by Richard Harley

Created on: February 05, 2009

Waking up early is a science, not an art. Anyone can wake up early should they want to. It's a simple case of conditioning. But where do you start?

1) Sleep as much as you need to.

Everyone knows how much sleep they need to not feel tired. For some people, this might be 8 hours - others 6 and others 10. If you intend to wake up on the dot at 7am, simply subtract the amount of sleep you 'need' and make sure your in bed half an hour before that time. Sounds ludicrously simple, but many people wonder why they're tired in the morning after hitting the hay at 2am.

2) Minimise distractions in bed. You're going to need that whole half hour to fall asleep, unless your feeling super knackered. Using a laptop or even listening to music will cause your brain to take in information when it should be getting ready for bed. Consequently, when you do fall asleep, it's going to take longer to get into that deep slumber.

3) The same goes for food. If you're eating in the last hour before going to bed, your body will be digesting food, whilst you're trying to sleep. Bad combination.

4) Do morning tasks...in the evening. This way you can sleep soundly knowing all the chores are done for the morning. You might want to make breakfast for the next day or iron your shirts for the morning.

5) Set the alarm to a song you like. Associate waking up with positive, and not lethargic, energy. After a while you'll find yourself waking up 5-10 minutes before the alarm goes off.

6) When the alarm goes off, jump out of bed, put a dressing down on and walk around the block. Everyone will think you're mad, but by the time you get back from your ten minute stroll, you'll feel wide awake and ready to face the day - and there will be plenty of time to make a cup of tea and browse the news at a seriously leisurely pace.

7) Be consistent. Whatever time you decide you want to get up at, make sure it's the same time everyday. The human body thrives on routine, especially after conditioning for several weeks.

8) Recognise that the snooze button is the creation of the devil. Then never use it.

9) See the benefits. Write them down on post it notes on your desk if you need to.

10) Never lie in. Getting up early 6 days a week and lying in on a Sunday makes sense, but it will become a bad habit and rollover into the week all to easily. Lying in is lame - don't you have something better to do than stay in bed all day?

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