Health

Date

Over the past 4 or 5 months, ive been waking up very early.

Around 4 AM most days, and more recently my schedule allows me to wake up later than that so ive been trying to experiment with what works and i feel like im probably going to start waking up at 5AM now. 

When I started waking up that early, I came across a lot of problems. Building a habit of waking up that early every day, and being functional in the morning can be hard.

These are the 10 habits that I’ve built up from researching and watching people like Andrew Huberman and through my experimentation that have helped me to be a better morning person. 

Before I start I want to talk about the Circadian rhythm since Ill be mentioning that a lot during this.

The circadian rhythm is a natural, internal process that regulates the sleep-wake cycle and repeats roughly every 24 hours. It's influenced by external factors like light and darkness, helping your body align with the day-night cycle. The circadian rhythm plays a crucial role in determining the best times for sleep, wakefulness, and various physiological processes. So this is important for optimizing our sleep and thats why most of my habits revolve around it.

So first ill tell you guys the habits that i do in the nighttime that help me fall asleep better, then ill tell you the habits i do in the morning, that help me wake up on time and be alert.

When you eat a large meal, your body is using energy to digest that food. Your digestive system needs time to break down and absorb the nutrients from the food. On top of that, lying down after eating can cause things like acid reflux and heartburn. So not good.

I know that this might seem like common sense for some people, but growing up I always ate food very close to bedtime if not right before bed. And I always had problems falling asleep and always had MORE problems in the morning after. Since pushing back my eating window, I’ve noticed a significant improvement in my ability to fall asleep and I just feel generally better throughout the next day.

This is simply just to prevent having to wake up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and disrupt my sleep.

Once I’m up, I can’t fall back asleep.

However, it’s important to note that this is the only thing that causes you to wake up in the middle of the night.

You might be waking up in the middle of the night for many other reasons relating to your sleep. So treat this as something to stack on top of the other habits we talk about to help optimize your sleep. 

This one is by far probably the most important habit that has improved my sleep and this all has to do with your circadian rhythm. 

The blue light from your phone and other screens can interfere with your body’s production of melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep.  This is why it’s so easy to get stuck on your phone until 4 AM scrolling.

Our circadian clock is directly aligned with sunlight, therefore, seeing unnatural light before going to bed is counterproductive. Instead, consider engaging in relaxing activities outside of using your phone or computer.

I find that after a long day, taking a warm shower helps relax the muscles and alleviate some of the tension I’ve built up throughout the day. 

Warm showers can be beneficial for multiple reasons, one of which is the natural fluctuation of body temperature.

As you step out of a warm shower, your body temperature begins to drop, which imitates the body’s natural cooling process during sleep, following its circadian rhythm.

So it’s kind of just that mixture of mental relaxation and your body’s natural sleep pattern that makes warm showers so good for sleep. 

There are technically two habits that I do at the same time for the same reason. Journaling, specifically brain dump journaling, is a great way to mentally unload and reduce some of that stress and anxiety that can build up throughout the day. I find that just reflecting on the day or anything that I want to, makes me feel relaxed, almost like my day is complete.

This is also the same reason why I read before bed. After I reflect on the day I can move on and immerse myself in a good book. Plus reading a good book while lying down always makes me sleepy, and I’ve turned it into a sort of a ritual for falling asleep. These are the perfect things to do for that last hour of the day when you turn off all the lights and put the screens away. And if you are wondering how I see the books, I use a small dim nightlight that I bought cheap on Amazon.

This also makes for the perfect opportunity to make a daily reading and journaling habit.

So generally those are the things that I do in the nighttime that I find help me get to sleep faster, leading to better sleep.

Here are the 5 habits that I do in the morning that help me feel more alert.

Many people tend to sleep in on weekends.

However, our body clock does not differentiate a weekend from a weekday.

Therefore, it is advisable not to stay out late on both days of the weekend, as it can disrupt our circadian rhythm.

Also, it is not recommended to sleep excessively, in an attempt to make up for lost sleep.

Sleep does not accumulate in a ‘sleep bank’ that you can use later.

It is best to try and maintain a consistent wake-up time every day to keep your body clock functioning smoothly.

Before, I used to wake up consistently at 4 AM. But now, my schedule allows me to wake up at 6 AM. Even on weekends, I wake up at the same time as usual, even if I stay out a little late.

Personally, if I decide to sleep in, even after being out late the night before, I feel groggy the next day and find it hard to fall asleep the following night.

Every night before I go to sleep I put a bottle of water near my bed so I can chug it first thing in the morning. 

If you think about it we are generally asleep for around 8 hours and that’s 8 hours that you aren’t hydrating yourself. So you have to replace all that water intake that you missed from being asleep 1/3 of the day. 

Most people don’t do this and then you guys wonder why you always have headaches.

Yes, I’m talking about you, that one girl who always has a headache.

The easiest way to make this a habit is to put a glass or bottle of room-temperature water somewhere near where you sleep. Since you didn’t properly hydrate yesterday you’ll probably instinctively grab the bottle when you see it because your throat will be dry as fuck.

Technically, it’s best to wake up and go outside to see the sunlight, but the time that I wake up makes it impractical.

The sun isn’t up yet.  So, I at least turn on all the lights to let my mind and body know that it’s time to get up.

It’s a lot easier to fall back asleep when you are staring at a dark wall, so I try to keep all the lights on to avoid that.

In my opinion, if you want to wake up quickly in the morning, taking a cold shower is the best way to do it.

The sudden exposure to cold temperatures can stimulate your nervous system, specifically adrenaline and epinephrine.

When you think of adrenaline, you probably associate it with the “fight or flight” response, and that’s exactly why it wakes you up.

Cold exposure can also increase blood circulation, and it essentially moves oxygen and other nutrients in your blood to all the parts of the body, including your brain which can lead to increased mental clarity.  

There’s a whole bunch of other reasons why people do cold exposure, but I just like to use it as a kick in the morning to wake me up and help me focus. 

It is beneficial to get some sunlight in your eyes early in the day, preferably within a few hours after you wake up, to regulate your circadian rhythm.

Exposure to natural light in the morning helps signal your body that it is time to wake up and be alert.

This early sunlight also helps align your natural sleep cycle because you are seeing sunlight at the correct time, instead of staying in your dark room.

So after I get some work done in the morning, and the sun is finally up, I’ll go outside and get around 5-10 minutes of sunlight. More than that if it’s a nice day.

Something about sitting outside and enjoying the sun is so relaxing and fulfilling so I take every opportunity I can. I usually do this after I make my breakfast. 

Now that I’ve told you what my sleep habits are, I want to note something.

What works for me might not work for you so try experimenting with some of these things and see what helps you. I’m still adding and removing things to optimize my sleep so I doubt that my routine will be the same even a few months from now.

Another thing is to beat yourself up if you don’t end up doing these things every day.

I don’t.

So don’t stress yourself out about it because that might make your sleep even worse.

Another thing I want to mention is that even though it seems like a lot of things, these habits don’t take up much of my time.

Generally, I do all of these things in the first and last hour of the day and I have been for months now. 

I know that a lot of people who tell you how to improve your sleep don’t take into account that some of us have jobs or school to go to so they show you a 3-hour morning routine thats impossible to replicate. 

That is all for today, thanks for reading,

-Abraham