4 Ways to Make Getting up for Sunrise Easier

Everyone has that little voice in their head that starts right after your alarm rudely wakes you in the morning. It's 4:30 am and all you can think is, "I don't need to see this sunrise, it'll probably be awful anyway," or "I promise I'll get up and hike tomorrow." Sometimes, it feels like just getting out of bed is such a strenuous mission that it's not even worth attempting! Well I have good news, from years of waking up at the crack of dawn I have learned a few tips that make it easier. 

1. Preparation

Get everything ready the night before. It may not sound that necessary, but if everything is out and ready to go for your morning adventure, you will have a harder time talking yourself out of it. Not only have you already put in the time getting it ready, but it means you have less to do when you get up! You just have to roll out of bed, grab your coffee and walk out the door. Seems so simple now, right?

2. Have a definitive plan

It is incredibly easy to talk yourself out of something that doesn't really exist. However, if you have a firm plan, it's much easier to stick to it. If I have a set in stone plan that has all my timing for the morning planned out, I am far more likely to get up and do it. If I go to bed telling myself, "oh maybe i'll go for a hike in the morning," I'd say there is only a 25% chance I make it out of bed. 

3. The 'Shock' wake up

As brutal as this sounds, it is one of the best ways to make sure you get up. When you set your alarm for the morning, set it up somewhere that you can't reach from bed, preferably near your light switch (note: do not use voice responsive alarms - that's cheating). That way, when you wake up, you are forced to stand up and walk over to turn it off. The next step of the shock involves brutally destroying the melatonin in your system. Melatonin is the chemical that is produced by your body when it's dark to make you feel sleepy. By immediately introducing light in the morning, you are telling your body it's time to wake up. (Disclaimer: this is a brutal and cruel wake-up in the morning, but it really works!)

4. Make sure you are accountable

The best and most effective way of making sure you get up is being held accountable. By organizing to meet up with a friend to do whatever it is you have planned, you leave yourself no choice. Either you get up, or you lose a friend, because no one wants to be stood up at 4am!