It’s Monday morning. You roll over in bed and hear the alarm clock going off. At 6 a.m., there is nothing you’d rather do more than hit the snooze button and go back to sleep.
We all know how this story ends because we all have likely been there: You keep hitting “snooze” and then end up running late. Starting the mornings off on the wrong foot can affect your productivity all day. Here are six ways to help you get out of bed on time.
1. Set a goal and take small steps toward it.
Say you typically wake up at 7 a.m., but your goal is to get up at 5:30 a.m. A good way to achieve this is to set your alarm one minute earlier each day — 6:59 a.m., then 6:58 a.m. — and so on. This will help trick your body into getting up earlier. If you think a minute is too small of an increment, try five minutes each morning. Rome was not built in a day, and you cannot change your sleeping habits overnight.
2. Reward yourself when you wake up on time.
This can be something small such as getting coffee at your favorite coffee shop, or even smaller like setting a timer on your coffeemaker for when you want to wake up. Most coffee drinkers would probably agree that the sooner you get your coffee, the better. You could even purchase The Barisieur to make your coffee for you, as a reward.
3. Use an alarm clock application on your smartphone.
Applications such as Step Out Of Bed require you to take 30 steps to prove you are awake. The Sleep Cycle app analyzes your sleep and then wakes you up during your lightest sleep phase. Alarmy requires you to take a picture of something in your residence to turn it off. This app is similar to Step Out of Bed, but it has a free version with advertisements.
4. Use peer pressure as motivation.
Set an early meeting time with your colleagues. Changing habits is difficult, and your peers can help support you through the transition. Make sure the meeting is something that you cannot miss.
5. Purchase a heavy-duty alarm clock.
There are thousands of alarm clock designs available for purchase. For instance, the Sonic Bomb alarm clock can wake the heaviest sleepers. It has an extra-loud alarm, built-in red flashing alert lights and a bed vibrating unit.
6. Get a good night’s sleep.
This may seem like an obvious solution, but it involves more than just going to bed early. The National Sleep Foundation recommends avoiding alcohol, caffeine and heavy meals at night. These items have been observed to disrupt sleep, leaving you tired when you wake up.
There are many options out there to help you wake up earlier. The important thing is to find what works for you and stick with it. Just think of what you will accomplish as a “morning person.”
For more life hacks to help you get through the school year, check out ASDA’s past Life Hacks Week posts. If you have hacks you’d like to share, leave a comment!
~Jerad Servais, Minnesota ’18, electronic editor
