Early rising

Eat a small, easy-to-digest dinner to help with falling asleep earlier.

It was helpful for going to sleep early.

one person who lived it

Acknowledge that physiology often shifts from night owl tendencies to earlier wake times in the late 20s.

Internal alarms tend to change with age.

one person who lived it

If you are a night owl, avoid waking up too early to prevent brain fog and protect your productivity.

Waking up too early causes brain fog all day and messes with productivity for night owls.

• Applies specifically to those whose body clock prefers staying up late.

one person who lived it

Do not judge others based on their wake-up time, as successful people have different peak productivity windows and circadian rhythms.

Wake times do not predict job performance, and some people are naturally evening-oriented.

• Judging based on wake time is a bad reason not to hire someone.

one person who lived it

Go to bed early to ensure you can wake up early with enough sleep.

Going to sleep early is necessary to rise in the morning, though it can be as hard as waking up.

3 people, independently

Layer properly and use Vaseline on your nose to prevent drying out when running in cold weather.

Vaseline prevents drying out.

• Vaseline is not a great insulator.
• If you sweat through the Vaseline, your nose may still feel cold.

one person who lived it

Spend the first part of your morning doing nothing productive, such as sitting with coffee or watching the sky.

to avoid feeling overwhelmed

one person who lived it

Find a sleep schedule that works for you and stick to it consistently, rather than following a generic 'right' schedule.

Consistency matters more than the specific amount of sleep.

• Polyphasic sleep cycles can be dangerous to your schedule and may not work long-term.

one person who lived it

• Focus on maintaining a regular sleep routine and good hygiene habits instead of targeting a specific wake-up hour.3

Stop gaming late at night.

Adrenaline spikes from gaming keep you awake for hours.

one person who lived it

Exercise at a time other than early morning if you dislike waking up then.

exercise is helpful at any time of day

one person who lived it

Wake up while others are still asleep to enjoy the quiet and engage in self-reflection.

The silence allows you to be in your own head and think.

2 people, independently

Plan how to fill the remainder of your day if waking up early causes you to finish tasks by late morning.

Waking up around 6 or 7 am may lead to finishing everything by 11 am, leaving you unsure what to do next.

one person who lived it

Avoid doomscrolling in the morning to preserve the positive vibe of the early hours.

Doomscrolling can ruin the vibe of the morning.

one person who lived it

Try waking up early once with an open mindset to see if it works for you.

Bodies are weird.

one person who lived it

Do not check your phone if it prevents you from getting started.

One person stated they would never get going if they checked their phone.

one person who lived it

Go to bed early on the first night of a new routine to reduce fatigue the next day.

It helps start the next day with less tiredness.

one person who lived it

Drink a large amount of water throughout the day to ensure you wake up the next morning needing to urinate.

The need to pee forces you up.

one person who lived it

Improve your exercise routine to add to the quality of your sleep.

One person noted a huge difference in sleep quality on days they worked out.

one person who lived it

Focus on rest and balance to improve focus and accomplishment during waking hours.

It allows for better focus and more accomplishments while awake.

• Based on one person's experience.

one person who lived it

Use extra early morning hours for productive activities like studying, reading, or working out instead of passive browsing.

Waking up very early prevents spending those hours on distractions like Reddit or YouTube.

2 people, independently

Start with a wake-up time you can easily achieve rather than making drastic shifts immediately.

Starting big often leads to crashing after a few days.

one person who lived it

Treat early morning hours as a private window for solitude activities like walking dogs, reading, or drinking coffee in silence.

It feels like a time that belongs just to you, similar to the 'Witching Hour'.

one person who lived it

Work out in the evening if you prefer taking your time and want to feel tired before bed.

it helps tire you out before sleep

one person who lived it

Take a quick stroll around lunchtime to help maintain energy levels throughout the day.

It helps with energy.

one person who lived it

Stop fighting late nights and focus on consistent sleep times to let your body adjust.

the body accommodates itself when sleep hours are consistent

one person who lived it

Avoid checking your phone immediately upon waking to prevent early noise and distractions.

That's where the noise starts for me

2 people, independently

Use an alarm track you hate to motivate yourself to get up quickly.

One person got up quickly and felt energized using this method.

one person who lived it

Take up lifting or fitness during the day to become exhausted by evening and fall asleep naturally.

being exhausted helps you fall asleep naturally

2 people, independently

Discover moderation in sleep and wake times to align with your body's natural rhythms.

Oversleeping goes against natural rhythms and makes you feel like crap.

one person who lived it

Protect your evenings more than your mornings to ensure you are ready for an early start.

one person who lived it

Eliminate social events and drinking that could disrupt your strict sleep schedule.

• This may seem like an unacceptable sacrifice to many people.

one person who lived it

Avoid scrolling social media or checking texts immediately upon waking to protect your attention span.

Scrolling or checking messages first thing can ruin your attention span and set a negative tone for the day.

one person who lived it

Have a compelling reason or activity to look forward to in the morning to motivate getting up.

8 people, independently

Look up sleep information from the 'Sleep Smarter' podcast.

It is really informative.

one person who lived it

Treat waking up early as an accomplishment to avoid the self-loathing that can become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Feeling like you have accomplished something helps prevent negative mindsets.

one person who lived it

Create an enjoyable morning routine, such as meditating or journaling, to make early rising sustainable rather than feeling like punishment.

Early mornings become sustainable when they stop feeling like punishment.

one person who lived it

Do tasks you typically procrastinate on, such as washing dishes, immediately upon waking.

Knocking off to-do list items in the morning reduces procrastination; waiting until night increases temptation from other fun opportunities.

2 people, independently

One approach that helped: persist through initial tiredness when waking up earlier for exercise, as it leads to feeling better over time.

• Initial weeks may be tough and you may feel you need the sleep.

one person who lived it

Consider that feelings of laziness may actually be sleep deprivation disguised as a motivational failure.

one person who lived it