Early to rise

In the past few years, I've really struggled with my sleep. I struggled to go to bed at a decent hour, which meant I didn't get enough sleep, and hated waking up. I would usually wake up around 8am (ah, the luxury of living close to work). I would wake up tired, not rested. I would be in awe of Karen (and others), who would wake up at 6:15am to get to work early. The thought of waking up at 6-something really freaked me out. I just don't know how people did it.

This lack of sleep meant I would yawn all morning (and probably all day) and just generally be lethargic.

Just before Christmas, I made a commitment to my health. I was going to eat health-fully and exercise five to seven times a week. I worked out the best time for me to exercise would be first thing in the morning: before work, before breakfast.

I don't know if you can call it a habit yet, but to my great surprise and delight, I've been able to get up at 6:00am most of these past few mornings to exercise. This is how I did it:

Gradually wind your clock back

I think I started at 6:30am. After a few days, I wound it back another five minutes. And another five. And another five, till eventually I was waking up at 6:00am.

You gotta have a reason

To be able to get up at 6:00am, you must have a really good reason. Something that you really want. I really really really wanted to exercise. I was making all this effort to eat health-fully, therefore I was going to take advantage of it by exercising. Later on, my motivation became comfort: in summer, 6:00am is a much cooler part of the day to be exercising. It meant I could jog, whereas if I exercised later in the morning when it was warmer, I would only walk.

Lots of positive self-talk!

At first it was a struggle. It was hard. The first few times, it took me 10-15 minutes to get out of bed. I would chant in my head, "Come on Elsie, you can do it! Come on Elsie, you want this! Come on Elsie, you want to be fit and healthy!" over and over again until I got up. You've really got to remind yourself why you want to get up in the first place. This morning, I think it only took me a couple of minutes.

Allow yourself to struggle

It's okay that it's hard to get up and you feel worse for wear for the first couple of minutes. But once you get dressed and get out the door to exercise, half the battle is won!

Getting up at 6:00am on a regular basis to exercise has improved my sleep quite a bit. I don't yawn at all in the mornings anymore. Imagine that! No more loud yawns from Elsie! I get really tired at night and most of the time, I will go to bed because I want to sleep enough so I can wake up at 6:00am. I've had a few late nights, but they're now the exception rather than the norm.

I do however, allow myself to have naps on the weekend (one for each day) if I need them, while I'm adjusting to this new routine.

Anyway, this is to give you hope! Even I, who was terrible at waking up in the mornings, can wake up at 6:00am on a regular basis and not be fazed by it!