Does anyone here have a hard time getting up in the morning no matter how many hours sleep you get?

I've had this problem for most of my life. I just can't seem to get up early enough to have something to eat and enjoy my morning. I'm always grumpy when I first wake up I just want to wake up and WANT to start my day in a good mood!! I generally give myself 15-20 minutes to get up dressed and ready for work. I would like to get up 1 - 2 hours before work and have something to eat, have a shower, maybe play on the computer or read the paper, but I just can't get myself outta bed! lol Once Im awake Im fine, it's just the initial waking up part that I hate. I love sleeping and I dread getting up because it's soooo comfortable and relaxing lol. When I was in highschool I used to give myself an hour to get up, shower etc before school. But for the last 4 years I give myself a very tight scheduel in the morning. I've tried putting my alarm across the room so I have to get up to turn it off, but I just go straight back into bed. I don't know what else to do. I've tried thinking of it as "getting up for the day" rather than "gotta get ready for work"... but that doesn't seem to work. And because my job is very active and I tend to work up a sweat at work, I generally have a shower in the evenings before bed rather than in the morning like I used to. But I would rather shower in the morning because it's a great way to wake up and I always feel so refreshed after... I don't know what I can do differently?!

I've been wanting to get up earlier too, and because i have a lot of sleep difficulty (nightmares), i'm having trouble feeling bouncy in the morning. It's strange... you'd think i'd want to get out of bed, but somehow it doesn't work that way. I only hate getting into it.

I can only tell you what i'm considering doing... one is, to get additional alarm clocks, setting the nearest one at 7, the one across the room at 7:02, etc. I know it sounds a little dumb and i'm not sure it will work yet. A different possibility would be to find one of those clocks that increases volume gradually.

Another thing i thought of is i have dark curtains on my windows to block out the morning light, and i thought of switching them to lighter white ones that don't so that morning sleep is less comfortable. I think the brightness might help me wake better.

But i think the biggest thing is as you said... having something in particular to look forward to.

I wonder if changing what we eat at night would help?

I don't know.. it's very interesting. I've never had a hard time getting to sleep and I can sleep through any noise/light... very deep sleeper. Most of the time I don't even know that my alarm went off and I turn it off in my sleep. But lately, I've had a hard time falling asleep unless I'm listening to some relaxing music, then I'm out pretty quickly. I think my recent sleeping difficulties stem from stress, but that's a whole other topic!

I know my eating habits aren't the greatest right now, so I wonder if changing them completely, and not just as night would help. Are there certain foods that help people sleep well, or other foods that ruin sleep?

For me it doesn't matter if I go to bed at 8, 9, 10, 11 or midnight, I still end up dragging myself outta bed because I have to go to work. But on my days off I sleep in and whenever I wake up I'm in a great mood! Somtimes I sleep in only 1 -2 hours later than the days I work, and other days off I'll sleep in to lunch time. Could this be my job that I don't want to get up for? Because I don't seem to have this problem on my days off...

yeah, it could be.

as far as food goes, turkey, tuna, bananas, garlic and milk are all known for aiding a person to fall asleep (please don't eat them together ). I don't know about staying asleep though, but i would bet glycemic index would affect it. Exercise also is known for improving sleep. For me, i find milk or carbs help me to fall asleep.

And here is something that maybe we should do... neither of us goes to bed and rises at the same time every day, do we? Your sleeping in on the weekend made me think of this. I bet if we kept REGULAR habits and went to bed at exactly the same time every night, it would be easier to sleep the same hours and rise at the same time... then if we wanted, we could move it back so we're going to sleep earlier and rising earlier. What do you think?

You know, that could work! It does make sense to keep everything balanced. I am definitely going to try that. I think I might try going to bed at 10 and getting up at 6 oohh but getting up at 6 when I dont have to work!! ugh thats no good lol... yes it is!... because then I can accomplish more in my day! (positive thinking!!!) This is going to be a challange! eek

Speaking of sleep, I think it's about that time! Actually Im 2 1/2 hours late!!!

Or maybe it's the main topic.




Sounds very much like the problem here is unhappiness/ dissatisfaction with your job. You don't say what the stress is but if it is work related then it could be that there's your answer. If it isn't work related then maybe work is just the final straw.

Maybe if you identify the causes of the stress and manage to deal with that a bit then getting out of bed won't seem nearly as depressing.

The other tips from hollyelise, a well balanced diet and some exercise, should also help to raise your mood generally.

All the best,

Chik

hi Chik, glad you joined us.

Okay, Lala, i'm going to try it too... everybody, you're hearing it now .... my bed time is going to be midnight, EST. If you see me online after that, you're welcome to shake your finger at me! And i'll get up at 8... and then roll it back when i get on track with that. (hahahha)

I actually love the early mornings... i love getting up with the sun so i see more of it, and i prefer walking in the early morning rather than the evening. It's cool, then, and when i walk on the Rail-to-Trail i have it all to myself! And then i usually have time to have a "civilized breakfast"... coffee and whatever on my porch with a good book... before i have to be anywhere.

Good stuff Holly!

I decided 10:30 (pacific) is good for me, and up at 6:30. I work at 8am Wed-Fri and 9am Sat/Sun so 630am gives me just over an hour, where as normally I would give myself time to get dressed etc I normally go to bed between 11 and 12:30 and get up around 720 and leave the house at 740. It's still a good 8 hours sleep but I don't allow myself that time in the morning so I hope this works!

Yay for us!! Good luck Holly

I'm not going for my ideal times yet, i think that might make it harder to do. So i'm going to try to go with a median of what i'm doing now but try to make it regular and then inch my way back to earlier.

Good luck, Lala! Sweet dreams!

Some of us are night people. And some of us are morning people. When I get up in the morning I don't want anyone to talk to me or look at me for at least 15 minutes. I sit and veg. Lots of fresh air in the evening and going to bed earlier helps me the most. But it's not my nature, I have to have a reason to be outside for hours. The alarm clock across the room and everything ready for the am are my only saviors.

I have a bunch of coworkers taking sleeping rx, they like them. But it's true, if you don't like your job it's really hard to get out of bed in the morning. If you like your job, it's a lot easier.

I love three day weekends, and wish they all were!! Good luck everyone. I need to go to bed earlier, always. But it's nice to know I'm not alone with my alarm clock across the room thing!

I think that's very true, some of us are night people, while others are morning. My dad is very much a night owl, while my mom is up at 5 am every morning, whether she wants to be or not. She just can't sleep in past then. And she's usually in bed before 10. But my dad and I have always gone to bed later, and always sleep right until we have to get up. My mom is a light sleeper while my dad and I are very heavy sleepers. On another topic, my dad and I dream alot, remember our dreams, and they are very realistic, while my mom doesn't dream too often, or at least just doesn't remember them very well. I definitely take after my dad, in so many ways. I look like my mom, but just like my dad.

I don't hate my job, it's just that it's a very physical job. It's tiring. Draining. And I'm really looking forward to going back to school, but that's not for another year and a bit, so that makes it hard to want to work when I'm waiting for something I want more. Also, at work lately, there has been soo much going on that it's becoming a little stressful mentally, not just physically.

My husband and I are in the middle of a move right now, lots of packing and cleaning to get done so I'll have to start my new bedtime at the end of the week, when Im all settled in our new place on Saturday. Yay, change is good

Hello, iwonder!

I guess i feel there are a number of things that go into being a morning person or a night person. What kind of exercise we do and what kind of food we eat and when, what our attitudes are about the day and what our work is like all affects what time of day we'll have the most energy, and these things can be changed.

It is very frustrating being night person, sometimes. It drives me nuts when my insomnia gets so bad that I've gone a week or more without sleep - yet I'm not supposed to take a nap during the day because that might make it worse.

Sometimes I jut have to give in because I get dangerous on the road and/or my migraines become impossible without sleep.

I've never had a good circadium rhythm, though. For as long as i can remember, at least all the way back to high school, it is easier for me to sleep when the sun is UP. I've often joked that I am really a vampire - especially when you consider how easily I burn - LOL! I do love garlic, though...

I think that we should sleep during the day if we do not sleep during the nights.

Perhaps you feel safer and more relaxed when the sun is shining. I had a housemate who slept with as many as ten lights on in her room. I don't know how she could do it, but for her, that was more comfortable.

It's almost 2:30 a.m. here. I really intended to get in a bath at 11 and in bed by midnight, but i think i got unsettled thinking about the past.

I'm like that with the lights! lol... and it drives my husband crazy! he needs the room very dark and quiet. Im able to fall asleep easier when it's light out. Thats why whenever I have a nap, I fall asleep instantly, but at night it takes me up to an hour or more to fall asleep unless I have lights on or the tv or music on. So my husband went out and bought me a nice bright night light lol and got me some batteries and headphones for my discman.

I must be weird (no kdding, LOL!)

Because even if I sleep better during the day-time, it still has to be completely dark in my room. I either have to wear a mask or sleep with a pillow over my head. Of course, I've really only been so sensitive to te light since my migraines started (only- HA! 15 years now...)

I really need to get a set of those black out drapes, because right now I have garbage bags over my windows - under my drapes!

Michelle, you might want to try wearing tinted glasses. Ever since my eye doctor put me in lenses with a tint of about 1, I rarely - if at all - have light sensitivity - even when I have a migraine.

Julie

As long as my husband doesn't snore, I sleep well most of the time. I'm a terrible napper, two to three hours sometimes! But if I nap I'm up until midnight, 1 am. I don't like the light or noise at night time. But I like to go to bed at 10:30, seems to work the best, which is in about 3 minutes. It'll be a lil later tonight!

I haven't been going to bed on time lately... but I also haven't been able to fall asleep very easily so I guess I stay up late hoping that the later I go to bed, the easier it wil be to fall asleep... And I still am not getting up any earlier than before I moved. Still only giving myself 10-15 minutes to get ready in the morning. I had so many goals and plans for after we moved, and the only one I've accoplished is the quitting smoking thing. Everything else hasn't changed. Healthier eating, exercise, sleeping better, going to bed/getting up at the same time everyday... it's got to change!

Tonight, bedtime is 10:30!

...I know why I tend to sleep in on my weekends. One, because I really do enjoy sleeping lol... but because if I get up at 6:30 in the morning on my days off.. what am I going to do?! It's like Im wasting my days away by sleeping, because I don't know what to do. I don't have alot of hobbies etc. so what's the point in getting up at 6:30am when hubby is at work, and no one else I know is up that early unless they are at work?! Ugh... Im having a really hard time trying to make these positive changes in my life... why can't it be easier than this?! Getting really frustrated....

"the only one I've accoplished is the quitting smoking thing."

Laura, that is HUGE. HUGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

if i could print the type for HUGE four inches tall in this post, i would!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Give yourself a few more weeks of just holding on to being a non-smoker, and then pick something else to tackle.

It's hard to accomplish any goal when your sleep is cr*p. I know.

I think if you just nurture and accept yourself right now, and be pleased about all you have accomplished in your life (you have accomplished, SO MUCH!), ...i think it would put you in a better position for accomplishing whatever you choose to be next.

Sometimes when we are looking at our goals... we are only seeing the part of "the glass that is half empty." We're looking at what we want to accomplish, and have not, as yet reached... and sometimes because of looking at what we haven't done yet we start being quite unfairly hard on ourselves.

Any smoker who has tried to quit and not accomplished it yet, can tell you how HUGE it is to quit. Did i say, HUGE????... why YES, i DID!!!!

It's HUGE laura. It has literally changed the course of your life dramatically in both financial and health terms... and it has even changed the courses of the lives of the people most close to you... your husband, and future children if you decide to have them. I don't think you see yet, the full impact of what an amazing thing you have done!!!!

I think the next weeks are needed to recharge your batteries, so to speak. To find things that you enjoy and that fill your spirit with hope and healthy self esteem. You are not meant to live the life of a racing dog, who always chases the fake rabbit around the track and never reaches it. It's GOT to be okay to be "a work in progress"... for there is not a person on the face of the earth who is not one. The Dalai Lama, for instance, writes quite candidly and beautifully about his own struggles for self improvement.

What are the things you enjoy, Laura? What things restore you, inspire you, and make you feel happy?

I don't know what things I enjoy. There are things that I like to do from time to time like, drawing, reading, writing, painting, etc but those are just things I do when the mood strikes me. Im not a sporty person... never have been, if I were to play any sports it would be badminton, tennis, maybe basketball, frisbee lol... that's about it. Maybe golfing?! Um, I've tried doing some meditation stuff which was enjoyable. Unfortunately I spend alot of my time just sitting around on the computer, watching tv, or hanging out at friends places. I realized though, that most of my friends don't have any goals or dreams for the near future. They dont really have any regular hobbies, activities or interests. We are boring people! lol... So if the people Im around doing do anything either, then how can I expect to anything with them!? lol but to be honest, I can't seem to THINK of something that I might like doing. I don't know what kind of things there are to do.. that's sounds kind of weird, but really what can I take up as a regular hobby?! I dont know! Or where I can meet people like me to become friends with. If I dont have hobbies etc how can I meet new people?!

I think most people start the hobbies by just experimenting with things and then finding out what they enjoy. Many of my knitting students learned to knit for the first time with me, and they had no idea in the beginning they would get "hooked." And some of my students are taking other kinds of classes as well... watercolor painting or tole painting or beading. Usually if you go to any supply store for the hobbies you do have, you'll learn about workshops and classes nearby. I wouldn't analyze it, i'd just go with what looks interesting to you. If it's for you, you will soon learn that, and if it isn't, you will still have met a few people and tried a new thing.

Here is something though, you might want to give a try... it is a visualization technique...

When you are in a good mood, find a quiet spot and start imagining possibilities for your future. Don't try to predict... just play with ideas. Change them to explore different possibilities. For example, maybe in one of your dreams, you follow your education as far as you would like to go. You become an expert in a field of study... medicine... education... psychology... art. Go with whatever interests you, and go with a couple things you never before imagined, either... what would it be like to be Dr. Laura, pediatrician? Or how about Laura, owner and ceo of her own company? Or... Laura... a family woman who has taken up mountain climbing? Okay, now that you have explored possibilities and taken yourself beyond what you'd normally consider... think about what is most important to you in life. I know one thing you've mentioned is your great love for your husband. Obviously you want to keep him around for a while. What else is important to you? Raising a family? Helping others? Having a career? Getting ahead financially? Your health? Rescuing animals or any other cause? Okay, last part. Imagine you are 90 years old. (I've heard this called the Rocking Chair exercise, haha). You have your loved ones around you. It's a gathering. Who is there? Your husband, right? Who else is there? You are talking with someone young. They've asked you about your life. You are telling them what you did, and what you found to be important. What are you telling them?

Let's put it this way Holly...

I love people and animals. I love helping people and making them happy. I love planning surprises for people (surprise bday parties/spontaneous trips/elaborate dinners etc). I really enjoy having people over (entertaining). I love cooking, creating recipes, baking. I love playing with cats and dogs.

What I see in my future... I would be 100% satisfied with my life to just do some travelling, raise a family, and just spend my life helping people and nurturing my family. I don't really care for a big career. I plan on going back to school for a program that I want to do but that's all education wise.

I can't wait until the day Andrew and I start a family. This is what I look forward to all the time. The day we buy a house and decide to start a family. I've ALWAYS wanted to be that stay at home mom who takes care of everyone and makes sure that everyone is happy and healthy. To be honest, I believe that that's what I'm supposed to do... that is me. But I have to wait for life to take me there and all that is stil years away.. so in the mean time... ?!?

There are so many facets to the human body and it can take literally years to understand how to 'operate' it to suit YOU and the people around you. It is really important to figure out how to get the best from it, e.g:

* is your mind clearer as soon as you wake or after a few hours?

* do you feel ready to 'party' at 5pm or 11pm?

* do you work better on an empty stomach?

* do you feel too sleepy to concentrate straight after a meal?

* does background music help you get through activities faster?

* does all background noise have to be eliminated before you can think straight?

Once you know the answers to basic questions like this, you can begin to organise your day around your body's most efficient working.

My most productive hours are the two hours around sunset and the hour just before the birds start their morning chorus, so the exact time changes with the seasons of nature and not with the British clocks. The next step is interweaving your body clock with that of the people around you!

This often happens to me like often too eventhough I am very tired I don't want to go to bed.

I actually wake at almost noon because of the meds I'm taking. It would be nice to wake up early because I know people who do wake up early. A couple of years ago, I also woke up just to get school but now that I have no school to attend to, I find myself snoozing the sleep button on the phone.

I want to do things at about 7am but I seem to not get my body to wake up early. Any tips for me? :D It's would be welcome if anyone could suggest anything!

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Styxx 🐍

Hi Styxx, a tip is to sleep with your curtains open as the human body needs natural light to wake up slowly. In essence, if your cells start to be stimulated around sunrise, the rest of your body should be awake an hour or so later. Joy

I could never do that because any light wakes me up and also stops me from falling asleep. Sound does not bother me unless I'm having insomnia or it is something very annoying (a nice example would be the high pitch screams of Maria Sharapova).

In the UK the sun does not rise until around 8am at the moment. To get up earlier than that, do you use methods other than an alarm clock?

I only use an alarm clock to get up but when like with today I can get up whenever because there's nothing special I need to do I just get up when I am ready to get up. The only times I did not need an alarm clock to get up at a certain time was when Michael Schumacher was in Formula One, the alarm was always set but I always woke up at least a few seconds before it came on.

Hi Nancy, yes, it's amazing how the human brain wakes the body just before an alarm is due to go off. Joy