Fed up of getting up late every morning

[myhorseforaring]

Regardless of what time I go to bed, I can never get up in the morning on any day. I usually lie in bed until the very last point I can, which is 8.25am on a week day or sometimes 9.30am and then I roll out onto my home desk (in diff room). I hate how this makes me feel - sluggish and demotivated with zero energy. The other day I had to be at the local shop at 7.30am. While there, I saw school children who were at the shop on their way to school. Workmen in their vans, also on route to work. These people were up, ready and out at a time when I am usually struggling to turn off the alarm let alone getting up. There is a whole world of activities going on while I lie on bed wasting my life/time and feeling sluggish and crap for it.

I would love to be a 6am morning person. I could then do the gym, sort laundry, get ahead for the day. It would make me feel so much more energised.

But getting up is just so exhausting

HRT if not already, possibly thyroid, plus have a shower the moment you set foot out of the bed.

I am the same OP. No matter how early I go to bed I can’t get up in the morning at a reasonable time

Hi op I’m 36, 2 small dc aged 3 and 6. Very busy ft job with 60 mins commute each way. In order to avoid the sack I drag myself out of bed at an ungodly hour but I am just not, have never been and will never be a morning person.
i am not at my best until past 12pm 🤣 not so helpful for you, I don’t know what I can advise. I spent years trying to figure out what was wrong. I’ve just accepted it and have to get on. If I have something really important like an interview or work meeting I never ever book the early slot. As much as I am up and awake, I’m not my best until pm arrives
good luck. X

Try and plan the night before to make the morning easier - lay out the clean clothes you will wear, fill up the coffee machine / kettle, lay out a bowl and spoon at the table, buy a bottle of nice shower gel / shampoo to use. Have a radio in your bedroom to turn on the minute you get up - music and voices really helps me especially in winter. Get a few lamps to make the house feel cosy in the morning. Get the heating on first thing.

I hear you! I'm exactly the same. I'm obsessed with sleep and will sleep any chance I get. I've been to the doctors for blood tests and they say I'm fine so I much just be lazy.

I think going into the office will be what you need. Being around other people naturally picks you up and gives you a reason to put a bra on. Humans need connection.

Pick a time and stick to it regardless. Make sure to leave enough time for shower / breakfast so you feel better before you start work.
its that or get a job in an office so you are forced to get up and stick to it.

I had thyroid cancer last year and had my thyroid removed. I'm now on daily thyroid medication. I have been gradually losing my 'get up and go' for several years and it's now at peak.
Wfh means I see no one in the day, apart from maybe dh. I avoid the office as much as possible because 1) I've gained weight and 2) my hair looks shit on pretty much most occasions when I try to make an effort with it.

I got a Lumie lamp and it’s honestly changed my mornings forever! For years I struggled and I’m not naturally an early riser, but this lamp starts to gradually light up the room 30 mins before the alarm goes off and it’s been really good.
You can pay out for medical grade ones that help with SAD, but I got the standard one.

Mate! Recovery from thst is going to take more time. Don't be hard on yourself 💐

My alarm is set for 4.15 tomorrow, I'll do the daily wordle as soon as I wake, then up for a quick coffee and into work for 5. I love it, roads are dead, I'm so productive when no one else is in. I'll be going to bed soon to read then hopefully asleep by 9.

I've never been able to lie in though, even as a teenager! No reason to be up early this morning but I still woke at 6.30 and got up and got some housework done

Mid 40's here and have been exactly the same my whole life.

6am is the middle of the night to me.....

Yes, I agree. You've been through a lot, OP. Just try to find a way to build up your stamina again.

an update - I did it ! this morning I was up at 6am and in a spinning class at 6.20am. I booked it last minute last night, it's usually hard to get a space - it was fate ! Class done, Sainsburys shop done and home by 7.30. I loathe going to the supermarket when it's busy/during the day and try to avoid it all costs. People were there doing a full shop at that time !! I had a few things to get and was in and out. Showered, face on, nice body spray scent on. Still wearing my shitty home working clothes but I feel so awake and ready to face the day. Now I just need to make this a habit .....

I saw the start of the sun rise, it was so pretty. It was cold, -4 ! the sky is blue and I feel GREAT !

https://zenhabits.net/how-i-became-early-riser/

I found this article very helpful

Stop setting your alarm for 6am. It's clearly not who you are.

Just set it 30mins earlier than your absolute latest get up time - do this solidly for about 3 weeks. Put the phone across the room so you've got to get out of bed to turn it off.

On a Sunday evening, hang 5 comfy tshirts and 5 pairs of leggings (Asda do 2packs for £10), a pair of non holey pants and socks on 5 hangers.

So when you get up and turn off the alarm, put one of those outfits on and then immediatley make your bed.

Once you've done the above reliably for 3 weeks, put your alarm another 30mins earlier again but keep the routine the same.

One of my children struggles to get up. He bought a big alrm clock and put it at the other side of his room and set it to go off loudly with a bloody annoying alarm.

It's easier for him to get up if he has to get out of bed and go to the other side of the room to turn it off.

if you find you struggle to maintain the gym thing then maybe try that?

Alarm on the other side of the room, get up, turn it off, go to bathroom and splash cold water on your face.

This is a great update OP.

It is very possible for it to become a new habit. But it sounds like you have been through a really tough time, and so don't be too hard on yourself if you falter every now and then.

I didn't see where you said around what time you go to sleep at night.

I also hadn't been especially well this last year or so, and I also found myself being very sluggish. And although it might not be the case with you, I found that if I am up early and get started off well, the rest of the day also just seems to flow easier. The days I struggled the most all day, were those mornings when I went back to sleep, woke up later etc etc. And with me having a longer day, I now go to sleep much earlier, and fall asleep easier too.

I am assuming you are being well monitored health wise after your illness, otherwise a general check is not a bad idea.

Well done!!! I’m a morning person and I couldn’t manage that! You’re honesty is fabulous OP. Go easy on yourself… you beaten cancer, and still managing to keep your job. Bravo.

Thanks all. I go to bed around 10.30pm ish but sleep could be as late as 1am sometimes. I'm trying to go to bed and go to sleep rather than scroll on my phone or fall asleep watching my tablet. Getting up this morning was easier with the earlier sunrise, albeit it was freezing ! There were so many people up this morning. The gym park was over half full when I arrived and people were even going swimming - hard core, given how cold it is ! I just cannot believe there is a whole world of activity going on around me when I am usually still deep in my pit, unable to function due to sluggishness.

I have created a tick list every day. It's an A5 sheet of dates for the next few weeks with tick columns for: get up early/eat well/exercise. The idea is that the list contains mostly ticks by the time i get to the end of the sheet. Exercise could be a walk around the block on some days, just as long as there is some movement.

Get a cat! If it's anything like mine the biscuit making (using you as dough) and extra loud morning purring will have you up in no time!

This is why I detest working from home. Even on days off, if I’m not out of bed by 6am, I end up slobbing about, wasting time scrolling rubbish on my phone and feeling completely demotivated.

Getting up earlier is a mindset change but it is possible - you have to have something to get up for. It’s easy to lie in bed when you know you don’t HAVE to get up at a certain time.

Weekdays - alarm goes I off at 5 and I’m out of bed by 5.15. Cup of coffee, shower, makeup, and then I give the house a once over, make sure the kitchen is tidy and the fire laid for lighting when I get home. I’m ready and raring to go by half 7 and my days are always so much better.

Take rosy for example though - I’ve got a day off and typically… because I knew I didn’t have to get up as early - I lay in bed till half seven and I’m still sat here now, fannying about and wasting my day off. Routine is key for me.

Try getting up 15 mins earlier every day for a week and then 15 mins more the following week. Worked for me.

I'd recommend a SAD lamp. It gradually lights up in the morning to mimic sunrise to give a much more gradual and natural wake up than an alarm.

Yes, OP.
Nothing unusual.
😐