Tips from you morning people! :/

kristandrews · Nov 8, 2010

for really early mornings, i use the calendar setting on my phone as an alarm. as the title for the calendar event, i list the things i have to do that morning before class, or the reasons why i need to wake up right away, or something of the sort to help me remember that i need to get myself out of bed! as you get into a routine of waking up early, maybe it'll feel less awful. i sure hope so! hang in there! and don't be mad at yourself for being tired in the morning! morning people get tired at night when you're full of energy!

forgot to mention i'm not a morning person, either! :)

Mike R, ADN, BSN, RN · Nov 8, 2010

http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/lights/e582/?cpg=zilla&SID=13020200

An irregular sphere rolls itself off your nightstand runs away from you, and hides in an effort to thwart your lizard-brain from deactivating the alarm. The longer it takes for you to catch it, the more awake you become. Also, with Tocky's MP3 capability, you're not limited to the typical grating klaxon you're used to from other clocks. Or, you can record your own message using the built-in microphone... [/quote']
If you try this, let me know how it goes. My wife isn't a morning person either and was considering trying this.

Sand_Dollar, BSN · Nov 8, 2010

My CNA clinicals start at 06:30 tomorrow. Oh man! This is going to be the hardest part of this class for me, by far and if we are late, we fail it all. What I have done is set 3 alarms. One nice gentle one as a 'prepare to wake up', 15 min later the second goes off loud and obnoxious, and the third is a half hour later when I have to leave. Even if I only hear the third one, I could run out of the house and still make it to clinicals on time.

When I was a teen I used to set a loud obnoxious alarm at the end of the bed, so I would have to get up to shut it off, but I sleep light now so don't have to do that anymore.

I also set another alarm, but it is for the night before. It's to remind myself to go to bed. I give myself an hour of winding down; reading my feeds, twitter, news and a game of solitaire. Then I listen to crickets to go to sleep. I need a full 8 hours, or it will wreck me more than anything else.

I have everything set out before I head to bed, even the water to heat for my morning tea. It makes it easier to plug along and not forget something vital if your mind is still foggy. And, even though it would be easier to have a shower the night before, I have one in the mornings because it helps to wake me up. And, I listen to some great upbeat music in the shower and while I'm getting ready, so I'm pretty much dancing by the time I make it out the door.

I can't give you much more advice than that, I detest early mornings.

Good luck!!

~SD

That Guy, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Nov 8, 2010

Im a night shift person at heart. I think its cause I drank mtn dew by the gallon when I was younger. Honestly, I was terrible at getting up for clinicals and getting enough sleep the night before. My body just didnt function that way at all. I finally had to adjust what time I went to bed every day of the week to try and train my body to do that for when I had a lot of clinicals in a row. I hate going to bed early and I hate being up early even more.

cmw6v8 · Nov 8, 2010

Well, I was going to suggest coffee... :) For me when I have awful early morning wake-up calls, I try to plan something for the morning to look forward to. For me it's my coffee...I love it. I know someone who doesn't do coffee but has hot chocolate instead. Or I make sure to have something more exciting than toast for breakfast.

Another thing I do is shower the night before (then I can sleep later in the morning). I have some lavender shower gel that is quite relaxing, and sometimes I read for pleasure (even just a few pages a night) to help relax before I turn out the light. I also like to get everything ready: bag prepared with everything I need for the day, that way if I hit the snooze button a few too many times, I don't have to worry about rushing and forgetting something.

Mornings can be rough....I've slowly adjusted to it, and I don't mind terribly. But getting enough sleep--good quality sleep--is really the key I think.

Mandychelle79, ASN, RN · Nov 8, 2010

Im not a morning person, nor do I pretend to be. I am functional though and can keep my mood in check. Usually when Im talking with the patients a comment is made about me looking tired or the like. I just tell them I will "wake" up around noon. The closer to noon it gets the more alert I am. They laugh as they watch the progression through the day.

How to wake up... Set alarm as loud as it will go and set it across the room.

afox · Nov 9, 2010

I know how you feel! i'm such a night owl. before nursing school I couldn't tell you the last time I was in bed before 12-1am.

I have a messed up sleep schedule because if i have a day where i dont HAVE to be up early, then i cannot make myself get out of bed. And when i dont get out of bed until 9 or 10, then I can't naturally fall asleep until later that night. This becomes a problem when i dont fall asleep until 12 or 1 and have to be up at 5am.

What I've found works for me is :

1. I take Melatonin (a supplement that I purchased at walmart...http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/melatonin-000315.htm ) about 30 minutes to 1 hour before I NEED to be in bed by. Mine are either 3mg or mcg (i don't have the bottle handy) and I just take one unless I'm super wired, then i'll occasionally take 2. I know a few other nursing students who occasionally take this and have found it helpful. I don't get a drowsy feeling when I wake up either. I also try to limit taking these to 1 or 2 times per week because I don't like the idea of becoming dependent, even if its only a mental thing.

2. I make lists of everything I need to do in the morning, and I prepare my clothing and supplies for the next day. Eliminating morning stress helps me relax at night, instead of having anxiety and worry over things that could go wrong, like if my scrubs are wrinkly, or i cant find a pair of beige undies, or my name tag is MIA, or i misplaced my keys.

Its easier for me to wake up knowing that by planning ahead my morning should be stress free. Then by having a stress free morning, even though I may be physically still tired, I don't really show it b/c my mind is pretty fresh.

hiddencatRN, BSN, RN · Nov 9, 2010

I'm not a morning person, but had early classes and clinicals in school that I managed to get to on time. Set multiple alarms and have them spaced out around your bedroom, so you have to get physically out of bed to turn them off. Close your eyes and set your main clock ahead a few minutes, but don't pay attention to exactly how far ahead it is (if I know, I adjust the time in my head in my half-sleep haze and it doesn't fool me).

Have EVERYTHING ready the night before so that all you have to do is shower, throw on the clothes/clinical uniform you've laid out, grab your bag, and go. But try to allow yourself time for breakfast.

Get up early even on days you can sleep in. Even if it's just to wake up and freak out thinking that you need to be somewhere when you don't, working on an internal clock that jars you awake at 6 or whatever is an important safety net to have.

If you take morning showers, finish with a cold rinse: wakes you up and makes your hair shinier.

Do a couple of jumping jacks to get your blood flowing.

Pretend convincingly to be awake and alert. Your other non-morning-person classmates will snap at you and it will make you realize that you actually feel pretty alert.

Smile. With your eyes too. And breathe deeply but not so deeply you hyperventillate.

Realize that when you graduate, your preference for night shifts will be a huge plus as a new grad.

TCASII, ADN · Nov 9, 2010

Not a morning person here. Never have been! Worst part for me has been having hypertension and waking up to major spikes in my blood pressure despite being stable on antihypertensive meds. Get headaches and all. :-( I had to take a few clonidine in the beginning. Imagine being tired and then taking clonidine on top of everything else?!?! FWIW, clonidine makes you very sleepy. (Those adrenals don't like major changes in the body like sleep patterns)

I honestly didn't know how I was gonna do it, but aside from the BP issue, I did pretty good. I was unable to sleep in on the weekends, so my schedule was fairly consistent.

My advice is to wake up early on your days off. It helps to stay close to the same schedule. Avoid sleeping pills and even melatonin, IMO. We don't know much about melatonin and it has been shown to affect cerebral blood flow and could cause problems down the road. A safe alternative might be Valerian, but in small doses. It acts on the same receptors as Valium or other BZDs, but much less and shouldn't result in withdrawal or tolerance. I'd still limit the use though.

Other things mentioned are good ideas. I also prepare my stuff the night before. Clothes, supplies, everything. That way when the alarm goes off I only have to eat and get dressed and ready to leave.

If I can get up as a night person (stayed up until 3 AM prior to NS) while taking two BP meds, Topamax for migraines, and unable to ingest caffeine or stimulants, then you can do it.

Lennonninja, MSN, APRN, NP · Nov 9, 2010

I go back and forth between a night shift work schedule 1 night a week, and a day shift school schedule every week. My secret is SEVERAL alarm clocks (just in case, you never know when the power's going to go out or an alarm just plain doesn't go off), coffee, and preparing everything the night before so it's just grab and go. And sometimes, Benadryl, but only when I have 8 hours to sleep, otherwise I'm too groggy in the morning.

pitaya · Nov 9, 2010

I've never been a morning person and I have 3 classes that start at 7am this term. Yea I know, I have to get use to it because many of my clinical will be even earlier and blah, blah.. I know this, however that doesn't not make me a morning person. I really really try to go to bed earlier, but that's not easy for me at all. I'd definitely be a good night shift person. Any tips? I'm really trying to stay as far away from coffee and energy drinks as possible. They give me headaches if I start drinking them and stop, even if it's just small amounts. Today was a little easy to wake up because I'm excited for the first one, but in a couple weeks I probably won't even hear the alarm in the morning (I use to make my parents REALLY made when I was in high school.. haha)..
I guess this is more of a vent because I'm frustrated with myself for not being able to wake up easily and be a nice and peppy. Ha. Well if anyone has any pointers, I'd greatly appreciate it. :)
Good morning!!!! hehe

Eat breakfast! (Maybe you already do, but thought I'd mention it because it's key for me.) I've always hated eating breakfast because I'm not a morning person either and I'd rather spend the extra 20 minutes or so sleeping than making breakfast and eating. But I've found out that my distaste for breakfast kicked me in the butt once clinicals started. Going from 6 am to 12 pm without eating and running around the hospital floor is too much for me. I would feel sick and like I'm going to pass out. I started getting up earlier, making myself eggs, sitting down to eat, and you know what....I have so much more energy when I do that!!! Make sure it's a good breakfast, because on the days when I just grab a granola bar, it's as if I haven't eaten anything. Everything people say is true...breakfast really does give you a lot of energy to go on, who knew? :)