Morning grouches who work for a living have a hard life. Much to their chagrin, they are often expected to turn up in the office or on site first thing in the morning. Despite flexitime, this is no different at Swiss Post as meetings and conferences often take place in the morning and customers expect their mail to pop through the letterbox in the morning. How can you make getting up easier? And what are the benefits of being an early riser?

The evening before

To make getting out of bed easier the next morning, there are a few things worth bearing in mind the evening before.

• When and what you eat are key factors. Eating too much and the consumption of sweets, coffee and alcohol shortly before bedtime make it hard to doze off and delay much-needed rest.

• It’s also worth preparing the things you need to do the next day. For example, you can lay the breakfast table or get your clothes ready.

• Switch off mobile phones, laptops and TV sets shortly before turning in as bright light restricts the production of the sleep hormone melatonin, making it hard to fall asleep. Darkness tells the body that it’s time to go to bed.

• Curtains or blinds should be left half-open if possible. Why? Quite simply because the natural light coming in also restricts melatonin production in the morning and acts as a stimulant. You could also set the bedroom light to turn on automatically using a timer switch.

Early in the morning

The alarm clock rings. It’s morning. Now what do you need to bear in mind to ensure you rise and shine?

• When the alarm rings you should get up straight away. While hitting the snooze button is tempting, it does not ultimately have a positive impact on energy levels as you don’t get any restful deep sleep when you’re snoozing. The best thing to do is get up and make the bed right away, then the temptation to go back to sleep quickly passes.

• Have a big sip of water once you’re up. This counters night-time dehydration and provides fresh vitality.

• To shake off weariness and to stimulate the senses, wash your hands, eyes and face with cold water. In combination with a caffeinated soap, this has a cleansing and reinvigorating effect as it increases blood pressure and improves circulation. Alternatively, you could take a cold shower if you really want to go all out.

• To wake up properly, you should try to stimulate all your senses. The aroma of coffee, tea or essential oils (such as eucalyptus), the taste of a delicious bowl of muesli or the sound of stimulating music might help. Exercise – such as walking or jogging – can also help to fend off morning lethargy.

• To get the day off to a good start, you should breathe in and out some fresh air a few times and think positively about the day. For example, try to think of the things that you’re looking forward to or how you’ll reward yourself for your efforts in the evening. A positive mindset puts you in a good mood and gets rid of any weariness.

Anything else?

There are a few general pointers to bear in mind to make getting up easier.

• Consistent sleeping patterns, which means always going to bed and getting up at around the same time, help ensure just the right amount of sleep for the body and mind. If you stick to the plan, getting up will eventually become a routine and become much easier.

• It also helps if the alarm clock is not within reach when waking up so that you have to get out of bed to switch it off. You could select a motivating ring tone, for example.

• To create an extra incentive to get up on time, you could organize a rise-and-shine challenge with colleagues at work. This gives everyone greater motivation so that you all encourage one another.

If you follow this advice, getting up should no longer be an issue in future. It’s well worth getting up early. You can enjoy the sunrise on a clear day, you don’t have to rush in the morning and you’ll have more daylight to do something worthwhile. Early risers also tend to perform better, be more proactive and anticipate problems better. There are lots of good reasons for rising early.

There are a few myths about sleep that we looked at in a previous article.

If you commute to work, getting up early can help to avoid the worst of rush hour. We’ve put together a few more pointers on commuting here.

Images: iStock.com/FelixRenaud (alarm clock), Michael Sieber (Franziska Stierli)