve your sleep (and morning), let\u2019s get into it.<\/p>\n
Firstly, as with most articles on bloomsoup, my main caveat that I\u2019m by no means a perfect morning person.<\/p>\n
While my sleep is pretty good right now thanks to the majority of the following practices, I still have work to do. This list is a great personal\u00a0reminder for me of things I need to work on to ensure I wake up ready to go.<\/p>\n
To be honest, if you really want to learn how to wake up refreshed, first, you have to become a master of your power down routine.<\/p>\n
You see, a good morning really starts the night before.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re\u00a0ill-prepared\u00a0before you go to bed, you\u2019ll naturally be playing catch up as soon as you wake up.<\/p>\n
No\u00a0bueno.<\/p>\n
Ideally, you should have a ritual that you follow without fail before going to sleep. You see, our brain is really a pattern recognition machine, picking up on cues in our environment.<\/p>\n
If our pre-bed routine varies wildly, our brain is unable to identify the necessary cues to power down ready for sleep.<\/p>\n
Try to make\u00a0your\u00a0process\u00a0as consistent as possible. For example, brushing your teeth at the same time will allow your brain to associate that action with the start of the ritual.<\/p>\n
The rest of this guide will include elements to consider when implementing an effective nightly ritual.<\/p>\n
Waking up tired and groggy isn\u2019t a great feeling, but it\u2019s made even worse when you have to prepare for the coming day…<\/p>\n
Especially if they\u2019re tasks you could have pre-planned.<\/p>\n
If you need to go to the gym, get you\u2019re clothes and water bottle in your gym bag, ready to go. Prepare your lunch.<\/p>\n
One of the reasons we wake up tired is that we\u2019re mentally organising all the annoying life admin we have to do when we wake up. If you can tackle these before bed, you\u2019ll sleep better and wake up energised.<\/p>\n
As well as planning what you need to do the following day, one of the reasons we fail to get sufficient rest is that we overthink…<\/p>\n
Either past incidents or those big, hairy existential life questions that haunt us just as we\u2019re nodding off to sleep.<\/p>\n
Part of a good power down routine includes writing some of your thoughts down in a journal pre-bed.<\/p>\n
To sprinkle some extra magic dust,\u00a0include\u00a0a daily dose of gratitude to put you in a cosy mental space before heading off to slumberland.<\/p>\n
Another component of waking up feeling tired is due to decision fatigue, which is common when we\u2019re unsure exactly what we have to do the following day.<\/p>\n
This is where a little planning can go a long way. Whip out your calendar and make sure you have your to-do list locked in.<\/p>\n
That way, you can avoid needless indecision when you wake and start the day with positive momentum by demolishing your to-do list.<\/p>\n
When people are planning how to wake up refreshed, they often overlook the basics.<\/p>\n
Part of the nightly ritual should involve going to sleep at the same time every night. Our body thrives on routine, and working backwards by 8 hours from the time you need to wake up will reveal your optimum bedtime.<\/p>\n
So, for example, I\u2019m currently waking up at 5.45am each day. The ideal for me is to be in bed, lights out, at 9.45pm (pretty rock n’roll I know).<\/p>\n
This provides enough time for some decent kip even if the sleep is sometimes a bit restless.<\/p>\n
Blue light, emitted from our phones, tablets and computer screens has been shown to affect our sleep patterns.<\/p>\n
It’s therefore\u00a0wise to say no to that extra Netflix episode and its evil autoplay if we want to sleep well.<\/p>\n
Try to avoid mindless scrolling at least 30 minutes before going to bed.<\/p>\n
Even leaving your phone alone for 30 minutes before bed, with the amount of evening screen time we put in, we can easily verge on blue light overload.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why you might want to try these blue light blocking glasses<\/a>.<\/p>\n A small disclaimer: I haven\u2019t tried them myself. Tim Ferris recommended them for improved sleep.<\/p>\n So, if you love your tech, it might be worth giving them a go.<\/p>\n As a physio by training, I always had numerous patients complaining about their mattress and pillows and either not getting enough sleep or waking up in physical pain.<\/p>\n Your sleeping equipment is vital to getting a good start the following day.<\/p>\n While everybody\u2019s personal preferences will vary and there is no one size fits all for comfort, I\u2019m a big fan of orthopaedic mattresses and pillows, so perhaps you want to give them a whirl.<\/p>\n Just as your equipment is important, so too your sleeping position is vital.\u00a0Ideally, you\u00a0want to avoid any postures that contort or twist your spine.<\/p>\n That might mean trying to sleep on your side or putting a pillow under or between your legs to avoid excessive lumbar spine rotation.<\/p>\n It might also be sensible to play with the height of your pillows so as to keep a neutral neck position.<\/p>\n It\u2019s so hard to sleep properly when you have artificial light filtering through the curtains, messing with our body clocks.<\/p>\n I\u2019m lucky enough to have an amazingly annoying security light attached to the\u00a0neighbour’s\u00a0property that blazes through the window\u00a0at completely random intervals, making me feel like I\u2019m about to be interrogated.<\/p>\n Changing your curtains can help and blackout\u00a0blinds are the best bet.<\/p>\n To really maximise your morning, you need to measure what\u2019s going on before you wake up. This is where sleep apps come in handy.<\/p>\n An app like Sleep Cycle<\/a> can help you crunch the data and see if the rest of your interventions are helping you get better rest to wake up feeling refreshed.<\/p>\n By tracking your nightly twitches and syncing the app with Apple Health, you can monitor your energy levels.<\/p>\n Also not only does it serve as an alarm clock, but you can set a\u00a0wake-up\u00a0window\u00a0where it detects\u00a0the best\u00a0time to activate depending on the depth of your sleep.<\/p>\n Do you remember the terrible selection of alarms available on our old phones?<\/p>\n Waking up to that racket made even the\u00a0hardiest\u00a0morning person want to roll over in disgust.<\/p>\n Luckily, some clever old sausage has addressed this and supplied better alternatives.<\/p>\n8. Change Your Mattress and Pillows (if Needed)<\/strong><\/h3>\n
9. Adjust Your Sleeping Position<\/strong><\/h3>\n
10. Install Blackout Curtains<\/strong><\/h3>\n
11. Try a Sleep App<\/strong><\/h3>\n
12. Install a Pleasant Alarm<\/strong><\/h3>\n