How to Wake Up an Hour Early Without Feeling Tired

Imagine having an extra hour each morning. How would you use it? Maybe start the day with some exercise, watch a sunrise, perhaps read that book you've been meaning to pick up since last Christmas or simply reserve it as 'me time' in a quiet room - a cup of tea in hand. 

So if we all like the idea of having a bit of extra time each morning to do the things we love, why aren't more people getting up early? Well, that's because it's not easy given the alternative of a warm cosy bed. So we label those early risers as morning people, but that just isn't us. Case closed.

Did you know that when we go to sleep we actually go through different stages of sleep called sleep cycles which typically last 90 minutes each? So that new alarm we set is right in the middle of a sleep cycle - no wonder we feel so groggy. But our body is very clever and will adjust our sleep cycle to suit our new awake time if we give it the time it needs.  So those early risers aren't made any different, they just have a more ingrained sleep cycle.

So if you want to wake up an hour early you can either use sheer willpower or gently reduce your alarm clock in 10-minute increments each week until you are getting up at the desired time. But we have an easier way...Last night the clocks went back an hour. So if you usually wake up each morning at 8 am you actually woke up at 7 am today. And I bet you didn't feel groggy right? 

So if you want to find that extra hour each morning there it is!