Everyone has done it — set an early alarm and planned to have plenty of time to prepare themselves for the day ahead.
When you are in college, sometimes things come up, plans get changed and most of the time, you simply do not have the motivation to get up when you initially planned to.
However, one of the main barriers separating people from waking up is the accessibility of the snooze button.
While the snooze button itself is not bad, its size and location on the alarm makes it all too easy to press.
Here are six tips from the Technique to help you get up to your alarm in the morning without pressing snooze.
Pick Your Time Wisely
When people normally set their alarm, they want to have the freedom to hit snooze a thousand times. However, this concept does not make sense — if you can set an alarm earlier solely for the ability to hit snooze, you can also set one that will allow you more sleep. Try to set an alarm 30 minutes to one hour before you need to be ready for the day.
This way, you do not have to wake up in between alarms. It will also train your body to automatically wake up when it needs to.
Go To Bed Earlier
The strength to resist hitting snooze requires you to get
enough sleep. Most doctors will recommend that adults get at least seven hours of sleep every night, but college students usually brush that off. Sometimes it can be very difficult, especially during hell weeks, to go to bed at a decent time. However, it is always important to prioritize self-care, including getting enough sleep.
Change Your Ringtone
A big part of successfully waking up to your alarm is understanding your body and what works for you. Your ringtone may be one of the things that is not working for you. The kind of ringtone that you use is a big factor in how difficult or how easy it may be to wake up. A tone that is too soft may not wake you up promptly, whereas a tone that is too harsh may not motivate you to wake up at all. Try out a few over the course of a couple nights and decide which tone you like best.
Slightly open Your Blinds
This may not apply to everyone, depending on the time that you plan to wake up in the morning, but sometimes, seeing the sun is a mental cue that it is time to get up. Take advantage of the fact that our brains associate a sunrise with morning — you will also get to enjoy the beauty of the rising sun.
Drink water
Drinking water in the morning naturally helps your body wake up by kickstarting the body’s metabolic rate, getting rid of toxins and improving your energy levels. Limit the amount of water you drink before bed and throughout the night.
Drinking too much water may cause bathroom trips throughout the night which can interfere with sleep. It is important to stay hydrated because that directly affects the amount of sleep you get, but try not to drink more than a glass a night.
Hide your Alarm
To resist the temptation of remaining in bed and snoozing, place your alarm far away from your bed. By making yourself physically get up, you will be less likely to crawl back into bed and will be ready to start your day.
Change Your Mindset
The most important part of this process is changing your mindset, which applies in many ways. You have to want to wake up.
Realistically, you will not always be excited about waking up early, but trying to be optimistic about it may increase your willingness to wake up.
The best way to do this is by appreciating waking up. Remember that it is a new day that brings new opportunities, so the next time your alarm rings, seize the day!