The Worst Way to Wake Up (and What to Do Instead)

Not everyone is naturally inclined to be a morning person, but there are things we can do to make things go more easily for our brains!

Cause for alarm?

Dr. Tracey Marks, psychiatrist, explains the impact of our first moments upon awakening, and what that can do to/for us in terms of sleep inertia (i.e. grogginess).

Sleep inertia is worse when waking from deep sleep—and notably, we don’t naturally wake directly from deep sleep unless we are externally aroused (e.g. by an alarm clock).

Dr. Marks suggests the use of more gradual alarms, including those with soft melodies, perhaps birdsong or other similarly gentle things (artificial sunlight alarms are also good), to ease our transition from sleeping to waking. It might take us a few minutes longer to be woken from sleep, but we’re not going to spend the next hour in a bleary-eyed stupor.

For more details on these things and more (including why not to hit “snooze”), enjoy:

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Want to learn more?

You might also like to read:

• Early Bird Or Night Owl? Genes vs Environment
• Morning Routines That Just FLOW

Take care!