by K. Thomas

Created on: March 25, 2007   Last Updated: May 13, 2007

As someone who frequently needs to wake up at ridiculous hours of the morning to catch planes and get myself to all corners of the globe for my job, I will give you the tips that I find keep me sane when faced with potentially stressful early mornings.

Firstly, put some thought into the time that you set your alarm for. Don't set it so late that you will then have to run around in a panic, but also don't set it so much earlier than you need to get up that your sleepy mind will play the "I'll just press snooze... don't really need to get up yet" trick! This can often lead to the eventual running around in a panic scenario and also brings with it a healthy dose of guilt at not sticking to your 'schedule'. If you leave enough time to comfortably get ready your early morning will be getting off to a good start.

Try to eat something before you leave in the mornings. I know we hear it all the time, but it is true that breakfast is possibly the most important meal of the day. If our usual routine is to run out of the house and grab a chocolate croissant on the way to work then all we are really doing is setting us up for a day of sugar highs and lows, not to mention added guilt later on about unhealthy eating habits!

If there is anything important that you will need to take with you, try to find it and put it out with your bag the night before. It may take a few minutes in the evening, but it will be a lot less stressful than throwing things all over the house before sunrise because you can't find the keys/map/directions/files/passport etc...

If you find the morning commute a stressful affair, how about downloading some relaxing music or morning meditations for your ipod? Somehow the world often looks less stressful with a good soundtrack!

Little things that also help... open the curtains to let in the light. It'll help wake you up. Try to wash the dishes the night before so that you're not assaulted with dubious stale odors when making your morning coffee. Use an invigorating shower wash to wake you up and add some zing. The list is endless!

Of course there are the obvious stress reduction tools of doing some yoga stretches when you first wake up and/or meditation. Some of us aren't that organised however, so even if you are only able to try a few of the above tips, I hope you find them helpful.

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