How to Wake Up Easier for a Better Morning

Last Updated on August 7, 2021 by Ellen Christian

Would you like to wake up easier? Have I mentioned that I’m not a morning person?  I’m generally up around 6AM not because I want to be but because that’s the time I can be most productive. Everyone else is asleep so I grab a few cups of coffee and start working. I usually need about an hour to wake up while I drink a cup of coffee and play games work on my phone. After that, my desktop is on, and I’m working with a few more cups of coffee to keep me moving. 

How to Wake Up Easier for a Better Morning

I’ve always wished that I woke up a bit easier in the morning. Instead of spending my first hour half asleep, I’d rather be more productive. I’d make myself a fancy coffee drink like my favorite Irish Cream Coffee and get right to work. Just think, I’d have an extra hour to get things done. For this past week, I’ve been testing out the Phillips Wake Up Clock and a few of these tips to see how it can help me wake up easier.

Don’t Stay Up All Night

I know this is probably common sense, but you wake up easier if you go to bed at a reasonable hour. You should try to get at least eight hours of sleep. It’s more like six and a half for me but I really do try to get at least seven.

Set Your Coffee on a Timer

Right now I have a Keurig and while I absolutely love the convenience, I want a smart coffee maker that I can set with a timer and activate with my Amazon Echo. If you have a coffee maker with a timer, set it so your coffee is ready when you need to wake up. The smell of freshly brewed coffee helps. And, you may also like this non alcoholic Irish cream recipe for your coffee.

Stick to a Routine

Go to bed and wake up at about the same time every day – yes that means weekends too. If you let yourself sleep until 11AM on the weekends, it will be even harder to wake up early during the week. Have a regular bedtime each night even on the weekends and get up within an hour of your traditional wake-up time.

Wake Up Slowly

Did you ever notice that you feel more awake in the morning when you wake up slowly rather than being jolted out of a peaceful sleep by beeping or loud music? I know that I do!  I’ve been using the Philips Wake-up Light (Model HF3520) to create a gentle, refreshing wake-up experience by using light to wake you up gradually.

It uses a wide range of colors in light to closely simulate a natural sunrise and sunset. The HF3520 has a range of color options which make waking up and falling asleep easier and more relaxing. It gradually starts to brighten 30 minutes before you want to wake up to prepare your body to wake up. At your set wake-up time, a natural sound will make sure you’re awake.

I love how customizable the Philips Wake-up Light is. I can choose the time I want to wake up, the length of time I want it to last, the light intensity as well as the sound level. I can even set two different times – one for during the week – and one on the weekends. I really appreciate that I can wake up to natural sounds or the FM radio. I’d much rather wake up to birds singing but my husband wakes up better when he wakes up to music.  There are five different natural sounds built in to wake up to (Bird Song, Birds in the forest, Zen Garden, Gentle piano and Seaside Sounds).

Another feature that I really appreciate is that the display on the clock adjusts itself automatically depending on how bright the room is. If the bedroom is filled with light, the brightness increases to keep the display readable. When the bedroom is dark the brightness dims so it doesn’t light up your bedroom when you’re trying to sleep. Plus, if you want to snooze, you just tap it anywhere rather than searching for a snooze button. You can even use it as a nightlight!

If you’re having a difficult time waking up in the morning, I definitely recommend you try the Philips Wake-up Light. After using it for a week, I really find that it’s much easier to wake up this way than to a jarring alarm or blaring music waking me out of a sound sleep.