Waking up nervous and unprepared for the day ahead every morning? Throw away your third cup of coffee and try these tips instead!
A perfect sleeping environment
Of course, the first step to waking up feeling great is getting a good night’s rest in the first place. Establish a great sleeping environment by investing in a great memory foam mattress (or a cheaper alternative to a mattress pad). Naturopath Jacqui Watts from Healthful also suggests trying entering a deep sleep mode before bed: “This deep sleep helps us feel relaxed and energized when we wake up. In the clinic as a Naturopath, I have found the best way to create this is through Yoga Nidra meditation right before bed. Yoga Nidra allows us to activate the parasympathetic nervous system so that we enter a deeper and more restorative sleep. Without a tool to transform this part of our nervous system, we often go to bed with an overstimulated nervous system that causes restless and unrefreshing sleep.”
For more details on Jacqui, visit her Instagram and Facebook.
Know your sleep window
Bev Roberts from Living Fabulous also suggests that you know your optimal amount of sleep so you can plan a good night’s sleep: “Here’s the amount of quality sleep you need to feel energized. Most adults need 7.5-9 hours of sleep. Once you know this, stay in bed for hours from the time you need to wake up. For example, if you need to wake up at 6 a.m. and your optimal sleep duration is 8 hours, you’ll be in bed at 10 p.m. This means you’ll never wake up in the middle of a sleep cycle and won’t feel groggy or disoriented if you use the alarm.”
See more Bev tips on her Facebook or Twitter.
Don’t hit the snooze button
Now that you’ve established the perfect sleeping environment and made sure you go to bed on time, you must resist the temptation of snoozing. Set a realistic alarm using what you know about your optimal sleep duration and stick to it. If you keep pressing snooze, all you receive will be interrupted, just enough sleep makes you feel more tired when you wake up.
Drink water as soon as you wake up
Our bodies lose a lot of water during sleep, which means you can be dehydrated when you wake up. And dehydration, of course, makes you feel tired and down. Leave your drink bottle on the bedside table so you can drink it right away.
Eat full food
The right diet is necessary to maintain energy, with a dietitian Christine Cronau “One of my biggest pieces of advice for waking up with energy is to eat less carbs and more protein and fat. Yes, I said fat! A low-fat diet is one of the biggest culprits for feeling tired and listless, and waking up exhausted. When we go on a diet, or eat low-fat, we tend to go into a state of stress from hunger; our thyroid gland and metabolism slow down. Not only that, but a carbohydrate-based diet leads to multiple highs and lows throughout the day, with a constant need for snacks and energy loads. Putting fat back into our diet means long-lasting and steady energy throughout the day. “
For more great tips, visit Christine’s Facebook and Instagram.
Get a move on
Many of us skip our daily exercise until evening, when we say we have time. In fact, this only irritates the body, making it difficult to sleep. Instead, exercise first thing in the morning to get your spirits up. Try yoga for a gentle warm-up or jogging to get your heart pumping.
