Feel fresh in the morning!

I’ve never really been a morning person (despite a couple failed attempts!) – I love that time of the night when the kids are in bed, the house is quiet.. you can do whatever you want! Spend hours online… watch a dvd… read a book… whatever.

This has become a bit of a problem by the time the morning rolls around – I’ve actually had mornings where I’ve hit ’snooze’ 5…6….7 times because it’s been too hard to get up.

credit: Impala74

Obviously it’s not so bad if there’s nothing I need to get up for on that particular day, but if I’m working or have some other early morning commitment, it can be a real drag! People end up coming up to me at work with such helpful comments such as “gee, you look horrible” or “are you ok? your eyes are bleeding!”.

So I started a little trend where I would tell myself “get into bed at a decent hour”… or at least around midnight instead of 1, 2, 3am (on days where I needed to get up the next day). But most times I fall into the lure of the free night off! Quiet house… interesting article… playing a game… and its 2:30am again. Feels sooooo good (not) when the alarm goes off at 0550hrs, let me tell you!

So I’ve tried some of the recommended tips around the place for feeling fresh in the morning, or ways to make it easier on yourself. Here are some of the ones that have helped:

Get more sleep – as I mentioned before, I’ve found this difficult to do in the past. Forcing myself to get ready for bed & finish up several hours earlier than I was used to doing has really helped though. There are lots of documented benefits from getting enough sleep such as reducing stress, improving concentration and ‘repairing’ your body.

Shower before bed – sure, most people probably do this… but I’m a real ‘morning shower’ type of person – encorporating a ‘wind down’ period at night has helped me to feel more relaxed and ready for bed.

credit: aliciagriffin

Don’t drink coffee or tea 4-6hours before bed. I realise tea does not have a lot of caffeine in it, however I find myself awake for hours and hours if I have tea right before bed, or coffee within a few hours of bed time. I’m a real coffee fanatic too, and drink 5 or 6 double shot espresso’s most days. So it’s a real sacrifice not to have an evening coffee! But it sure helps in the morning…

Give yourself more time in the morning - I’ve been guilty in the past of allowing 12 minutes of preparation time for work – shower, dress, coffee, pack lunch, grab keys – 12 minutes. This massive rush leads to a few issues: no time for food, stress levels are higher, and you look terrible . Allowing 1hour of prep time gives you time to relax, eat some food, check the news online and enjoy your morning coffee. I have found this to be a great help in terms of being ready to attack the day! I’m calmer, feel better and look much neater than I otherwise would when using this tip.

Personal hygiene – Shower! shave! wax / shampoo / groom regularly. Take the time to make yourself look, feel and smell nice – it will make you feel better as well as the people who have to look at you or be around you all day!

Reduce alcohol intake – there’s a fine line between a ‘glass of wine before bed’ and ‘just enough to get tipsy’ before bed, or even ‘just enough so I’m staggering!’

credit: monkeyc.net

How much you drink can have a real impact on you in the morning for obvious reasons. Reducing alcohol intake can help you feel fresh in the morning – if you’re a heavy drinker, make some nights alcohol free. Others, stop short after 1-2 glasses max.

Eat well! A healthy breakfast can help improve your overall health, improve your concentration and reaction time, reduce fatigue and sleepiness throughout the morning and improve your overall alertness. In short, you’ll feel better! You’re also less likely to snack throughout the day.