It's winter in CT right now and this year it’s been colder than it has in a long time. Waking up with temperatures in the teens or below and dark mornings can often make you feel like snuggling up under the covers and hibernating! Anyone else feel this way in the winter? So…I've put together a few ideas to help you get moving on a cold morning when all you want to do is stay in bed.

1. Place Your Alarm Across The Room

   You know that feeling when your alarm goes off and you reach over hitting the snooze button for a few extra minutes of sleep before hopping out of bed. But, sometimes there are mornings that we just can’t get ourselves up, so one idea is to place your alarm clock or phone across the room. This way, you won’t be able to just reach it and you’ll have to get out of bed to turn it off. Once you’re out of bed, that’s half the battle. So give it a try tomorrow and see what happens.

2. Get Organized The Night Before

   The night before take a few moments while you’re awake to pick out your outfit, pack your work bag, put together your lunch if you’re taking it with you and in general just gather all the things you’ll need for the day. This helps save you time in the morning when you’re moving a little slower and you can hop right into your clothes so you don’t have to feel that cold brisk air for too long.

3. Drink Some Water

   Drinking a glass of water helps to wake up the body and get your metabolism going. So, one thing that you could do is keep a bottle of water next to your bed so that when your alarm goes off you can start your day by drinking some water and getting your body going.

4. Do Something Active

   This is huge! Sometimes when it’s just too cold to get out of bed, all you need is to get moving so that you can get that blood pumping in your body which will raise your temperature. Sometimes that just looks like a continuous cycle of tightening every single muscle in your body, holding it for a few seconds, and releasing it. Other times it means jumping out of bed and doing some jumping jacks. Maybe it looks like putting on your favorite song and having a dance party for a few minutes. The point is you should do what hits home for you. Whatever is the most pleasurable is what you’d likely stick with.

5. Get Quality Sleep

   So, one of the most obvious is things to consider is how much sleep you’re getting and what the quality of that sleep is. There are quite a few factors that determine this, so let’s take a minute to go through them. First, it’s time to get a sense of how much sleep you’re actually getting. While you may be someone who can function well on 6 hours of sleep, your body and its organs need more rest. So 8 hours is a great goal to shoot for. However, the amount of sleep is not all that matters. So, it’s a great idea to check into your circadian rhythm. When we wake in the middle of a sleep cycle, we often feel tired even though we got enough sleep. On the flip side, you can feel well rested even if you got less sleep but woke up when you were in a lighter stage of your sleep cycle. If you’re someone like I was who struggled to get to sleep because of that running “To Do” list in your head, then essential oils are a great natural option to help you get the rest you need. My fave for sleep is Tranquil Roll-On, which you can grab here. Just a little over my chest and I’m out like a light until morning.

If all else fails, grab one of those seasonal affective disorder lambs that provide you with the right kind of light to help you get out of that funk, out of your bed and out of your house.

If you liked what you read, please leave us a comment or if you’re liking these hacks and want more feel free to check out our health coaching programs that are available year round here. It’s time to take care of yourself so you can be the best version of you with all of your loved ones. We can’t wait to work with you.