Early to bed; early to rise...This is something I've been desiring to do for quite some time. I believe God placed this desire on my heart. Go to bed earlier and wake up earlier. The hardest part for me is getting my children on the same schedule. I'd love to go from being a Night Owl to an Early Bird. I would love to wake up each morning sometime between 4am and 6am. (I'll shoot for 6am first and see how that goes). Ideally, it would be nice to wake up, do my devotions, exercise, shower, make breakfast for the family and then wake the kids up.
I've been reading a few articles online which offered some great tips on how to accomplish waking up early and going to bed at a reasonable hour in the evening for those of us (like me) who are accustomed to being a night owl. Here is a list of tips I've accumulated from different readings:
1. Set your alarm clock far enough away from the bed that you have to physically get out of bed to shut it off & NEVER use the snooze button.
2. Gradually go into an earlier sleep/wake up schedule. Wake up 5-15mins earlier everyday and go to sleep 5-15mins earlier every evening until you reach your desired wake up time.
3. Go directly into another room after getting out of bed to shut off the alarm to resist the temptation to get back in bed.
4. Set goals for waking up early. (For example; mine will be to do my devotions and exercise)
5. Avoid eating before bed. Only light snacks 2hrs before bed, but no later.
6. Drink only water before bed and not enough that will wake you during the night to pee. (This will avoid caffeine or sugar in other drinks that can keep you awake).
7. Keep away from looking at screens (TV, phone, computer, etc) at least an hour before bed. Bright screen can stimulate brain activity and therefore make it harder for the brain to go to sleep.
8. Read before bed. Reading is a great way to relax and prepare the body for sleep.
9. Keep at it. It is believed that it takes 21-30 days for a person to form a habit.
10. Tell someone and keep track of your progress.(I'm posting this on here to help keep me accountable) and I will mark down the days I successfully wake up early to motivate me.
I'll keep you posted on how this goes.
