How to turn from a night owl to a morning person

      So school really did start, didn't it, fellows? I bet you all force yourself to crawl out of the bed every morning at 7 o'clock or even earlier. It's really hard for me too, I swear. On holiday, I was always getting up at noon and the sun was already setting down when I was having lunch or something like that. I'm pretty embarrassed because of my vacation routine, I wish I would have gotten up earlier and have done something the past days that my future self would have thanked me for. But, well...I didn't. So here I am, starting a brand new school year with a single huge wish on the top of my wish-list: to become a morning person.

      But don't you think that we can really get through this? Don't you think we could turn that alarm clock off and start the day with a smile? Every day is a brand new start, don't miss the chance to make your life better. 

I've been reading a lot of articles about this topic, and I found out a lot of useful and interesting advice. Some of the advice may be useful only on weekends, because on school days we're basically forced to wake up early. Thinking that nobody will ever listen to me around the house, I thought to share them with you, so I'm going to try to write them in a couple of steps.

1. Think about why you'd like to get up earlier 

      If you wake up earlier, you'll have more quiet time for yourself, so that you can read, think about your daily problems (don't overthink) or exercise. More, you could catch the sun rising in the morning skies, which would probably bring a huge smile on your face. Also, getting up early will get the best of you and the best of others, too. If you get things done early, you'll have more time for yourself in the evening. 

2. Go to bed earlier

      To rise earlier, you'll need to sleep earlier. Of course, this will be hard if staying up late turned into a habit for you, but consider going to bed in increments. Start with 15 minutes earlier, with the expectation of getting up 15 minutes earlier, too. Then gradually increase the amount of time to half an hour, an hour, two. As much as your pretty heart wants to. If you do this little by little, it will give your body and mind the time to adjust. 
    For you to get to bed earlier:

•  assume that you have one hour less to do everything in the evening
• aim your lights 1 hour before bed, to facilitate the release of melatonin, so that you'll get sleepy.
• allow yourself to read in bed, you will slowly fall asleep because of the lack of movement. 

3. Set your alarm clock

      It's important to wake up as a matter of will, but an alarm helps. Always. 
So that you can get up early

•  make your alarm clock loud 
•  leave your alarm clock far away from your bed, so that you won't crawl back into your bed, once you've gotten up. 

4. Help wake yourself up

       It will be difficult, especially if you want to turn your night owl sleeping patterns to morning person rhythm. But there are some ways to trick your body to become active:

•  Turn on bright lights or open your windows, so that natural light can invade your room. This will reset your circadian rhythm and will make your body more alert. 

Here are some more things that will not reset your circadian rhythm, but will help you get used to the morning routine: 

• make your bed-it will be harder for you to crawl back into it, if you've already put so much effort in making it. 
• force yourself to get out of the room - go to the bathroom, go get a glass of water from the kitchen, do anything to start your activities. 
• splash your face with water - who doesn't feel wide awake when cold water is "thrown at them"?
• stretch 
• put on upbeat music and dance to it.
• drink a fresh juice/coffee/tea before eating anything

"You may never hop out of morning with a smile plastered on your face, but you can make it a bit easier"

5. Have a good breakfast

      
      Don't be tempted to skip breakfast. It's your first source of energy and the only one until lunch.
     "After sleeping all night, our metabolism and blood sugar are at their lowest; we need a healthy breakfast to reenergise us", says Rebecca Scrichfield, a nutritionist in Washington D.C. She also thinks that our breakfast should be rich in protein.

6. Keep it up

       It's important to get up at the same time every day, once you're stablished in your new routine. The body likes to anticipate what's happening, that's how it'll get used to the routine. 
And think about the good in rising early:

• you'll relax more
• you'll sleep much better at night
• in the morning, as you get up, you'll be refreshed. 

7. Be realistic 

       It can take time to transition from a night owl to a morning person. Moreover, it may not be possible to switch yourself over entirely to becoming a morning person, because of your genetic basis. Stick with the process, it's not going to be easy, but after a couple of days, your body will get used to the routine.
       Have rewards in place for early rising. Yes! You did it! You didn't hit the snooze button! Reward yourself with something that encourages you to keep getting up early each day. 
Remind yourself that today is a new day. Forget about what happened yesterday, it's past. Today is a new chance, it's a new beginning, take a deep breath and start again! 

So that you'll have a calm and relaxing night sleep, check out this video. 
    I'm trying to keep up with this schedule, but it's really hard for me. But I gave it a try and I don't regret it. You should try it, too! 

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