Wake up! 4 ways to become a morning person

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(MoneyWatch) Are you a morning person? Up and running by the time it takes you to open your eyes and turn off your alarm? Wait...you don't need an alarm, ever? Then you probably don't need to read the following -- but feel free to forward it to any friends who aren't so bright-eyed in the wee hours.

If you're relying on a combination of Starbucks, brain-blasting alarm clocks or a sympathetic partner to pry you out of bed in the morning, read on for some eye-opening tips from sleep experts:

Give yourself something to look forward to
Sure, if you love your morning activities - whether it be a pleasant commute, lively morning meeting or friendly school run, you might hop out of bed. But for those of us who have tasks we dread scheduled first thing, getting up and at 'em can seem like a terrible idea. Making a nice breakfast for yourself the night before can motivate you. "A person can train themselves to dread the mornings if they see it as the beginning of pain and suffering. Similarly, you can condition yourself to pop out of bed if the morning is associated with something pleasurable," says psychiatrist and sleep specialist Tracey Marks, M.D., the author of Master Your Sleep. One recipe to try: overnight oats. Basically, they're oats prepared ahead of time and served cold, making them perfect for the hot summer months.

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Open your blinds ASAP
Your instinct may be to pull the pillow over your head to get a few more seconds of snooze time, but that's only going to hurt your effort to become a morning person, says Kevin Gregory, vice president of Alertness Solutions, a scientific research firm. "Light exposure is the key to the timing of your body clock; getting sunlight early in the day can help push your clock and timing of your typical sleep period a little earlier," says Gregory. If you have time, go for a short morning walk or jog. The combination of light exposure, fresh air and increased blood flow will send an indisputable signal to your brain that this is the time to be up--and eventually, it will remember that message. Read: You'll be a morning person.

Make yourself very, very tired
Sounds crazy, right? But driving yourself to semi-exhaustion (we're not advocating aiming for narcolepsy here) can help reset your clock. "For a period of several days, restrict your sleep by forcing yourself to wake up an hour [even] earlier than usual; sleep pressure will build up and make it easier to get to sleep earlier," says Gregory. Now that you're falling asleep earlier, waking up early will come more naturally, and less painfully.

Try lights and/or drugs
If these simple steps aren't helping, there are more sophisticated solutions. Chris Winter, M.D., medical director of the sleep medicine center at Martha Jefferson Hospital in Charlottesville, Va., recommends light therapy devices, melatonin and alertness medications to his patients. The lights turn on timed to your body's circadian rhythm (e.g. our internal clock) and gradually changes it by replicating daylight. Melatonin, a homeopathic remedy, can induce sleepiness, helping you get on a healthy sleep cycle. And other drugs, like Provigial and Nuvigil, promote wakefulness, which may also help reset your body's natural patterns. Talk to your own doctor about which of these, if any, may help you.

[Gorghast]

If all fails, do drugs!! Are you kidding? Doctors usually fail when they dispense drugs... A pill for everything ey? Sleeping pills, the most addicting pills of almost all, and that is a route you'd suggest. I'd think NOT!

[mvkt]

Good suggestions, have heard before and tried them all. Light can sometimes help. Being a "morning person" is generally more acceptable in society, workplace, etc. HOWEVER, there are some people (like myself) who have had a lifelong problem with waking early, and there are certain recognized sleep disorders such as DSPD (look it up!)

[hottubbrad]

I see my friends yawning on the couch at 9 p.m. when I am ready to go out and have fun....
hmmm.
Now we all can fall asleep on the couch....boring. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

[vkrama]

One of the best advises that I have received it is to do any activity first thing in the morning before you check your mails. I found this very powerful. Of course, this means that we should have already planned the activities to be done in the morning....

[Author_Lisa_Daily]

Now, why would a night person want to become a morning person?

Morning people are most productive between 8-9 am and steadily lose productivity all day long. "Night" people are usually most productive around 3 pm, but they gain productivity all day starting at around 10, and don't usually level off until almost 2 am.

Bottom line? Studies show that contrary to popular belief, "night people" are actually MORE productive than "morning people."

Am wondering how an article about finer points of snoozing until 10 am and working until 2 am would go over with the early risers?

Probably about as well as forcing night people out of bed prematurely with drugs and bright light.

[yarris5565]

I agree. I have forced myself to be a morning person just because I have to career wise. However, my most productive times are between 10 PM and 2 AM. Fortunately, now that I am working for myself, I have the opportunity to work these hours but it is hard on the body when I do have to be on the road doing a project at a client's location.

[UX08]

I've never been able to become an early morning person and simpliy never will. Although the only time I started waking up early in the morning, with no need for an alarm clock, was after having been able, for a full month, to sleep as long as I wanted, going be whenever I wanted and without any worry, deadline or anything else particularly urgent to do.

In few words, I just rested enough for my body to get back all the sleep lost.

No drugs, lights or other "methods" were needed.

Try it!! ;)

[[e-mail]]

Amy should check her facts. Melatonin is not a homeopathic remedy. Would not be much good if it were, unless the placebo effect were to work on someone taking it. It is a herbal remedy (not the same thing at all. Herbs are used in all kinds of pharmaceuticals, always have been, probably always will.
Wikipedia says: "Melatonin ... also known chemically as N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine,[1] is a naturally occurring compound found in animals, plants, and microbes.[2][3] In animals, circulating levels of the hormone melatonin vary in a daily cycle, thereby allowing the entrainment of the circadian rhythms of several biological functions.[4]

Many biological effects of melatonin are produced through activation of melatonin receptors,[5] while others are due to its role as a pervasive and powerful antioxidant,[6] with a particular role in the protection of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA.[7]

Products containing melatonin have been available over-the-counter in the United States since the mid-1990s.[8] In many other countries, the sale of this neurohormone is not permitted or requires a prescription."

[mrketter]

The answer is actually quit simple. Buy an automatic coffee maker and set it to 6am. Problem solved!

[amylevinepstein]

@Parrotislandqueen--good point. And yes, guilty as charged!

[parrotislandqueen]

"restrict your sleep by forcing yourself to wake up an hour [even] earlier than usual; go for a short morning walk or jog." Amy Levin-Epstein has her heart in the right place, and I appreciate her intent, but if she expects those of us who are not morning people to make these changes, then she clearly is already a morning person.