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Well, wouldn’t it be great to take it and suddenly become a “lark”? Waking up every day full of energy and strength … However, this is not the only way to live better: a group of scientists has developed a method using which you can feel cheerful and satisfied in the morning.
According to Stanford University Medical School researcher Keith Kaplan, over the past year, many sleep and wake patterns have completely gone astray. Many complain of poor productivity, dizziness, and an “irresistible urge to get back to bed” even though the work day has just begun.
Getting ready for work or university, choosing clothes, packing lunch with us – all this helped us to finally wake up, but during the “remote” period, this was not necessary for many. No wonder most of us feel more overwhelmed in the morning than before the pandemic.
The method developed by Kaplan and her colleagues is based on 6 rules:
- Resist the urge to snooze the alarm.
- Spend the first hour after waking up as active as possible.
- Take a shower (or at least wash your face with cold water).
- Let sunlight into the room.
- Turn on upbeat music.
- Call another.
Let’s take a look at each of them in more detail.
1. Resist the urge to snooze the alarm.
With this rule, everything is as simple and clear as possible: by rearranging the alarm clock, we again and again violate our “REM sleep” phase, during which the body recovers, which means that when we get up, we do not feel rested. And although we think that “five more minutes” will help us sleep, in fact, the opposite is true: we are only robbing ourselves.
In addition to getting up at the first alarm, Kaplan strongly advises to do this at the same time (as well as going to bed): “This is extremely important, thanks to this our built-in clock does not go astray. But getting up on weekdays at one time, and on weekends at another, we experience something like jet lag, which is definitely not good for our body.
If on a particular day you went to bed later than usual, you should set an alarm for the usual time instead of giving yourself the opportunity to sleep in the morning.
2. Spend the first hour after waking up as active as possible.
It was not in vain that we were taught to start the morning with exercises. But if you can’t do it, it’s okay: just take the dog out into the yard or take a walk to the nearest coffee shop. Even the simplest movements improve blood flow, and our body receives a signal that the day has begun.
The results of the “work” of this rule can be noticed quite quickly. So even if now you don’t have to pack and drive or go to work, try to bring at least some morning activity into your life.
3. Take a shower (or at least wash your face with cold water)
The key word here is “cold”: Kaplan and her colleagues believe that it is the temperature of the water that helps us wake up (or, conversely, feel sleepy if we go to a warm shower after waking up). If you don’t shower every morning—for example, because you do fitness during the day and wash after your workout—you should at least wash your face and keep your hands cool.
4. Let the sunlight into the room
It is especially important to do this if it is not possible to go out for a walk or on business in the morning – our internal rhythms are directly dependent on sunlight. But what if the weather is inclement outside – day after day or even month after month?
It is worth thinking about the right lighting in the apartment – for example, buy a lightbox or a full spectrum lamp. If you’re feeling sleepy and overwhelmed in the middle of the day, light will again help you wake up.
5. Turn on upbeat music
Music and sounds in general are a bridge over which it is easy to move from half-asleep to the state of wakefulness. If you’re not in the mood to listen to songs, a podcast, an audiobook, or even a news release will do (the main thing is not to listen too hard to the words).
6. Call another
Kaplan and her colleagues are convinced that social contacts are very helpful in awakening, so you can start the day with a call to a friend. For example, the one with whom you share this article in order to try out the tips proposed in it together.
However, it will be enough either to exchange a few words with a barista in a coffee shop or with neighbors who you will meet along the way for a walk. Any dialogue helps the brain wake up and tune in to the day ahead.
If the problem of morning sleepiness is quite acute for you, and these rules seemed curious to you, try to live according to each of them for at least a week, gradually introducing new ones. Don’t try to cover everything – 3-4 will eventually be enough. In the end, what do you have to lose, except for the state of weakness in the morning?