Night Owl to Lark: How I Became a Morning Person

In college, I stayed up until all hours of the night/early morning. I'd put in about 3-4 hours of sleep, then get up and do it all over again the next day. Nursing school was a prime example - early mornings, long hours, and late nights spent studying or writing papers. I even continued these habits into my adult life - staying up until midnight or 1 a.m. just doing nothing important - reading a book or scrolling the internet.

Now, I (usually) wake up at 5 a.m. and get shit done. Here's what I do daily to make life as a morning person a little easier.

START THE NIGHT BEFORE

If I take 10-15 minutes each night to prepare for the morning ahead, it seems to shorten the time it takes for me to get ready by at least 30 minutes - crazy how that works, right? I usually set out my workout clothes and shoes, choose what I'm going to have for lunch the next day, and set up my coffee maker. I don't usually lay out my work clothes because I wear scrubs daily and that takes little to no brain power.

WAKE UP 30 MINUTES EARLIER THAN "NEEDED"

My husband wakes up at 5, and while I don't "have to" be up until sometime between 5:30 and 6 a.m. I usually just go ahead and get up when he does. And by "get up" I mean lay in the bed and scroll through my phone for about ten minutes then get up and get dressed for the gym. This helps with the problem I have with over-snoozing my alarm clock. Plus my husband is noisy when he's getting ready so I may as well get up rather than attempt restless sleep.

GET MOVING

I like to go to the gym every morning because exercise increases endorphins and gives me more energy throughout the day. I'm actually more tired if I skip the gym than if I wake up earlier to go.

EAT A GOOD BREAKFAST

You may  know that breakfast food is my favorite kind of food so I really enjoy getting to sit down to eat some oatmeal or whole wheat toast with (yummy) homemade jam. Studies show that people who eat a healthy breakfast are less hungry throughout the day, have better energy levels, and are healthier in general.

HAVE A BEDTIME

We have a pretty strict weekend bedtime of 9-9:30 pm on weeknights. Some may say that's really early but that's actually just when we leave the living room and start getting ready for bed. I usually stay awake until 10 or 10:30 chatting with my husband or reading a book. Whatever time you choose to set as your "bedtime" sticking to it will help you feel refreshed when you wake up and ready to take on the day.

Are you more productive in the mornings or late at night? What does your morning routine consist of?