How to wake up earlier and easier now the clocks have gone back

Set a goal 

If you’re a night owl, then swapping your lie-ins for earlier starts is hard. If you want it to be sustainable you will need a good reason to make it last.  

Think about what you want to get out of that extra morning time. Do you want to use it to hit professional goals? To go for an early morning run? To get household chores out of the way? 

If you don’t come up with a good reason, you’ll automatically find yourself hitting the snooze button so make sure to set yourself some achievable goals. 

Realign your body clock 

Consider buying a wake-up light to help ease that morning struggle, especially during the darker winter months. They give out gentle light which simulates the sun rising, so your body’s wake-up hormones reach their optimum level by the time your alarm sounds.  

Many of these lamps also come with soft sounds to help you wake up, like bird song, as well as sunset settings to get you falling asleep quicker and get quality rest by boosting your levels of the sleep hormone melatonin. 

Get up one minute earlier  

If you’ve found a time where it feels easiest to wake but you want to make it earlier, start by setting your alarm back by one extra minute each day. 

It will take longer for you to save a significant amount of time in the mornings, but by slowly lowering your alarm time, it will make it easier for your body to adjust. 

Eat apples for breakfast 

An apple a day doesn’t just keep the doctor away. They also contain around 13g of natural sugar and according to studies, this has a similar effect on the body as coffee. 

Natural glucose from the apple is slowly digested, which makes you feel more awake. Not only this but unlike caffeine, there are no jolts or energy slumps once it has been eaten. 

Porridge and leafy greens will help you feel more alert in those early morning hours, once you’ve got out of bed.