Life skills: How to be a morning person

T-Mag Wednesday 31/January/2018 16:31 PM
By: Times News Service
Life skills: How to be a morning person

Early bird catches the worm, they say. But we aren’t going into clichés. Personally, I don’t see anything wrong in sleeping in a little late. But society demands we rise early, and culture makes it sounds like it’s such a positive way to start the day. And to do that right, an important part is how you get to bed. Keeping that in mind, how exactly do you become a morning person, especially if you’re really not?

Get some sound sleep
See, we didn’t say get to bed early like most others would. That’s because it’s not quantity that matters, its quality. There’s no point getting to bed at 9 p.m. to only lie around squirming for another 2 hours. We don’t want to make the first step so hard for those nocturnal beings who actually like staying up a little late. Try to get to bed at a decent hour and when you do, make sure you’re tired enough so you fall asleep almost immediately. You’ll sleep better and waking up won’t seem like that much of a pain.

Create the right ambience
You need to want to get to bed; it shouldn’t be a forced thing. Get those fluffy pillows you like, that comforter in your favourite colour, or spray your bed linen with some soothing lavender essence. Your main motive is to be comfortable.

Keep distractions away
Solely because distractions like the phone, TV, laptop or pretty much anything that emits radiations, can disturb your sleep. We often tend to wake up groggy and attempting a ‘beautiful morning’ with a heavy head isn’t the easiest thing to do.

Wake up to sunlight
There’s nothing like a little sunshine to wake you up. It’s natural, and works better than the nasty alarm clock you eventually start to detest (especially on Sunday mornings). Instead of letting the heavy curtains block any form of natural light from entering the room, leave a bit of the drape pulled back and let the gentle rays of the sun wake you up. You’ll definitely feel more positive.

Look forward to it
If the first thing you have to do when you wake up is unpleasant, you’re going to dread waking up to it. So find something you like doing so you’ll be excited to get out of bed. For some, it’s a nice walk, for others, it’s eating a good breakfast. I personally just like to wake up and listen to good uplifting music to set my mood for the day. Whatever be your liking, use it as a motivation to roll out of the bed. On another note, if there is absolutely nothing you’d like to do when you wake up and the only thought is to go right back under those blankets, plan something nice for sometime later in the day — like going for a concert, meeting a friend or even going for a yoga class. Keep something lined up for every day.

Sleep when you’re sleepy
Let your body determine your bedtime. If you find yourself reaching exhaustion by a particular hour every night, plan your time so you can get done with the important tasks and jump into bed when your body gives you the signal. Push past this and you’ll find it harder to fall asleep when you actually get to bed, thus ruining the quality of your sleep.

Make it a habit
Don’t do it every alternate day or thrice a week. Make it a point to get up early every day. Yes, maybe a day over the weekend can be counted as a cheat day where you can sleep in late. But let that be an exception; don’t make waking up early an exclusive, once a week deal. —[email protected]

Antara Bose is a model turned fashion and beauty consultant. A popular blogger, anchor, and voice over artist, she maintains a deep connection with the local fashion industry and is passionate about discovering and celebrating aspiring talent as well as promoting animal rights. For fashion updates with a side of humour and sarcasm follow Antara on instagram
@antarabose and on Facebook (Antara Bose)