Becoming a morning person may not appeal to you but I swear it is the easiest way to boost your productivity. (And your energy throughout the day as well.) You can sneak in a morning workout, catch the sunrise and really enjoy that first cup of coffee. The first week or so may be challenging, but your body will quickly adjust and you will love the benefits of being an early birdy. Here are things that I’ve done to become a rise and shine type of person who LOVES to catch the sunrise.

Be Consistent

Consistency is key with anything but it’s super important when trying to not sleep the day away. Just like training your body to perform any other act, you’ll need to train it to feel natural to get up early. In order to do that you need to perform the act over and over again. This can be tricky because it means going to bed and getting up around the same time every day. Your body will get super confused if you get up at 5am Mon-Fri and then sleep in until noon on the weekends. Try to stay consistent.

Limit Screen Time In Bed

This can be super hard for some people. You’re in bed, not quite tired yet so you pull out the phone and scroll through Instagram. There have been studies though, that the light from your phone actually makes it harder to fall asleep. Try reading one of those books on your night stand or writing a bit in a journal instead. If you absolutely need to scroll before falling asleep at least put your phone on night mode, that way it will limit that blue light.

Replace Your Alarm With Music

I use an old school radio alarm clock for my alarm. This is great because it forces me to get out of bed to turn the alarm off and I have it set to a station that seems to always be playing a favorite song at 4:40 in the morning. Lately I’ve been getting up before my alarm even goes off because my routines have worked so well.

Get Your Body Moving

Whatever your morning alarm may be, the noise will inevitably wake up your brain, but it takes a little longer for your body to catch up. When you finally get out of bed do some stretching or yoga to get your blood flowing and wake up those muscles. If you’re up for it, all of that stretching is a great start to a morning workout routine! Go for a sunrise walk/run or do a 10 minute toning video. I’ve been loving these quick but effective workouts I’ve found on youtube. Check the channels out here and here.

Hydrate Then Caffeinate

Before I climb into bed each night I fill my Stanley up with lots of ice and water. Staying hydrated can aid with sleep and help you feel more awake in the morning. I make sure that I take a few sips of water when I first get up and after my morning workout routine. Then I have my coffee. I freakin’ love coffee so making fresh pressed pot every morning and being able to sit and enjoy it before heading out the door is worth getting up so early. During the warmer months I also like to have a pitcher of cold brew ready to go.

Keep Your Goals In Mind

Remembering why you wanted to become an early riser is important. Whether you have health goals, career goals, parenting goals…Instagram worthy sunrise goals (no judgement here) whatever is motivating you to be that early birdy. That goal is what you need to have in mind to truly motivate yourself.

It takes time to become a morning person and it won’t happen overnight but there are a lot of benefits to waking up early. It can be healthier for your body, it leads to more productive days and it can be great for your mental health. Waking up earlier also allows you to really take control of your day and help accomplish your goals. I hope these tips help and I can’t wait to see those sunrise snaps 😉