In the habit of waking up with a fog of grogginess that can’t be penetrated with coffee or even those useless multi-hour energy drinks? If you are in the habit of taking an hour or two to get your brain in order after rolling out of bed, there are some things you can do to change the lifestyle that is affecting your energy level
Blame it on the Bed
Seriously. The bed upon which you slumber may be the location of your early morning foggy mountain breakdown. You may think you’re getting enough sleep to carry you over to the next day, but reality would appear to trump perception. A bed that that is too hard, too soft, too lumpy, too short, too noisy or just too dang uncomfortable could have you spinning your wheels at night when that energy could be put to better use during the day. Do an honest assessment of how much sleep you are actually getting through the night and consider the possibility that your bed is your worst enemy.
Cold (or hot) for You?
Another possible reason that you aren’t getting the sleep you deserve could be that the bedroom is either too hot or too cold to provide the peak sleeping conditions you need. If you find yourself waking up in the morning with the covers kicked off or extra covers pulled over, you probably need to consider raising or lowering the thermostat to a temperature setting that doesn’t awaken your need to cool down or heat up.
Lighting
Some people need utter darkness in order to gain lasting slumber. That may be your case. You may be one of those people who need a little more illumination. Or possibly less. Look at the lighting situation in which you sleep and tweak it to see if you wake up with any more energy. Don’t automatically assume you will sleep better in a darker room. And if you aren’t used to sleeping in blackout conditions, then make sure you set an alarm clock because your internal alarm depends on that sensitivity to morning changes in light.
Eat Right, Sleep Well
Getting a good night’s sleep so that you wake up refreshed and more energetic can depend to a great extent upon when and what you eat. The problem may be less in the when than in the what, however, and the alternative of going to sleep hungry isn’t going to fix your problem. Keep a food and sleep diary that tracks the kind of food you eat close to bedtime and the effects of those dietary choices. In particular, take note of any repetition of food items that consistently have you getting up in the middle of the night to head to the bathroom. Digestive problems interrupting uninterrupted sleep may be just your problem with waking up in a haze.
Good Noise, Bad Noise
Just as some people can’t sleep without some kind of light in their bedroom, so do some people need background noise. If your sleeping conditions are unusually quiet, look into purchasing one of those white noise machines that can reproduce sounds ranging from chirping crickets to the sounds of the beach. If you have too much noise, try to find ways to control them or obstruct them. If you notice that you tend to fall asleep with the TV on but are later awakened by a different program, invest in a set that has a timer. That way you can still use the sounds of the TV as a sleep inducer, but because it automatically turns off while you are asleep it won’t become an unintentional alarm after just a few solid hours of sleep.
