HOW TO BECOME A MORNING PERSON
As a natural night-owl, becoming someone who could embrace the early morning, and reaping all the benefits of the extra time was something that I had to train my brain into over many months - and it’s still an ongoing battle. Today I wanted to share a few things that have helped me rise early in the mornings, and truly make the most out of every day.
CHANGE YOUR PERSPECTIVE
The first, and perhaps most important step in your journey into becoming a morning person is changing your perspective. If you are someone who sees the morning as dreary and cold, and getting out of bed as the ultimate tragedy - it is time to start looking at things a little differently.
Instead of seeing all the negative things about leaving your bed, it is time to truly embrace everything wonderful that is about to happen when you start to love your mornings. Think about all the things you struggle to fit into your day, and how this time in the morning can be the perfect window to achieving some of your goals. When you start to put a positive spin on waking early, the first hurdle is conquered.
I want you to list five things you want to do more of, but don’t have time for, then see if you can fit them into the early hours when you’d usually be sleeping.
YOUR NIGHTTIME ROUTINE IS VERY IMPORTANT
As with everything in life - preparation is key. In order to wake in the morning feeling your best, there are few things you can do to ensure you get the best night of sleep.
Have Dinner earlier
Eating too late at night is not great if you’re planning on getting a good sleep. Experts recommend eating your last meal at least three hours before you get into bed to sleep, giving your body time to digest your food, and avoid an upset stomach, indigestion, and acid reflux.
AVOID SCREEN-TIME AN HOUR BEFORE SLEEPING
Our smartphones, laptops, and tablets give us almost everything we need, so it can be hard to put them down! When it comes to getting a good sleep, reducing screen time before you close your eyes is really important. Blue light from our screens can suppress melatonin levels, making it much harder to sleep - so put down the iPad and pick up a book instead.
plan your new bedtime and stick with it
Getting into a new routine of sleeping earlier will take some getting used to, but is so important! Try to avoid the temptation of staying up for ‘just five more minutes’ and stick with the agreed time you have given yourself. You will need around eight hours of sleep in order to be your best self the next day, so count backwards from the time you want to rise, to determine lights out.
MAKE BEDTIME A REAL PLEASURE
If you are a night-owl, going to bed earlier is going to seem like a real chore at first. Use some of my tips to help make bedtime a real pleasure, and something you will truly enjoy.
take a relaxing bath before sleeping
For me there is nothing nicer than a gorgeous, hot bath before bed. I like to use essential oils in the water to get me in the mood for sleeping - my favourite is lavender oil. Run yourself a hot bath, turn down the lights, and light some candles. luxuriate in the hot water and prepare yourself for sleep.
Now check out some of my favourites—
Invest in good bed linen
We spend a huge amount of our lives in bed, so why do we so often treat our bedding as an afterthought? As well as a good mattress and pillows, take the time to find yourself some beautiful linen that you will love climbing into each night.
On the higher end of the scale there is this sumptuous bedding by my favourite Italian linen company - Frette
Luxurious, but a little easier on the wallet is this elegant set by Cologne and Cotton
MAKE YOUR MORNING COUNT
Whatever you choose to do with this new, extra time in your morning - be sure to make it count. Whether that’s taking the time to really enjoy a delicious cup of coffee without the madness of rushing around, enjoying being able to read more books, or taking up a new fitness regime - do it all with love and enthusiasm and I promise mornings will never be better!