How to become a morning person

eVery early in the morning at 7 a.m. Jane Walsh rolls out of bed on a yoga mat. For the next half hour – before coffee, breakfast, or feeding the cats – she bends over and stretches her body.

“It sets the tone for the rest of the day,” says Walsh, 58, who works in public relations in New York City. She kept this schedule for as long as she could remember, even in her twenties after late nights out. without it morning routine“My mood isn’t stable, and I don’t feel well in general,” she says — and when she sleeps, she feels like she’s missing something.

Walsh is what researchers describe as a lark: a person who gets up early and is more active in the morning, compared to a night owl that thrives after dark. Everyone has a chronotype, or circadian tendency – a natural tendency to fall asleep and wake up at a certain time. Our internal clock depends about 30% to 40% on genetic factors, says Philip German, a clinical psychologist who directs the Laboratory of Sleep, Neuroscience, and Psychopathology at the University of Pennsylvania. However, it’s not a sure bet that “if you have night-leaning parents, you’ll definitely be a night owl,” he says. Research indicates Your environment, age, and gender also influence your chronological pattern.

the most extreme The lark wakes up by 5:30 AM You go to bed around 8:30 p.m., but even waking up at 7 a.m. qualifies you to be an early riser, sleep experts say. So what if you want to become more than just a morning person? People with night owls or morning larks often have difficulty changing their schedule and may need help from a sleep specialist. It’s a lot like trying to change your height, says Jennifer Martin, MD, chair of the board of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. But the good news is that most people don’t fall into either extreme, she says — and if we want (or need) to start getting up at 5 a.m., that’s an achievable goal.

Health benefits of becoming a morning person

From an evolutionary perspective, it makes sense that we all have different time patterns. Our cave-sleeping ancestors needed some people to be alert in the evening, and others in the morning, says Britney Blair, a clinical psychologist and adjunct faculty member at the Stanford Center for Sleep Science and Medicine. This ensured that “the tribe was safe throughout the 24-hour period,” she said.

Even though we no longer need protection from wild beasts that appear in the early hours of the morning, says Blair, there is nothing wrong with being a night owl. However, our society tends to reward morning people: “In a way, if you get up earlier in the morning, you’re more hardworking, and if you get up later, you’re lazy.” It’s not true, of course – someone might be more productive at 2am than they are at 2pm, such thinking “does real harm to people who are genetically night owls, and they end up bearing that burden,” says Blair.

However, being an early bird may have some health benefits. Search Early bird life has been linked to better mental health, reduced risk of schizophrenia, and depression. Other research has found that people in the morning tend to be so more proactive.

Plus, getting up early is often the only opportunity for some people — like parents — to claim time and space for themselves, says Carissa Chamorro, a New York City-based private clinical psychologist who specializes in anxiety disorders and sleep-related issues. She advises many of her clients to change morning times earlier.

“I always encourage people to pick something they enjoy and don’t feel like they have time for during the day, and give themselves five minutes of it,” she says. “It could be reading a novel, a magazine, or a blog—anything that is rewarding for them.” Chamorro adds that meditation, or even just taking five mindful breaths, can also help start the day on a positive note.

If you’re intent on getting up with sunrise — or simply picking up more mornings — know that transitioning to a new schedule takes time and effort. Sleep experts suggest these strategies:

1. Find as much natural light as possible

Martin asserts that the secret to becoming a morning person is exposure to bright light. This is because of the light suppress melatoninIt is a hormone that plays an important role in the circadian rhythm. “The sun is the engine of our internal clock,” she says.

When you wake up, step outside for a brisk walk around the block, or sit outside with a cup of coffee. Martin also recommends rethinking the blackout curtains she might use to promote a sleeping environment that’s too dark — she chooses not to use them in the rooms of her children, ages 16 to 20. “I want the light to come in and help them wake up,” she says. (If brightness bothers you throughout the night, consider wearing an eye mask that you take off when you start to wake up.)

anyway Natural light is perfectSome artificial light can also be helpful. Sunrise alarm clocks are shaped like the sun and mimic natural morning light, rather than waking you with a loud alarm. While Germann notes a lack of research on these dawn simulators, “Anecdotally, many of my patients have told me that they find them very useful for getting up in the morning.”

Illustration by Brown Bird Design for TIME

2. Gradually loosen up.

Martin says there are two ways to approach your journey toward getting up early. You can indulge directly in waking up at the time you want each day, knowing that you will feel tired during the transition but that you will start falling asleep naturally earlier in a few weeks.

But for some people – such as those who need to drive long distances – the exhausting first few days of switching to a new schedule aren’t safe. In that case, Martin recommends gradual tapering off early bird life. “What I will suggest to people is to change half an hour, wait a few days, change another half hour, wait a few days, and then change another half hour,” she says. “That’s a little easier for people to put up with.”

Illustration by Brown Bird Design for TIME

3. Be consistent – even on weekends.

Becoming a morning person is a seven-day-a-week job. Determine the time you will wake up each day and stick to it without exception. “If someone says, ‘I want to be more than a morning person during the week, but I want to sleep in on the weekends,’ it won’t work,” German says.

Illustration by Brown Bird Design for TIME

4. Relax in the evening.

Germann says a consistent bedtime isn’t as critical as sticking to the same wake-up time each day, but it’s still important to make sure you Get enough sleep. Most people should aim for at least seven hours a night – so you’ll probably need to move your sleep time forward as you move to a new schedule.

German advises starting at least an hour before you hit the bag, and reducing the amount of bright light exposure you get. Search Indicates Exposure to artificial light late in the evening limits your body’s ability to produce melatonin, which may interfere with your ability to fall asleep and the quality of your sleep.

If you want to make sure you fall asleep quickly, Blair suggests trying small amounts of melatonin. She says a 300-mcg dose about three to four hours before you plan to sleep will help you start feeling sleepy.

Illustration by Brown Bird Design for TIME

5. Plan something to look forward to.

To tempt you to get out of bed, Martin suggests that you treat yourself to something special that you can enjoy first thing. “Now is the time to go buy your favorite coffee or pick out some pastries to eat when your 5 a.m. alarm goes off,” she says. “You’re not afraid of it if you think about it.”

You also like to book yoga or other gym classes at 6 a.m., for example, this helps hold you accountable and provides an extra reason not to hit the snooze button over and over again. If you don’t like it, use the time to connect with friends in other time zones. Martin lives on the West Coast, and her sister lives in the mountainous time zone. “I love talking to her when I wake up and she’s driving to work,” she says.

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