MoHow Posted by Dr. MO Getting up and out of bed early in the morning is really difficult for many people. If it has been hard for you to rise and shine and you now want to start your day closer to the first rays of the sun I have 8 tips to help you make the change.

Here they are:

Start slowly. Don’t make drastic changes. Begin by waking 15-30 minutes earlier than usual. Get used to this for a few days. Then cut back on your sleep in 15 minute increments. Continue to do this gradually until you reach your goal time.



Go to sleep earlier. You might be used to staying up late, perhaps watching TV or surfing the Internet. But if you continue this habit, while trying to get up earlier, sooner or later one is going to give. And if it is the early rising that gives, then you will crash and sleep late and have to start over.

Put your alarm clock some distance from you bed. If it’s right next to your bed, you’ll shut it off or hit snooze. Never hit snooze. If it’s far from your bed, you have to get up out of bed to shut it off. By then, you’re up. Now you just have to stay up.

Go out of the bedroom as soon as you shut off the alarm. Don’t allow yourself to go back to bed. Just force yourself to go out of the room. My habit is to go to the bathroom and wash my face. By the time I’ve done that, and smiled in the mirror, I’m awake enough to stay up.

Practice early riser self-talk. If you allow your self-talk to be about sleepiness, you will head back to bed. Don’t make getting back in bed an option, talk to yourself about the benefits of being up and vertical.

Have a powerful reason. Set something to do early in the morning that’s important. This reason will motivate you to get up. I like to write in the morning, so that’s my reason. Also, when I’m done with that, I like to garden.

Make waking up early rewarding. It might seem at first that you’re forcing yourself to do something hard, but if you make it pleasurable, soon you will look forward to waking up early. A good reward is to make a hot cup of coffee or tea. Other rewards might be a tasty treat for breakfast, watching the sunrise, or meditating. Find something that’s pleasurable for you, and allow yourself to do it as part of your morning routine.



Take advantage of all that extra time. Get a jump start on your day! I like to use that time to get a head start on preparing or planning the rest my day, exercising, meditating, and writing. By the time 7:30 rolls around, I’ve done as much as many people do the entire day.

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