Getting Up at the Same Time Every Day
July 19th, 2021
6.5 min read
Did you know that it is entirely possible to beat the snooze button and wake up with consistency?
Written by Noah Tile
An experiment for the type of person who knows something about two snoozes too many.
Raise your hand if getting out of bed in the morning is a monumental challenge. On average, would you say you hit the snooze button three or four times? Do you roll over and mutter to yourself, “Just ten more minutes...”? Does your first-thing-in-the- morning social media scroll trap you under your covers well past your final snooze?
If your hand is raised and you’re nodding along, you’ve clicked on the right article.
Sleep is Vital Care
Developing good sleep habits falls well beyond the realm of “self-care” and into what I call “vital-care.” Sleep is a life-sustaining necessity and needs to be treated as such. If you want to learn about how important it is, please check out Dr. Matthew Walker's book or Google Talks.
“Children thrive off of routine, and so do we. This is especially true when it comes to sleep.”
I want to share one strategy to help improve an area of sleep. We know that, as much as possible, it is important to wake up at the same time every day in order to maintain a healthy circadian rhythm.
Never forget that although we are adults, there is still a child within us. What are children like when they do not get their nap, or when they do not sleep well at night? Go ahead and ask parents of young children. Suffice it to say, it is not a pretty sight.
Children thrive off of routine, and so do we. This is especially true when it comes to sleep.
GET-UP Routine
I want to share the routine that has allowed me to wake up around the same time every weekday on my first alarm.
It is simple but effective once you give it a shot. I have called this routine GET-UP.
#1 Get Committed
Every new habit starts with a commitment. This one requires an internal declaration of the time that you plan to wake up. Let's assume 7 a.m. tomorrow. Now, establish that statement and get committed with the action of setting a 7 a.m. alarm.
#2 Establish Distance
Before hopping into bed, establish distance from your alarm by placing your phone out of arms-reach. Place it far enough away that no matter how creatively you stretch your body, you will not be able to reach it without physically getting out of bed. This means that for you to turn your alarm off, you have to leave your bed and walk a short distance to your phone.
#3 Turn the knob
If you do this, congratulations! You have managed to get out of bed on the first alarm, and are standing upright, with your feet on the floor. Now, you must walk, without thinking, to the door in front of you. Turn the knob and walk out of your room.
At this point, your exhaustion may kick in. You may even have to stand in the hallway outside of your room, half asleep, head drooping to the floor. That's OK. Can you believe you have gotten out of bed on the first alarm, and actually left your room?
You. Are. A. Champ
#4 Use cold water
As you feel your body stuck or frozen in the hallway, in some sort of daze, DO NOT walk back to your bedroom. Keep on moving until you’ve entered the washroom.
Admittedly, at this point, I sometimes duck my head in my arms, like I am sleeping at a desk. But as soon as possible, move on to the next step.
Turn on the faucet, cup your hands together, and using cold water, splash water onto your face. One, twice, or ten times.
#5 Proceed to living
And now, you are free to proceed to living, doing whatever it is that you do. This is time you have stolen from the Snooze Monster.
Do you want to read, stretch, dance, or pray? Do you want that first cup of Joe or tea or water? Do you want to sit on your couch and feel the stillness of the morning? That is up to you–your only job for now is to not go back to bed.
“You. Are. A. Champ.”
Here is the handy acronym:
The GET-UP Formula
Get committed
Establish distance
Turn the knob
Use cold water
Proceed to living
Why This Works
Here are a few reasons why this routine will work to get you out of bed at your scheduled times:
Commitment
First, commitments towards valued actions—such as waking up at the time we set out for—are powerful. Many different psychotherapy modalities emphasize this. Logotherapy, positive psychology, cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), to name a few. (Stay tuned for more strategies from these modalities in future blog posts, workshops, and courses.)
Simply put, it feels good to live with integrity. When was the last time you believed, with sincerity, that you would get up at your first alarm? Chances are if you've never done it, you likely assume it is not possible. So, a clear commitment helps. It can be even more effective to tell someone close to you about this commitment, to keep you even more accountable.
Easier Decisions
The other part of the equation as to why this works is much more pragmatic.
It is easier to get up and then turn off an alarm, than it is to turn off an alarm and then attempt to get up. If you turn the alarm off, then what will pull you out of bed?
Next, it is much easier to get out of bed once you are, well, already out of bed. It is less of a challenge to walk to the door and turn the knob if you're already standing. Changing the decision, even a tiny little bit, like at what point you are forced to get up, gives you greater realms of choice.
We are eliminating the mind's near instantaneous snooze reaction. Snoozing is too easy. When the phone is beside the bed, your mind (well, mostly your body) decides to snooze, before you can count to one. Just by moving the alarm away, your mind now has around 2-5 seconds to take control of your body and decide what to do next.
More time, more choice, more ability to remember what you declared the night before.
Once you are up, you can invest another 5-10 seconds to leave your room and get to the washroom. It is even best if you don't think at all! Before you know it, less than a minute has passed, you’ve splashed water on your face, and you are ready for a brand-new day.
This simple routine puts the decision back into your hands. Last night you decided to commit waking up at 7 a.m., but between the time you went to bed and woke up in the morning, your conviction disappears. The commitment, however, is still there, hiding beneath your low energy levels.
The more we automate this process, day in and day out, the more it becomes a routine. I admit; every day is still a challenge. It doesn't get much easier for me in the morning to go towards my washroom and my day. But I do it, and I know that in less than one minute, I will be splashing cold water on my face, and I will be at the point where I am alert enough to not feel like I need to go back to the bed.
“The more we automate this process, day in and day out, the more it becomes a routine.”
And that's it, folks. I know some people like to snooze. By all means! That is your choice. But for those who want to automate waking up, I can almost guarantee that this simple formula will work for you.
Try and GET-UP and let us know how it goes in the comments!
**Please note, this is article is not therapy or a replacement for it. Engaging with this material does not constitute a therapeutic relationship of any kind with the writer. Please seek professional help if needed.**
