Wednesday 22 October 2014

Waking up "with ease" - Bwa ha ha

So, the second part of my response to this article about morning people is to do with its recommendations for waking up with ease. Apparently there are quite a lot of things you can do to improve your morning, once you've come to terms with the fact that you have to get up. (And no, that doesn't seem to include going back to bed.)

Set your Motive - You need a "tangible reason" to get up. Really? No! I'm shocked. You mean I would be getting up at 7am whether or not I had an 11 year old to get off to school? I very much doubt it. Don't most people have a "tangible reason" in the shape of a job or a small person for whom they're responsible? (And I'm not addressing you morning people who get up at 5.30 just to "see the sun rise". You're 1% of us, at best, according to this article., which technically means you're not normal)

Play a Mind Game - Oh believe me, I do this every morning. "What if I just tell him to get a hot lunch instead of making him a sandwich?" etc. Despite the fact that we've gone through the week's lunch menu and even I wouldn't eat what was in store for this particular day. But wait, there's more sage advice- "The alarm goes off, and the immediate temptation is to hit snooze. Go ahead, do it -- but then stay out of bed for those next nine minutes. " What. Is. The Point. ....of hitting the snooze button and then getting out of bed? That's not a snooze button, that's the "get up" button. 

Bite the bullet - I think this is what most of us do isn't it? As the article says, there's a risk of falling into an even deeper sleep if you close your eyes for even a second. If I ever have to wake up my 19 year old (former Man-Child), no matter how deep a sleep he's in, he always lifts his head off the pillow. It's a bit disconcerting at times, to see this head just pop up, look at you and then fall back onto the pillow, but that's his way of "biting the bullet". He reckons if he lifts his head up, he won't go back to sleep, and it usually works. Not sure I'd rely on that personally....

Seize the day - You know, when someone says that to me I usually want to smack 'em round the back of the head. We'll just leave it at that shall we?

Name and shame - apparently there are apps that can help you get out of bed. "For example, Wake n Shake makes you shake your phone in order to turn off the app, while Better Me *shares your failure to your Facebook every time you hit snooze."  It doesn't give examples of what that app will say on Facebook but as long as it doesn't take a selfie I could pretty much live with that shame if it meant extra time in bed. 

NOT me!

* - Just did a bit of research on the Better Me app. It begins with - BetterMe is an app for people who will try anything to better themselves. The app uses public humiliation to help keep your appointments, to achieve your goals, and to jump out of bed in the mornings.

Just as I thought - way too Type A for me. And why is getting up early "bettering" yourself? 

5 comments:

  1. I know I just moaned a bit about getting older but one of the upsides is that I never need an alarm anymore. Can't remember the last time I slept past 7 a.m. Sleep when you're dead, that's my motto.

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  2. I think you just need time to have a cup of tea and "come to". So it's a question of setting your alarm 10 mins earlier. No easy fix, I'm afraid.

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  3. That 'Better Me' app sounds like it was designed by sadists for masochists. No thankyou...

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  4. These lists don't matter. If you're not a morning person, you're not a morning person. Full stop. You can't make a robin from an owl, and vice versa.

    As soon as my reasons for getting up before 8:30 am disappeared, I reverted VERY quickly to my natural sleep patterns. At this stage of my life, I'm just going to roll with it. And everyone else will have to, as well! ;-)

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  5. I think the key to getting up early is to go to bed early and not drink wine. But that's never going to happen, right?

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