You’ve probably heard it so many times: “the early bird catches the worm”. Productive and successful people often get up earlier. But it’s far easier said than done! Here are a few ways to make it happen:

• Getting to bed earlier is one easy way to wake up earlier in the morning. You probably already know that. This way, you can still get a full 7 or 8 hours of healthy rest each night, and wake up refreshed and energetic in the early morning hours.

• Another trick for getting up earlier, and staying up, is to place a noisy alarm clock across the room from your bed. Set the alarm for whatever early morning hours you desire to rise, and the act of getting out of bed, orienting yourself, and walking across the room gives you a better chance at staying up rather than crawling back under your cozy covers.

• Some people have successfully reset their mental morning clock by taking gradual steps. If you want to get up 1 hour earlier in the morning, set your alarm just 15 minutes earlier tomorrow. Move that to 30 minutes earlier than you are used to waking up the following week, slowly building up to the desired 60-minute advanced rising time.

• Your internal clock is naturally inclined to stay awake when it is light outside, and to sleep when it is dark. Use this biological fact to your advantage. You can purchase an inexpensive electric timer at a home improvement store, and attach it to several bright lights that make it nearly impossible to stay asleep once your alarm goes off.

• Reinforce in your mind exactly why you are getting up early. If your reason is big and important enough, reminding yourself of it every morning could be enough to do the trick.

• Peer pressure is another way to make sure you rise before anyone else. Maybe you want to get up earlier so you can be the first one in the office or at your workplace. If this is the case, that fact could provide the motivation to get your lazy rear end out of bed when your alarm clock is screaming at you at a very early hour.

• Studies show that exercising in the morning leads to better sleep patterns late at night. Your morning routine could include 30 to 60 minutes of exercise. This not only promotes good health and energy in the morning, but it can help make you feel tired enough at the end of a long day that sleep comes easy and early.

• If none of the above tricks work, you could try melatonin. Your body naturally creates this chemical to help you sleep. Begin with a relatively low dose, 0.5 to 1.0 milligrams each night. You may have to take your melatonin supplement 5 to 6 hours before bedtime for a few days in a row before you notice any change in your sleeping habits.

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