Morning grouch
These tips will get you out of bed
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As a morning grouch, you can hardly get out of bed in the morning. We reveal the best tips to help you overcome the 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 around again and go back to sleep. In most cases, if you belong to the so-called chronotype of the owls, you are a morning grouch. This is understood to mean people whose internal clock is not yet set for the day in the morning and who therefore have difficulty getting out of bed, but are still wide awake and concentrated long 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 in the early evening and goes to bed early. Whether you are an owl or a lark is predisposition.
Working early: the enemy of all owls
In today's working world, where you often start working between 8:00 and 9:00 a.m., owls are often left behind. But that doesn't mean that they have to come to terms with the fact that they are always unfocused and tired in the morning. You can't change your type in general, But there are a few tips that can help those who are grumpy in the morning get a better start to the day.
Tips for morning grouches: This is how you get out of bed easily
Are you grumpy about the morning but have to get up early on a regular basis? These tips will help you to outsmart your internal clock:
- Put on light: Daylight wakes you up because it ensures that sleep hormones are broken down in the body. In summer we should therefore raise the blinds directly after getting up. Fresh air also helps to clear your head – so it is best to open the window all the way for about ten minutes and ventilate it. In winter it feels like it's always dark – here, for example, a light alarm clock helps to shed the tiredness because it works with simulated daylight. Fresh air is still a must, even when it's cold.
- Alternating showers: Turning the water in the shower to cold does not only require the morning grouch, 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, bit by bit, so that the body can get used to the temperature change.
- Light movement: Sure, for those who are grumpy in the morning, 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 of workout either. Just a short walk in the fresh air can help wake you up and shake off tiredness. Bonus effect: the movement directly stimulates the production of happiness hormones, which put you in a good mood.
- Get enough sleep: Owls in particular, who 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 sleep late and have an even harder time getting up in the morning. Most people need between seven and eight hours of sleep – some six hours are enough, others need nine or more. So that you are not a morning grouch, you should adjust the bedtime to your individual sleep needs.
- Always get up at the same time: Hardly anything is nicer for the morning grouch than sleeping in on the weekend. But unfortunately that's a mistake – because routine helps us to get our sleep behavior under control. Therefore, we should always go to bed and get up at the same time whenever possible.
- 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 let yourself be woken up by a mobile phone or alarm clock with your favorite music or at least turn on the music immediately after getting up. Dancing and singing are expressly allowed.
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Attention: These mistakes should avoid morning grouches!
In order not to make yourself harder than absolutely necessary, morning grouch should also avoid these things:
- Drinking too little: You can even operate the coffee machine when you are half asleep, because without the usual caffeine kick, no morning grumpy can get you out of the door? You are granted that too – but you would do your health a favor if you grabbed the water glass before you had your coffee cup. The reason: in the morning the body is dehydrated. A glass of cold water with a little lemon or lime juice can help. This is good for the water balance, stimulates the metabolism, cleanses the mouth and throat, brings the body into balance and gives it energy.
- Eat only carbohydrates: It is true that a healthy morning begins with muesli, wholemeal bread or oatmeal – with one caveat: breakfast in the morning will only make you grumpy if you combine the carbohydrates skillfully. Because as quickly as carbohydrates drive up the blood sugar level and give you an energy boost, they are used up again quickly. The trick: if you mix in proteins with the carbohydrates, you can hold out until lunch without feeling hungry. Proteins slow the absorption of carbohydrates into the blood and thus curb the appetite. Don't just consume fruit or fruit juice for breakfast. A dry raisin bun is also a bad idea. Muesli with milk or yoghurt, also with a handful of nuts or flaxseeds, are ideal. Or you smear yourself a cheese sandwich.
- Doing too much: To-do lists help us to structure everyday life and to prioritize tasks. But they also tend to get longer and longer – and often seem impossible to those who don't like the morning at the beginning of the day. Don't let that stress you out. Take a moment in the morning and set yourself three achievable goals for the day. This also includes things like: finally making an appointment with the dentist, making the bread yourself instead of rushing to the bakery or packing your gym bag and attending a fitness course again after work.
- Getting out of bed inconveniently: Even if you don't get lumbago right away: There are many unhealthy ways to get out of bed. This applies to both larks and owl-related morning grouches alike! The gentlest way to get up is like this: Roll onto your right side and push yourself into a sitting position. Then stand up with your back straight. This takes the pressure off your heart and back – and is a simple morning ritual.
- Switch on your smartphone before you get up: Who tweeted what? What news is important today? Have I received important emails? As soon as you have stopped the smartphone alarm clock, do you switch off the flight mode and soak up the first information of the day while lying in bed? While this is convenient, it makes the stress level skyrocket even before breakfast. Better for every morning grouch: When you wake up, sit up straight, take five minutes and concentrate on your breath and your mind. Then you get ready for the day and don't scan the messages until the end.
Reading tips: We reveal here how you can fall asleep quickly. We also explain common causes of insomnia and what pink noise is.
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