BEEP BEEP BEEP
Your sweet sleep is ruined as your obnoxiously loud alarm rings, irritating not just you but your parents as well. You groan as you reach over for your phone to turn it off before settling back into your cosy and warm bed.
Ten minutes later the alarm rings again, right when you were starting to fall into deep sleep again. This happens a few times before you’re finally awake and running around the house so that you aren’t late for your 9AM lecture that is attendance marked.
You put on random clothes that are scattered across your floor as you brush your teeth. Flinging whatever was on your desk into your bag, you skip breakfast and run out of the house so that you aren’t late for your train.
STOP!
How do you wake up feeling refreshed and not tired? This is probably a question that runs through our brains at least once every week. Let me say this, if you are waking up just like above, you are doing it WRONG!
To make the most out of your mornings and to feel refreshed, there are a few things that you should try.
Firstly when you wake up don’t hit that snooze button! A lot of people hit that button and then drift off to sleep again to try to get more sleep but that doesn’t help at all. The reason for this is because we have something in our bodies called a ‘natural body-clock ‘ that helps us wake up and go to sleep at a specific time. It is pretty much a built in alarm that is supposed to be ‘set off’ at the same time each day.
Most people feel drowsy and tired when they wake up because the pattern of their ‘natural body-clock’ has been disturbed or are heavily irregular. People that sleep and wake up at irregular times usually have this problem. As your body doesn’t have time to adjust properly to the inconsistent times it has to wake up, you will feel more tired.
Also, as we approach our natural wake up time, our body drifts into a ‘preparation’ hour where it falls out of deep sleep and prepares to wake up. However, the moment you hit the snooze button you fall back into deep sleep, ruining your body’s natural routine. The result? An even more treacherous journey to wake up feeling not tired.
So, try to sleep and wake up at regular times to adapt your body to these times so that you wake up feeling more refreshed and can then make the most out of your mornings!
When you do wake up, it’s best to open the curtains to let that light seep through! This not only fills your room with warmth but also sends a signal to your brain that you need to wake up. The hormone called melatonin that influences our sleep cycle, is decreased as we approach our natural wake up time. The hormone is not released during the day time, as we are exposed to more light so that our body doesn’t get the signal to ‘go to sleep’.
After that, excite yourself! It is hard waking up at 7AM knowing that you will be heading to your 9AM lecture, so turn on your favourite TV show or music as you get ready! Maybe even go for a jog as that not only helps you feel more awake and refreshed that morning but regular exercise makes you feel more energised as the days go.
Next, when it’s time to eat breakfast, eat something healthy and filling and don’t skip it! Eating breakfast not only gives you energy and the brainpower to last you a full university day, it also improves the start of your day. Skipping breakfast is shown to have physical consequences that could render you weaker due to low blood sugar levels and thus more tired. Also, skipping breakfast is said to put people into a bad mood! Without a hearty breakfast you are more prone to becoming tired throughout the day which is why it is so important!
The starting point for waking up refreshed is a good nights sleep though! Sleeping well is as crucial as what was mentioned here. Try your best to let your body sleep and recharge for the next day. So if you want to wake up feeling refreshed so that you can make the most out of your mornings sleep well, eat well, exercise well and … wake up well!
