Rise and shine: How to wake up happy

Vv Magazine’s Sarah Botelho gives you the rundown on how to wake up happy in the morning—we know, it sounds impossible. 

Unless you are one of those lucky ducks that can wake up at the crack of dawn feeling like you’re ready to take on the world, mornings freaking suck. There’s an overload of alarms and alarm apps to ensure that you give up on sleep and embrace your day—from those tailored to your sleep cycle, to this alarm that won’t shut up until you haul your sleepy self off the mattress—but it’s hard to do so gracefully. Your bed is essentially a cozy paradise and remaining cocooned there seems like a way more appealing option than sauntering into the shower and starting your day. But never fear.

Vv Magazine is here with some helpful hints to ensure that even at the crack of dawn, you can wake up feeling happy and refreshed.

Make Sure You’re Hydrated Before Bed
Just a tiny glass of water will do; if you drink too much, it’ll most likely disrupt your quality of sleep. We tend to get really dehydrated while we sleep (because come on, you’re just lying there mouth-breathing for hours on end), so ensuring that you’re hydrated will make you feel a lot less groggy in the morning. Bonus tip: the same is true of the middle of the day – that dreaded 3pm hour. If you’re starting to feel sluggish, your body’s probably lacking some hydration so make sure to keep a cute water bottle within arms reach all day long.

Have A Treat To Look Forward To
If there’s nothing cool and exciting to do as soon as you get out of bed, you’ll be more likely to press the snooze button and stay there until the early hours of the afternoon. This could be anything from food to a fun activity, but a personal favourite of ours is this banana ice cream because who the heck wouldn’t want to eat ice cream for breakfast? If you know that’s waiting for you when you wake up, you’re definitely going to be more inclined to hop out of bed for your reward.

Sleep In A Comfy Place (AKA Not On Your Friend’s Floor)
When you’re leading this fabulously exciting life, you may get into the habit of crashing wherever you can lay your sleepy head, but that’s probably not the best idea for a good night’s sleep. This might sound obvious, but if you’ve been sleeping on a rock hard mattress you probably wake up a) still feeling tired, b) sore, c) annoyed or d) all of the above. If a new mattress isn’t totally feasible right now, try getting a mattress topper to add some comfy cushioning to your life. You spend 1/3 of your life sleeping, so it’s probably worth investing in.

Watch Something Short & Uplifting
A tendency when you first wakeup is to check your phone and surf through social media. Instead, give yourself a brief technology detox and watch something you enjoy while you make breakfast or start getting ready in the morning. This way, you’ll be uplifted from the start and your day will begin on a happy note, rather than one that makes you want to crawl back into bed and forget about society entirely. This could be a short little YouTube video, an episode of Friends, or even just a live performance by your favourite artist. Just make sure it’s short so that you don’t get sucked into watching it all day.

Let The Light In
While it’s all fun and games to keep your room like a dark warm cozy cave, that probably doesn’t make for the best waking-up environment. If you’re comfortable, try sleeping with the curtains and blinds open so that your body wakes up with the natural sunrise. This actually improves your circadian rhythm (aka, your sleep cycle). The area of the brain that responds to light controls this inner alarm clock, which is why humans feel more awake in the sunshine and are ready to sleep once it’s dark outside. Having sun exposure right when you wake up will actually give your brain a signal that it’s time to start the day. If you’re not lucky enough to have a window, consider an alarm clock that gets brighter and brighter as it gets closer to the time you’re supposed to wake up.

De-Clutter The Bedroom Area
If you wake up and are greeted by a heaping pile of clothes, countless books, papers, and granola bar wrappers, you probably won’t want to get out of bed. A messy room is overwhelming. Do your best the night before to make sure you’re waking up to a clean, organized space. And if you need some help organizing your tiny apartment, check out our tips.

Have A Plan/Make A Plan
This last one is arguably the most important. If your alarm goes off at the ungodly hour of 7 am because you felt like you “wanted to be productive” that day, but you have absolutely no plan of what the day will entail, you’ll probably slump back underneath the covers. If you feel like you’re getting things done, you’ll have a sense of satisfaction and feel like you’re actually doing something with your life. This plan doesn’t have to be down to the minute; a simple guideline of what you want to accomplish will do. You’ll be able to be more efficient, get more things done, and feel that sweet gratification as you mentally check things off.

Related Link: The ultimate post-party detox guide

Did we miss any tried-and-true ways to wake up happy? Let Vv Magazine know in the comments below, or tweet us @ViewtheVibe.