14 Easy Tips To Help You Become A Morning Person

Morning people guarantee that the first few hours of the day are also the most productive. These folks are quick to refer to peak brainpower and alertness and can talk on about the ease with which they can complete errands and workouts before nine a.m. They may be right, but if you are a serial snoozer like me, you've likely almost never gotten up early enough to put these claims to the test.

Fortunately, waking early and using these extra hours strategically, is a feature anyone can achieve, as long as they are willing to make some pivotal tweaks to their everyday routine. All you have to do is get motivated, stay organized — relying on the Google Assistant can be especially beneficial — and, of course, commit. Ahead, we have compiled 14 hacks which had even the sleepiest of us rising and shining with ease. Are you up for the challenge?

1) Start by ditching your alarm over the weekend and checking the clock the moment you naturally wake up. Then, take note of patterns, as they'll help you establish what time your body rises on its own.

2) Establish a bedtime and try to stick to it. Set a reminder using Google Assistant to start to wind down and prepare for bed before you would normally think about turning in. That will help ease you into an earlier nighttime routine.

3) Too exhausted to rise in the morning? Download a sleep-tracking app which logs the number of times you wake up per night. That can determine how many uninterrupted hours you’re truly netting.

4) Give your bedroom a restful makeover by concealing any glowing or blinking electronics (those are major sleep disrupters). Also, invest in a small fan for some soothing white noise. Along with the actual benefits of these actions, making your bedroom more peaceful can reframe the way you feel about sleeping in there.

5) Spritz your pillows with lavender essence before you go to bed. According to the National Sleep Foundation, subjects in a study who sniffed lavender before going to bed had a better night’s sleep and reported that they "felt more vigorous in the morning."

6) That one is easy! Open up your curtains before turning in so that you wake up with plenty of beaming natural sunlight.

7) Abolish the snooze button and, instead, challenge yourself to set just one alarm for the same time everyday. Get up as soon as it goes off.

8) Pack the first hour of the day with little treats you will look forward to waking up to. That may include a quiet block of yoga time, a smoothie recipe, or a walk down the block to get a cup of coffee.

9) Make your bed. This will prevent you from hopping back in. It also means the first thing you do each day is complete a task.

10) Ready for another challenge? Get moving as soon as you wake up. You may feel silly, but jumping up and down (even if you do it only for a few seconds) helps you get your blood flowing.

11) Channel your elementary-school self and choose your outfit the night before. Include a gym bag if you are planning to bring along workout gear!

12) Now, first thing in the morning, you need to check the weather with your Google Assistant. That way, planning what you need for the day (such as a jacket, umbrella, etc.) becomes a lot faster process. It's better to be aware beforehand of what you might need rather than close the door behind you and get soaked.

13) Create an encouraging game plan each morning. Get an everyday briefing from Google Assistant, and visualize what you would like to complete in the next 24 hours. Studies from the Mayo Clinic prove that maintaining a positive outlook can lead to a decrease in physical illness and depression. It can also help you increase your coping skills and stress management.

14) Reframe the time you would formerly spend snoozing as "banked time"; then, put it towards a skill you want to develop, such as learning a new language or taking a pottery class. The longer you bank in the morning, the longer you have to devote to your new project.

Illustrations by Abbie Winters