8 Tips For Becoming A Morning Person

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1. Get enough sleep.

Stop going to bed at 3AM.

2. Rise with the sun.

I’m a full-time mother and I love to get up before my daughter wakes so that I can chill in the lounge while I eat toast, drink coffee, and browse the Internet. Usually it is pretty dark when I get up (around 5AM). During these early mornings, I would sit outside, have my coffee, and watch the sun rise. This ritual of mine makes me feel at peace and gives me the perfect opportunity to reflect and feel like this dawning sun gives me the freedom to make awesome choices and do awesome things. So make that delicious breakfast of yours, pour yourself a beverage (coffee, veggie/fruit juice, tea, water, etc.), face eastward, and watch the birth of the new day! I promise you it will make you feel alive.

3. Be grateful.

As you wake, let your mind wander through the things you are grateful for in your life. Visualize the day ahead and imagine it will go smoothly. Be grateful for this wonderful day you are bringing to yourself. When you feel gratitude, when you feel the love, you begin to feel that motivation come to life. You are alive today and you are going to make the most out of today, and that starts the moment you wake up. Now go make yourself a hearty breakfast (and be grateful for that, too)!

4. Make time for a wholesome breakfast.

Even if you’re not hungry, trick your mind into wanting to fuel every cell in your body with a nutritious and hearty breakfast. As your mind pans out of your sleep and into a dreamy state of half-awareness, force yourself to think of this amazing breakfast you are going to have and how much your body and mind will love you for it. And actually make it! Everyone knows that breakfast is the most important meal of the day; it helps to regulate energy throughout the day, it wakes you up, it speeds up your metabolism, and it keeps your mind sharp. Think of these wonderful qualities and make a ritual out of it. I freaking LOVE breakfast, and I have NEVER skipped out on breakfast EVER because it is so damn delicious!

5. Drink water.

Your body has gone between 5-8 hours without water, so it is thirsty. Drinking a big glass of water when you wake up is essential. Your brain is 75% water, and without replenishing yourself with this fantastic liquid you may be creating the morning grog you feel in that noggin of yours.

6. Have morning sex.

Assuming you have an SO or the like, doing some intimate exercises will get that heart rate up and that oxygen pumping. I mean, you’re in bed anyway; it’s not as if you have to get up and put on your jogging garments and actually run (although that can be an excellent alternative if that is your style). And you get to connect with your partner, so what a boner…I mean, bonus.

7. Put on some beats.

And party like it’s 1999 (maybe just leave the alcohol ’til this evening, though?). But really, blasting music that you love will get you feeling your feet and wanting to move. Sing along and dance. Pretend you’re a famous rock star as you get yourself organized for your probably not-so-liberating job. Music makes us feel; it makes us want to get physical. Twerk if you must. Actually, please don’t twerk.

8. Wash yourself.

I hope we all do this anyway. I mean, I know that some of you will shower at night instead of in the morning to make room for a longer sleep. You’ve got it backwards, though, guys!… I know how much you struggle to get those little sleepy eyes open through breakfast and on the drive to work, so my best advice is to save those warm refreshing showers for the morning (and I mean as soon as you wake up). Buy some invigorating body wash containing mint or citrus. Call it your zing in a bottle; it’s like your own personal nice-smelling liquid genie which will unfortunately only grant you two wishes—to wake you up and make you smell fantastic. Then turn that nozzle onto cold for five seconds. Do it. I know I sound crazy right now, but how badly do you want this?