How to Easily Change Your Schedule to Feel Refreshed in the Morning

Are you tired of battling your alarm clock every morning only to feel sluggish throughout the day?

If so, you’re among the majority. Unfortunately.

But before we can get to the actionable tips, we have to address the elephant in the room. If you want to feel more refreshed, you simply have to get more sleep.

Okay, now that we’ve got that Captain Obvious statement behind us, let’s explore a few tips you can employ to get more rest and wake up feeling refreshed every morning.

1. Go to bed earlier

This may seem like another obvious tip, but if you’re feeling constantly sluggish, you’re probably not taking this advice. Here’s how to get it done:

• Figure out what time you have to wake up in the morning.
• Count backwards by 8 hours.
• This is your bedtime tonight and for the next two weeks.

2. Get a more restful sleep

If you’re going to bed on time, there could be another reason why you aren’t feeling refreshed in the morning. This is different for everyone, but there are a few common habits that could be interfering with your ability to get some good shuteye.

• Alcohol – Many people rely on a nightcap to help them drift off to sleep, but alcohol has beenshown to interfere with REM sleep. If you’re having trouble quitting alcohol, don’t panic. Finding help for alcoholism in your area should be easy.
• Pets – Pets are like family, but if you have them sleeping in the bed, it may be interfering with your rest. Try kicking the pets out of the bed for a week to see if your sleep improves.
• Technology – Studies have shown that the blue lights that come from technology interfere with our ability to sleep. Try turning off technology about an hour before bed and remember to put your phone on do not disturb mode.

3. Try calendar blocking

Sometimes, we have trouble sleeping because we feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day. If you feel like you’re leaving stuff undone and stressing when you should be sleeping, it’s time to try a productivity hack. Try scheduling everything you have to do on a calendar.

Google Calendars is great for this. It’s kind of like a to-do list, but calendar blocking is even more helpful because it gives you a schedule. When you know what you’re supposed to be doing and how much time it’ll take, you can get more done during the day. This should help you get to bed at a more reasonable time and get a more restful sleep.

When you’re looking to feel more refreshed, the answers may seem obvious. But there’s a reason you haven’t been following through on them. It can seem overwhelming to change your habits all at once. If this is the case for you, break these tips down into baby steps. Try one thing until it becomes a habit. Then move on to the next. Before long, you should be sleeping better and feeling more refreshed during the day.