Sleepy Time

Best thing ever: going to bed, especially at a late hour after an exhausting day
Worst thing ever: waking up early in the morning

We set loud, startling alarm sounds in the morning to wake us up immediately (okay, maybe we press snooze once.. twice.. or three times), but eventually, that blaring noise gets us on our feet.

Truth is, the loud sound is detrimental to the start of your morning, which can lead to your entire day.
When waking up, you don't want to be waking up startled to the sound of a beeping, loud repeating alarm. It's bad for your body and your heart and brain actually.

Tip: Download the Alarm Clock app, or if you don't have a smartphone (come on now!) buy an alarm clock that enables you to choose your own song to play when you awaken.

The song that plays from the Alarm Clock app is "Just Breathe" by Telepop Musik. What happens is the music starts off low, and gets a bit louder with each second.  This way, it eases your eardrums into the sound, making it A LOT less startling to wake up to. Plus, this song choice is a much more comforting sound to my ears.  It's not a loud BEEEP, but it still does the trick to get me on my feet. You can actually adjust the volume you want. I keep mine pretty loud, but not the maximum.

Let's say you're TERRIBLE at waking up, like myself multiple days.  Set another alarm!

What I do (I know it sounds crazy) is set my actual alarm clock (run on batteries, so I can move it anywhere) on my desk across from my bed.  I set it for 7 minutes later than my iPhone alarm.  I also set my regular alarm clock that comes with the iPhone for about 5 minutes later than my Alarm Clock app.

There have been instances when I needed to get up and turn off my alarm clock on my desk.  Either I pressed snooze 5 too many times on my phone, or I accidentally turned off the phone alarms.  The alarm clocks that are set, other than the one on the app, are a bit louder and they do beep.  Knowing this, I try my best to get up when "Just Breathe" comes on.  I don't want to be woken up by beeps as opposed to a soothing tune.

Not to mention, it's also bad for your health to press snooze.  Your body shouldn't be woken up by a noise more than once, at least not more than twice.  The process of sleep should be smooth.  When it's time to wake up, it's best to just suck it up and get out of bed.  Everyday is a new day - seize the day!  Get up, take a minute to stretch, and don't turn your bright light on just yet.  My lights have dimmers, so I dim them.  But if you don't have those kind of lights, buy a lamp - doesn't have to be big or fancy. Just a simple lamp.  Turn this on first.  After maybe 6 minutes, turn on the brighter light, this way you can see your outfit better in the mirror and be ready for the brighter lights in your work or school environment.

Lesson learned: don't press snooze too many times! And ease your eyes into light by having a dimmer light before turning on the bright one.