Staying on a consistent sleep schedule is key to feeling refreshed and alert when you wake up in the morning. Step one should be finding out your optimal time of going to sleep based on your individual sleep cycle.
Strive to sleep at an ideal time that allows you to complete four full sleep cycles before awakening at your target time. A sleep calculator or counting backward from it may help.
Sleep at the Same Time Every Night
Though it might seem counterproductive, waking up at the same time every night is essential to maintaining an effective circadian rhythm, helping ensure you wake feeling rested and alert.
But restful rest doesn’t just consist of going to sleep at the same time every night – you should also stick with your schedule during weekends, as social events could disrupt your sleep and cause you to wake up feeling fatigued and disillusioned. If this occurs frequently enough for it to become an issue for you, speak with your physician as early detection could prevent serious health issues from developing further.
If you are having difficulty sleeping at a consistent time each night, try lowering your bedtime by several minutes and staying in bed longer than you normally would. If you still can’t fall asleep after some time has passed, turn off all the lights and practice deep body relaxation by breathing techniques. Otherwise try engaging in other activities, like reading or meditation to try.
However, you should never force yourself to sleep if it is not yet time. Doing so will only serve to awaken you further and cause stress and strain on the mind. Instead, consider investing in new pillows or mattresses; keeping the environment quiet and peaceful could also help aid better restful slumber.
Set an Alarm
No single wake-up time works perfectly for everyone, but there are ways to ensure you get enough rest. Achieve this by keeping both bedtime and wake-up times consistent: this will allow for easier falling asleep, uninterrupted rest during the night, and feeling ready to face your day when it arrives. If morning wakeups have become challenging for you, try these strategies instead – being persistent may work! Also avoid hitting snooze after one snooze; make it your rule that when an alarm goes off (even after one!), get up immediately without even one snooze (even after one!).
Set several alarm tones on your phone, with one standing out as the final wake-up alarm so you’ll remember it’s time for breakfast. Arranging this last alarm away from your bed may make snoozing harder; try placing it on a coffee table or kitchen counter where it requires you to walk across the room to turn it off – forcing yourself out of bed!
Some people find the sound of their phone alarm too harsh to wake them up in the morning, so there are apps designed specifically for you that give you the option of choosing a gentle noise (like birds chirping or bells chiming ) which gradually increases in volume until your scheduled wake-up time arrives. You can even disable silent mode on your device!
