Do you ever groan when the alarm goes off, shoving your face back into the pillow with dread? From a peaceful sleep to an annoying, repetitive noise reminding you of your obligation to get out of bed. I have a terrible habit of constantly snoozing my alarms; it’s my first instinct at this point. It’s so bad that I have to set 10+ alarms to finally get myself out of bed. Lately, I’ve been trying to come up with a solution–a way to change my mindset and attitude about waking up early. How can I make a morning person out of myself?  Here are a few suggestions for you to try if you’re ever facing the same problem.

• First of all, it’s important to do this gradually. Don’t start by setting your alarm an hour earlier than usual one day. It’s likely you’ll immediately turn the alarm off and fall back asleep. Instead, set your alarm 15 minutes earlier than usual. Once you’re adapted to that, set it back 15 minutes more, until you’re at the time you’d like to wake up daily.
• Gradually wake yourself up using your alarms. What I mean by this is set an alarm 30 minutes earlier than you want to get up using smooth, calming, harmonious music. 15 minutes later, set an alarm with more cheerful, upbeat music. A song that gets you excited; a song you always sing when it comes on the radio. The final alarm should be set at the specific time you wish to get up, and just in case the first two didn’t wake you up, you can use the annoying “Get out of bed now!” kind of sound for this one. It may help to switch up the songs every once in awhile so that you don’t get tired of hearing it.
• This is a given: Go to bed earlier. It may be tough, sometimes, to shut off your TV show, resist your final Facebook check, and just go to bed. However, when you do, you’ll wake up feeling well-rested and more ready for your day.
• Give yourself something to look forward to in the morning. Whether it be a tasty breakfast, alone time with a book before work, or a morning walk with your dog, it’ll get you going quicker.
• Self-improvement can make us feel good, so convince yourself to wake up a bit earlier to work out. This will get your endorphins flowing. Your body will start looking more ideal, too.
• If all else fails, putting your alarm at a distance always helps. This forces you to get up to go shut it off.

What’s the special thing in your life that gets you out of bed in the morning?

By: KayLynn P.