How can I be more of a morning person?

[myauntflow78]

I struggle to get up each day. I want to be someone who is up and bouncing around at 6am type of thing. Instead, I haul myself out of bed as late as I can then sluggishly rush to sort everything on a school/work day.
I go to bed at a decent time. I don't have a TV in my bedroom. I am now not using my phone past 10pm.
At 6am I could go to the gym. Do a home work out. Sit in peace with a coffee before the rest of the household wakes up. Sort the kitchen. Do some home admin.
So why can't I do it ?!
Anyone got any ideas ?

All that advocating getting up at ridiculous o’clock to workout or do housework or life admin is bollocks:

”Women! Why not get up an hour early to pluck your eyebrows and clean the kitchen floor in peace. Me time!”

Having reached the age of 63, I have come to the conclusion that we are either larks or owls. It must be something set about our body clocks. When I was working, I would force myself out of bed 20 minutes (sometimes 10 minutes before I had to leave the house). I’d get my clothes ready and shower the night before because I absolutely knew that I couldn’t cope with it in the morning. When my children were young, I did a bit better because I had to attend to their needs, but to my shame, they were often late for school. I have tried everything over the decades to change my body clock. Like you, I’d love to be a morning person, but nothing has worked. Now that I’m retired, I don’t fight it. I’m up until about 2/3am (reading in bed from 12/1am) and get up when I wake up at 10/11am. Even my dogs have the same routine 🙄

I would love to be up with the Dawn, listening to the birds, walking the dogs, gardening etc and having the whole day ahead of me. I know it won’t happen though. I’m a Psychologist and have gone through ‘sleep hygiene’ etc with so many patients over the years, but it doesn’t change the body clock.

I studied Biology at university many years back and we were told that the natural human circadian rhythm is just over 24h, so technically it should be possible to slowly stretch your hours to eventually include mornings, but for anyone with any kind of routine, including work, that's an impossible feat.

I did notice that during the very long (3 month) holidays I would gradually shift from getting up at 6am to sleeping in but staying comfortably awake until 3am.

These days, my peak hours appear to be between 4am and 9am, so I try to get everything done then and collapse into bed early(ish) to compensate.

Do you have children? I found being forced to get up by 7 every day, no matter what has now made it difficult to sleep in. Although I'm never happy or energetic and bounce out of bed - I wish! In saying that, I do also agree with PP that you either are or you're not. I bet it would only take a couple of weeks for me to turn back into a night owl. When on holiday my natural clock was waking around 10am, and going to bed at 2am.
Following with interest as I would love to be a morning person, I feel it would make life much easier!

I think (for me) it's linked to my type of sleep. I know I fall asleep quickly but then according to my Fitbit, I do not get 'good' sleep and I think this is why I wake up feeling like I don't want to get up.

I'm doing the Zoe health thing and recently learned that if you don't get to bed at the right time for you, then your blood sugar will dip in the morning. Low blood sugar will obviously make you feel not great. Even if you still get the same number of hours sleep, the key is to go to bed at the right time. For me that's 9.30pm, although previously I thought it was 10.30pm. Since going to bed earlier, I get tye same amount of sleep but feel better in the morning.

I've also adjusted my routine. Night before I get everything done in the kitchen, including make lunches, load washing, set up cups for tea and I get out kids uniform and my clothes and take vitamins. My alarm goes off at 5.45am (although I now naturally wake earlier). I get dressed, go and make tea and put the washing on. Then I come back to bed and sit and do my skin routine, hair and makeup. I sit on my bed until 6.30am, drinking tea. I get the kids up and uniform is ready so it's much quicker. Everything then runs smoothly as prep is done. I have a list of tasks to do that I check off which keeps me on track.

Prior to all of this it was a real struggle although I did find that once I was up I was up.

Moving more during the day helps me to sleep better and therefore wake earlier.