To wake up early in the morning you should get a habit of going
to bed and waking up at the same time every day, but… There is one exception to this rule. On some days you may not feel sleepy enough
at the time when you usually go to bed. This often happens if your day was calm and quiet and you
aren’t feeling tired. Or, in the opposite situation, you may be so excited about something that
happened to you today you simply can’t sleep.
If this happens to you and you are unable to sleep, don’t lie in bed awake. Get out of bed,
do something relaxing until you feel sleepy – read book, take warm bath, listen to quiet music or
audiobooks, go out to take a breath of fresh air. Don’t try to exercise in order to get you tired –
you shouldn’t do any active physical exercises within one hour of sleep (okay, having sex is an
exception 
). Don’t try to solve some complex and important problems right before going to bed,
because your goal should be to slow down your mental processes, not to activate and accelerate
them.
Ririan in his post
9 Little Known Ways To Sleep So It Counts recommends to follow the 20-minute rule:
If you can’t fall asleep in about 20 minutes, whether at bedtime or after awakening in
the night, don’t just lie in bed. Do something else, like reading, watching television, or listening
to music, until you feel tired. The anxiety of being unable to fall asleep can actually contribute
to insomnia.
Ririan also cites
Dale Carnegie
:
“If you can’t sleep, then get up and do something instead of lying there worrying.
It’s the worry that gets you, not the lack of sleep.”
So one simple rule to remember from today’s tip is that you should only go to bed when you
feel sleepy and so exhausted that you expect to be soundly sleeping within 5 minutes of
hitting the bed. It’s still important to wake up and get out of bed at your regular awakening
time. Do not worry that your sleep will be 30 minutes shorter, your body will adjust to it.
Moreover, shorter sleep today means you will fall asleep faster tomorrow.
One of the great benefits in becoming an early riser and waking up early in the morning is
that you will rarely have problems falling asleep in the evening. As an office worker who spends
all day in the office sitting at the computer I had troubles falling asleep quickly. It usually
took me 30 to 60 minutes to fall asleep, and then, again, I had troubles waking up early in
the morning. After becoming an early riser it hardly takes me more than 5 minutes to fall
asleep. I also noticed that over time the duration of my sleeps shortens without losing
its effectiveness. I’m sure it’s one of the positive outcomes from falling asleep quickly.
Try it and you will never regret it.
Sweet dreams and happy early wake ups to you all!
