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Become an Early Riser

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Winona chapter.

We advance in college courses, time and experience, and in life. By taking on an overload of work, days start to go by in the blink of an eye. The day seems faster than the speed of light, yet night time doesn’t wait for us to catch up. Whether we wake up late or don’t get to bed at a reasonable hour, time doesn’t stop. I’ve accumulated a list of five ways to become an early riser – not just someone who wakes up at 5 a.m.; someone who is productive and keeps up with day and night. It’s time for the vicious cycle of work-all-day-and-sleep-whenever-I-have-time to end!

1.     First things first, you need to gradually train yourself to fall asleep and wake up earlier than you normally do. Start by going to bed 30 minutes earlier and you’ll find it becoming your new routine. Don’t give in to that late-night social media binging! Continue until you reach your goal times of falling asleep and waking up. Soon you won’t even need an alarm to wake up!

2.      You need a reason to get up early. Use this extra time to wash the dishes or read a chapter in your textbook so you won’t have to later. Or go to the gym to help boost your energy for the long day ahead.

3.     These productive actions are the next step in maintaining your time at daybreak. Getting tasks accomplished early in the morning leads to a less stressful afternoon. This just might leave you an extra 15 minutes of personal time.

4.     Now that you know why you’re going to wake up with the roosters, let’s talk about how to make it easier. The typical way to physically get out of your cozy cocoon is to place your alarm in an unreachable area. Yes, you’ll have to physically get out of bed to shut it off.

5.     Wash away your groggy mind with a large glass of water. This also helps with reducing under-eye circles! Don’t forget to eat breakfast – all this water spikes your metabolism. Plan an extraordinary meal to motivate yourself into getting out of bed.

After time of practicing this strange lifestyle, you’ll hopefully come to realize you are now a morning person instead of a night owl. Don’t forget that this works best when you genuinely want to be an early riser. Use the Internet as your friend to find nifty tricks to have more energy in the morning or help falling asleep at night.

 

Gretchen is a junior at Winona State University majoring in Health Ed and Phy Ed with minors in Adaptive PE and Adventure Ed! She enjoys all things outdoors, she's a peanut butter fanatic, and Proverbs 31:26 is her favorite Bible verse. Gretchen is an RA in the resident halls and a Small Group Leader for a campus ministry, and she enjoys all the Lord equips her to do!
I love exploring the outdoors, writing, whales, and have a major sweet tooth for cheesecake! Volleyball and hockey are my favorite sports to play and watch. When it comes to writing, I love it. I truly enjoy being able to write articles and stories about topics people would enjoy reading.