Do you ever go to bed with these grandiose ideas of what you're morning will look like? But then the morning comes and you're so groggy, you can't get out of bed? It can be really frustrating to just sleep-walk through your morning and not achieve the amount of reading, planning, and preparing that you would like to do. 

Well, a study from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine found that 21% of men and 32% of women rarely or never feel refreshed when they wake up. So, to counter this, a study was done by University of California, Berkeley, that looked at how to wake people up feeling sharp instead of feeling so tired. 

What they found was that getting up early is not about genetics, or just having the grit and discipline to do it. But, it's more so about adjustable lifestyle habits you can do that can help you wake up. These include what you eat for breakfast, your activity throughout the day, and the amount of sleep that you get at night. Continue reading to learn more about these three factors. 

Eating Carbs for Breakfast 

So many new diets will have you cutting carbs. And if that's something you feel you need to do, then just know it could be contributing to how tired you feel throughout the day. Breakfast is important because it fuels your body after at least a 12-hour fast. 

In the study, the types of breakfasts were changed between the participants. Some were high in fats while other were high in carbohydrates, protein or fiber. 

The breakfast that was high in carbohydrates and low in sugar was the best option to help people feel more alert in the morning. These breakfasts were 500 calories with about 75% of the calories coming from carbohydrates. People feel less alert when they have just pure sugar or a high-protein breakfast. It is important to note, however, that large breakfasts with high calories do not always correlate to increased energy levels. 

It's important to choose breakfasts that have a macronutrient-varied breakfast, like eggs and oatmeals, peanut butter and whole toast, and fruit with cottage cheese. Eating empty carbs like Pop-tarts and cereals will not provide you with the same benefit. 

Exercise Daily 

Whatever you do during the day impacts your sleep. Exercising daily can help you get a great night's rest and help you feel refreshed when you wake up in the morning. Study participants with higher levels of physical activity during the day felt more alert the next morning. 

It is unclear what exercise is the most ideal, but the one that you will do every day for 30 minutes is what's most important. It's critical, though, to exercise earlier in the day as exercising later in the day can disrupt your sleep.  

Sleep Longer and Later

This point may seem a bit obvious, but sleeping later in to the morning can also be very beneficial in increasing your morning alertness. It allowed participants to enjoy more REM sleep, instead of interrupting their sleep cycle with an early awakening. Although sleeping too long can be counterproductive towards healthy sleep, shifting your sleeping cycle a bit later and giving the sun a chance to come up may be the most beneficial. 

If you are struggling to get a good night's rest, then please click the orange button below to take a free online sleep test and talk with one of our sleep health professionals. 

https://www.sleep.com/sleep-health/waking-up-tired