How to not be tired in the morning…I mean, if that isn’t something you’ve asked yourself at least once in your life, then you probably haven’t lived enough. Or you’re just a great human, who never complains.
Did you know what “always tired” is not your default setting? It’s not. There is hope. There are things you can do on a daily basis to feel more energized, alert, and motivated starting in the morning.
Here are some habits and tips that have helped me a lot! And they will help you as well, especially if you’re looking to stop being tired in the morning and start feeling awake, focused and present while you’re not sleeping.
Why Am I Always Tired
To tackle a problem you’ve got to first find out the sources. Here are some things that can be making you feel tired constantly:
- Sleeping too little. If you don’t allow your body enough time to recover from yesterday’s events and feelings, it’s not surprising you wake up feeling tired. I’m definitely talking to myself here as well! (source)
- Emotional and mental disorders. If you have depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder (BPD) or are suffering from high levels of stress you can experience bad sleep. (source)
- Not eating enough nutritious food. Diet plays a huge role in how you feel and how you perceive your surroundings. This includes your fatigue levels, willingness and motivation. If you’re eating junk food, your body will start having lapses in function at some point.
- Spending too much time online. It’s no secret, that being too much on our phones isn’t great for our mental health, our productivity, our life really. But I feel like one of its worst effects is that it can lead to restlessness and reduced quality of sleep. And reduced quality of sleep = being tired in the morning.
- Physical illnesses. One survey showed distressing results – 50% of chronically ill people experienced more tiredness than healthy individuals. People diagnosed with cancer, anemia, sleep apnea (this is when your throat muscles involuntarily collapse during sleep, meaning you can’t breathe) are all at a higher risk of a worsened sleep schedule. (source)
- Performing too much or intense physical labor. You might as well be just physically tired. Using your energy to perform gruesome tasks or even not-so-intense ones, but for a long time, will leave you feeling tired and in need of more sleep and proper nutrition to replenish your lost energy.
How To Not Feel Tired In The Morning
Now, the good news is – we can do something to feel more rested. Below are a few things to do regularly to not feel tired from the moment you open your eyes in the morning. These won’t immediately change your body, but stick to them for at least 2 weeks and you’ll definitely notice the improvement.
1. Figure out how much sleep you need
The amount of sleep you need is tightly connected with your circadian rhythm. On average, most adults need at least 7 hours of sleep.
However, that might not work for you – and that’s fine, you just need to find out what will. If needed, try going for 8, 9 or even 10 hours. Whenever you wake up feeling like you actually slept enough and you don’t feel the urge to slam your head back into the pillow, you’ve found the perfect amount of time you need to sleep. Keep in mind though – sleeping too much can also make you tired! So, you need to keep to your individual set time.
2. Keep a stable sleep schedule
As tempting as it may sound to sleep in real late on your days off, try to keep your previously mentioned set hours of sleep. (source)
If you need 9 and go to bed at 10 and wake up at 7 from Monday to Friday, do the same thing during the weekend as well.
Once you mess up your schedule, you’ll confuse your body and chances are, you’ll start feeling groggy and tired, even if you did sleep more than 8 hours.
3. Drink enough water
Staying hydrated is super important, not only for your sleep but for your overall well-being as well.
Dehydrated women were found to experience worse sleep than ones who drank enough water – 2.7 liters or about 3/4 gallon a day. (source)
It might sound like much if you’ve been drinking no water at all, but it’s really not once you get used to it. (source)
Drink enough throughout the day and also keep a bottle or glass of water next to your bed. That way, if you wake up during the night, with your mouth feeling like a parched desert, you can take a few sips and go right back to your beauty sleep.
4. Keep a healthy diet
Eating a vitamin-rich is also another vital thing. Try to avoid fatty foods, saturated oils and highly processed and packaged foods. (source) More important than that, make fresh raw fruits and vegetables a priority. Among other things, raw fruits and vegetables are high in vitamin C. And this vitamin can greatly improve your energy, your skin health and immune system.
Also, make sure to check for nutrient deficiencies. Those can make you feel tired in the morning and always like no other, let me tell you. And they’re sneaky. You don’t really feel that bad, but you’re never a 100%. So ask your doctor and if you’re deficient in one or more nutrients, make sure to eat a nutrient-dense diet and to take a good supplement to fill up those gaps quicker.
Another thing that’s super important when it comes to diet is to stop eating late in the evening. At least 3-4 hours before bed. You might be feeling a bit hungry if you’re used to eating late, but you’ll survive it, I promise. And you will feel lighter in the morning and you will wake up with energy.
5. Get more natural sunlight
Back to the circadian rhythm – it exists to help you function throughout a 24-hour cycle. It works by differentiating day from night and it lets you know that daytime equals being active, while nighttime is for rest and sleep.
However, with all the glare from phones, laptops and TV screens and the artificial lighting in your own home, your brain can get the periods of the 24-hour day a bit mixed up. (source) And then send confusing signals to the rest of your body.
For that reason, it’s important to use as much of the natural daylight as you can – try to wake up with the sunrise, keep your blinds open until sunset, stay in the sunshine when possible and just try to do your work during the light part of the day. Keep the evening, the dark part of the day for recovery. Dim the lights, do some calming stretches, maybe read a book.
6. Watch your use of electronics
This is probably one of the big reasons to end up feeling tired in the morning! Solution: use them as little as possible. These are tools that should be serving you, not the other way around. Phones, TV and computers are no substitute for real life. We need to remember that every day and go out and experience it. We’ve got one life and it’s far richer, bigger and more precious than a phone. So, don’t miss it and you’ll notice the effects within due time.
It goes without saying that even if you’re in your dark room, all snuggled up, if you’ve got your phone in your face, scrolling away and reading or watching things on the Internet, your brain will think it’s daytime and start to work to relieve you of that sleepiness.
And then, the bad part arrives – once you’ve had enough of your little entertainment device, you’ll turn it off and try to go to sleep, but sadly, you most likely won’t be able to. Your brain has been active right up until now and will need time to go back to being tired.
Instead of this, in the evening you could be doing something more relaxing like reading an actual book, taking a bath or writing in your journal.
7. Don’t consume caffeine in the evenings
A pretty self-explanatory tip to help you go to bed on time, so that you don’t end up being tired in the morning. If you consume something that has the main purpose of making you feel less tired and more hyper, of course, you’ll have problems with falling asleep. (source)
The result will be you suddenly being hit with a wave of fatigue and still waking up tired.
8. Move
Aim for at least 30 minutes of a bit more intense movement, because it will benefit your overall health greatly. Regular exercise will tire you out, so that you sleep like a baby in the evening. But it’s also been linked to improved energy levels.
If your job requires you to stay in one place for long periods of time, do your best and try staying on your feet and moving more often. This study suggests that just being less sedentary can also improve your energy levels and feelings of tiredness.
Remember to keep it healthy! Nobody is telling you to participate in a triathlon every single day, but sweating for 30-40 minutes daily will help you fall asleep faster, sleep more soundly and wake up feeling refreshed.
More Healthy Habits And Morning Ideas
And now you know how to not be tired in the morning! I realize, I just gave you an overwhelming list of things to do and I hope you have some energy and willingness left to apply them. They really work! If you’re looking to build habits to improve your daily and morning routine, here are some posts that can help:
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