If you hit snooze, you lose

People don’t agree on a lot of things, but most would say that waking up more tired than when they fell asleep is uncomfortable. Kelly Fitzpatrick of the Daily Burn explains how to stop hitting the snooze button and creating healthy routines throughout your day to improve your sleep at night.

Consider yourself in the following situation: Bzzzt, bzzzt, bzzzt! “Why did I stay out so late?” You sleepily mumble to yourself, trying to wipe the sleep that seems to have burrowed into your eyes. Hoping to justify more time asleep, you strain your sleep-soaked eyes to see the clock only to realize that you are running late for school.

As you begin to shuffle toward the bathroom to fulfill your morning ritual, you regrettably mutter under your breath, “Tonight, I’ll get a full night’s sleep,” but you know that probably isn’t true. Sometime later you find yourself asleep on the bathroom floor, with a very foggy memory of leaving your bed. You glance toward the nearest clock: looks like another day of running very late to school.

This is the life of a college student. We balance school schedules and assignments with part or even full-time jobs. We spend time at social events or family activities. We eat, clean, study, read, travel, study, play, work out, study and try to find a few hours to sleep when possible.

With our time being split between so many activities, it’s easy to see why our bed misses us so much while we’re away— she wants some attention too— and why we have such a hard time saying goodbye to her each morning.

Is this ever a scene from your life? You don’t have to feel separation anxiety when you say goodbye to your comfy bed each morning. Rather than drowning yourself in caffeinated beverages all-day and nodding off to an unexpected power nap, become a morning person.

The first step to being a morning person is taking care of your body. Eating well, in appropriate portions from various food groups, can keep your body feeling healthy and a hungry or overstuffed belly won’t keep you awake. When you start your day, be sure to exercise and eat a healthy breakfast to get your heart pumping and your body going strong.

Once you are up and running, take advantage of your awakened mental state and be productive. Have meaningful activities or goals that you want to accomplish before your day of work or school begins. Your mind is fresh at the beginning of the day, and your best ideas will likely come at that time. Spend some time thinking about the positives your day will bring and noting any helpful thoughts.

Of course, getting a good amount of rest is as important as ignoring that snooze button. Avoid excessive napping, especially in the evening, so you don’t have a problem falling asleep at night.

Prepare a nightly routine focused on keeping a regular sleep schedule and putting yourself into a comfortable, quiet environment as you near bedtime.

Try to power down your electronics an hour before you go to bed.

It may seem like a lot to do, but gradually creating a good routine will greatly improve your sleep.