Mornings are extremely important to your overall health and the quality of your sleep. Common morning habits can make or break your sleep-wake cycle.
Here at Rested Health, we want to teach you the habits that have the least effort with the most reward. So, without further ado, here is one of the most important changes you can make to boost your mornings AND improve your sleep.
GET OUT OF BED AS SOON AS YOU WAKE UP
Action Plan
The Problem:
Your sleep system depends on consistency. Inconsistent schedules can lead to sleep deprivation and other health issues.
How to do it
Choose a feasible wake-up time that you can stick to during weekdays and weekends.
Aim to wake up at that exact same time every morning.
Don’t hit snooze: Hitting snooze can cause you to wake up between sleep cycles and can lead to sleep inertia.
The Science
Irregular sleep schedules are associated with a wide range of health issues compared to keeping a regular sleep schedule. A 2006 study found that sleeping in later than your usual wake-time leads to a significant delay in nightly melatonin production.
Your body’s need for sleep, also known as your sleep drive, works beside your circadian rhythm to keep your sleep schedule consistent.
Cortisol (your body’s stress hormones) suppresses melatonin, which means they tend to have a see-saw effect – when one is elevated the other is lowered.
Imbalances to your circadian rhythm can lead to significant disruptions to sleep, hormones production, metabolism, and overall wellbeing.
Controlling your bedtime can be difficult due to natural variations in how sleepy you feel at night. Therefore, the absolute best and most effective way to obtain a consistent sleep schedule is by waking up at the same time every morning.
Pep Talk Moment
This tip also helps to regulate metabolism, hunger, and hormones! You may feel more tired at first when you make this change but within a week you’ll feel better! Try easing into things by giving yourself a range of an hour or two for your ideal wake-time.
Health Benefits
- Regulates your internal clocks and optimizes hormone release.
- Makes it easier to wake up in the mornings (trust us) and fall asleep faster at night.
- Boosts daily energy and normalizes your sleep system!
Tips
- Place your alarm in a place where you have to leave the bed to turn it off.
- Drink a glass of water as soon as you get up to boost alertness.
- If you had a late night you should still get up at your set wake up time and grab a 20 minute nap before 2 pm.
