Morning grouch
These tips will get you out of bed
© Lia Koltyrina / Shutterstock
As a morning grouch, you can hardly get out of bed in the morning. We reveal the top tips to help you beat that morning low.
What is a morning grouch?
The classic morning grouch is usually in a bad mood when the alarm clock rings early and he has to get up, is nagging and taciturn. He would like to turn over and go back to sleep. In most cases you are a morning grouch if you belong to the so-called chronotype of the owls. This refers to people whose body clock is not yet set to the day in the morning and who have difficulty getting out of bed, but who are wide awake and concentrated well into the evening.
The opposite of the owl and the morning grouch is the so-called lark: This chronotype is an early riser who goes to work in a good mood and wide awake in the morning, but loses his energy earlier in the evening and goes to bed correspondingly early. Being an owl or a lark is a disposition.
Working early: The enemy of all owls
In today’s working world, where you often start work between 8:00 and 9:00 a.m., owls are often left behind. But that doesn’t mean they have to put up with being unfocused and tired in the mornings. You can’t generally change your type, However, there are a few tips that can help morning grouches get a better start to the day.
Tips for morning grouches: How to get out of bed easily
Are you a morning grouch, but do you have to get up early regularly? These tips will help you outsmart your internal clock:
- Bet on light: Daylight wakes you up because it causes sleep hormones to break down in the body. In the summer, we should therefore pull the blinds up as soon as we get up. Fresh air also helps to clear your head – so it’s best to open the window fully for about ten minutes and air it out. In winter it feels like it’s always dark – here, for example, a wake-up light helps to shake off tiredness, because it works with simulated daylight. Fresh air is still a must, even when it’s cold.
- contrast showers: Turning the water in the shower to cold sometimes takes a little effort, not only for morning grouches, but it’s worth it. Cold and warm alternating showers stimulate blood circulation, and the cold water naturally wakes you up. It is best to start with cold water at your feet and slowly work your way up so that your body can get used to the change in temperature.
- Light movement: Of course, for morning grouches, the thought of exercising early in the morning is probably even worse than for everyone else. But it doesn’t have to be a full hour workout. Even a short walk in the fresh air can help wake you up and shake off tiredness. Bonus effect: The movement directly boosts the production of happiness hormones that put you in a good mood.
- Getting enough sleep: Especially owls that have to get up early run the risk of not getting enough sleep. Since they usually feel fit well into the night, they often go to bed late, making it even more difficult to get up in the morning. Most people need between seven and eight hours of sleep—some get as little as six hours, and others need nine or more. In order not to be a grouch in the morning, you should adjust the time you go to bed to your individual sleep needs.
- Always get up at the same time: Hardly anything is nicer for the morning grouch than sleeping in at the weekend. Unfortunately, this is a mistake – because routine helps us to get our sleeping behavior under control. That’s why we should always go to bed and get up at the same time.
- Listen to music: Music has been shown to affect our mood. If you want to start the day in a good mood and leave the morning grouch behind you, you should be woken up by a mobile phone or alarm clock with your favorite music or at least turn the music on immediately after getting up. Dancing and singing along are expressly permitted.
Successful in your sleep? We can learn that from these powerful women!
7 images
Attention: These mistakes should be avoided in morning grouches!
In order not to make himself even heavier than absolutely necessary, morning grouches should also avoid these things:
- Drink too little: You can even operate the coffee machine while half asleep, because without the usual caffeine kick no one can get you out the door in the morning? You’re allowed to do that too – but you’d be doing your health a favor if you grabbed a glass of water before you had your coffee. The reason: the body is dehydrated in the morning. A glass of cold water with a little lemon or lime juice can help. This is good for the water balance, stimulates the metabolism, cleans the mouth and throat, balances the body and gives it energy.
- Eat only carbohydrates: It’s true that a healthy morning starts with muesli, wholemeal bread or oatmeal – with one caveat: Breakfast only gets a grouch through the morning if he cleverly combines the carbohydrates. Because as quickly as carbohydrates raise blood sugar levels and give you an energy boost, they are used up again as quickly. The trick: If you mix proteins with the carbohydrates, you can last until lunch without feeling hungry. Proteins slow down the absorption of carbohydrates into the blood and thus curb appetite. Don’t just eat fruit or fruit juice for breakfast. A dry raisin bun is also not a good idea. Muesli with milk or yoghurt is ideal, with a handful of nuts or flaxseed in it if you like. Or you make yourself a cheese sandwich.
- Doing too much: To-do lists help us structure everyday life and prioritize tasks. But they also like to get longer and longer – and often seem impossible to do for a morning grouch at the beginning of the day. Don’t let that stress you out. Take a moment in the morning and set three achievable goals for the day. This also includes things like: finally making an appointment with the dentist, spreading bread yourself instead of rushing to the bakery, or packing your sports bag and going to a fitness class after work.
- Getting out of bed unfavorably: Even if you don’t get lumbago right away: There are many unhealthy ways to get out of bed. This applies to larks and owl-caused morning grouches alike! The gentlest way to stand up is to roll onto your right side and push yourself into a sitting position. Then stand up with a straight back. It takes the pressure off your heart and back—and is a simple morning ritual.
- Turn on your smartphone before you even get up: Who tweeted what? What news is important today? Did I get important emails? As soon as you stopped the smartphone alarm clock, do you switch off flight mode and still lie in bed absorbing the first information of the day? It’s convenient, but the stress level skyrockets even before breakfast. Better for any morning grouch: When you wake up, sit up straight, take five minutes, and focus on your breath and mind. Then you get ready for the day and only scan the messages at the end.
Reading Tips: Here’s how to fall asleep quickly and get up early. We also explain common causes of sleep disorders and what pink noise is. Here you can find out how you can sleep better and what you should know about the snooze button. You can find out here whether you should sleep with the window open. You can find out everything you need to know about optimal sleep hygiene here.