How to Wake Up Early

[♪♩INTRO]
What if you’re not a morning person, and you want to be?
That’s something we both know a thing or two about.
So let’s talk about how to conquer the snooze button, wake with the rooster, and maybe make
life a little more awesome.
Now, as with so many things, it helps to start with a compelling "why."
What benefits will you reap from getting up early?
Will it give you time to write that novel, do a little bit of exercise, maybe have yourself
some quiet hours to yourself?
Whatever your "why," it should be something important to you for when the going gets sleepy.
Once you've settled on it, write it down, as research shows we're far more likely to
achieve goals when they've been written down.
You might have varying "why"s depending on the day, so we recommend doing this nightly,
at least at first.
In other words, think about what you're going to do the next morning with this extra time,
get excited about it, and put pen to paper.
Now, it's generally recommended that you get into the groove of waking earlier gradually.
You can do this by setting your alarm for, say, 15 minutes earlier than usual.
Wake up at that new time for a couple days so you can get used to it, then set the alarm
another 15 minutes earlier, etc., until you've reached your desired wake-up hour.
If you want to get extra science-y, you can also use an app that will wake you at the
optimal point in your sleep cycle.
Of course, even if you are going gradually, that hallucinatory pillow-voice telling you
‘just ten more minutes’ can be awfully convincing.
It's one of my favorite pillow-voices.
Some tips to conquer that: Put your alarm on the other side of the room, so that you
have to get up out of bed to shut it off.
You can even purchase alarm clocks that will run away from you, like Clocky, or blare and shake
the bed, like the Sonic Alert clock.
Links in the doobly-doo.
As soon as you're up, consider drinking a glass of water.
It’s been a little bit since your last swig of H20, and you might be slightly dehydrated.
Some people also drink a cup of coffee or tea in the morning, or start off with a healthy
snack.
Do whatever seems most motivating for you.
But wait, you're saying, how am I supposed to get up earlier if I'm still staying up
late?
With extremely rare exceptions, most of us really do function far better with the recommended
7-8 hours of sleep.
Well, over time, going to bed earlier may happen automatically to a degree: You could
naturally grow tired earlier to compensate for waking earlier.
But you can also really help yourself along by practicing what researchers call "good
sleep hygiene."
This basically means doing things that help you get to sleep, and avoiding things that
unnaturally prolong alertness.
For instance, you can help induce sleep and relaxation by taking a warm bath or shower
about 30 minutes before bed.
It's going to make your hair look funny, though, if you don't get it dry.
You can fix it in the morning.
Then there are the things you should avoid.
Obvious culprits include stimulants—this seems pretty "duh" but people do it.
Nicotine, caffeine both have a half-life in the body of 4-6 hours.
But as importantly, you should avoid "blue-light" sources, which trick your brain
into alertness by mimicking sunlight and making it think it's still daytime.
Blue-light sources include TVs, laptops, and phones, so try to go screen-less for a couple
hours before bed.
If you can't, at least put your phone into "Night Shift Mode" or a similar setting.
And if you absolutely have to fall asleep to Netflix, consider trying a pair of glasses
that block blue light from reaching your eyes.
Again, link in the doobly-doo.
I've never heard of that. That's a cool idea.
If you'd like some more tips, links to those are in the doobly-doo as well.
In sum, getting up earlier can be difficult, but if you want to do it there are ways to
make it easier that don't necessarily include having a baby, which is what has done it for me.
That's all we've got for you today!
If you have any tips on getting up earlier, please let us know down in the comments—we'd
love to hear from you.
And if you’d like to learn more about adulting with Rachel and me, subscribe to How to Adult
at youtube.com/learnhowtoadult
[Hank claps limply]
[Rachel claps sharply]
[off screen] That was... much better.
[laughter]
[Hank and Rachel clap limply]
Early to bed, early to rise makes a man...
Or WOman...
[unsure] Riiise and shine....
[laughter] I don't know. What does it say?
It's going a little slow.
I don't know the saying!
So what if you're not a morning—
[sniff]
[laughter]
Will it be—bllrrrr [gargling sound]
Once you've set on it—set—sat on it.
Don't sit on it.
As research shows, we're far more likely to achieve goals when they've re—
Poop-a-doop.
...That block blue light from res—
From researchers.
Researching!
...block blue light from res—
Why?
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How to Wake Up Early

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