Sunrise Tips for People Who Hate Mornings
There’s a lot of reasons you might want to get up for sunrise. It’s quiet, dark, and calm. Nature feels more peaceful and the hiking is incredible. You can even find early morning fog rolling over the surfaces of glass-like water and lively birds singing tunes. You might’ve heard that sunrise is the perfect time for photography. However, the waking up part is brutal. Sometimes getting out of bed can feel like the worst thing ever, and it can affect your mood for the rest of the day. If you’re a grump in the mornings, you might find some tips here for waking up early that you’ve never heard before.
Psst! If you’re still not convinced that mornings are the perfect time to snap the photos of your dreams, I can further persuade you with some of my favorite photos we’ve taken in the early morning. To me, the yawns, grogginess, and extra cup of coffee are absolutely worth it.
If empty tulip fields, glowing horizon lines, mirror-like lakes, and misty morning air isn’t enough to convince you, I don’t know what will be. Sunset can give you similar results, but sunrise gives you that feeling of accomplishment and awe that sparks a special kind of inspiration. Not only that but if you’re lucky, you’ll be completely alone in places you might normally be in a crowd during sunset. Onto our tips!
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Give yourself a reason to get up
We get most of our favorite photos in the early hours of the morning. That stuff is gold to get me up. I think about the photo opportunities and the feeling I get from early morning hiking. That’s enough to get me motivated to wake up. However, that probably doesn’t do it for everyone. Maybe get yourself a donut to look forward to for breakfast, think about your awesome plans, or a warm shower. Whatever will put you in a good mood.
Prepare to do less in the morning
Plan ahead and do as many things at night that you can possibly do so you have fewer things to prepare in the morning. Even have your coffee ready to the point where all you have to do is press a button. That way when you wake up, you can have everything ready with minimal effort.
Try to Sleep Earlier Than Usual
(Disclaimer: I am not a doctor or medical professional and you should not take my advice as a professional opinion. Taking any form of medication should be discussed with a medical professional beforehand as they are not safe for everyone. Again, please don’t take anything without professional advice.)
Do everything you can to trick your body into sleeping earlier. Make your sleeping space darker and hang out in the dark for a while to prepare your body for sleep. This means no electronics for at least an hour! You can actually trick your body into thinking it’s time to sleep earlier this way. If that’s not enough, you can always try to take melatonin while you’re in your dark space to further prepare your body for sleep. Melatonin is a hormone that naturally occurs in your body, but does not necessarily cause sleep. Keep in mind that taking melatonin is not a good idea for everyone. As my previous disclaimer says, please talk to a medical professional before taking anything. This is just something that tends to work for me.
Put some distance between you and your alarm
Whenever I plan on getting up early, I put my alarm across the room so that I have to physically get up to turn it off. Forcing myself to get out of bed like this is usually enough to get me to wake up in the morning even on my most groggy days. You can also get fancy with it and buy one of those alarms that wakes you up using gradual ‘natural’ light. Lots of people say that those work extremely well, even for heavy sleepers. Your body naturally wants to be awake when it’s light, so when there’s no sun in the sky the artificial light can really help.
Listen to Some Music
Music can change your mood and change your attitude. Put something on that makes you happy and excited about the day, and you should feel a lot better. Even if I’m in the mood for silence, putting music on generally makes me feel more awake and ready for the day. Obviously don’t do this too loudly if you live in any place where you might wake up your neighbors!
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Hopefully with these tips, you can put your war with mornings to rest! If you have some other tips for me, please share them in the comments below!
Zack and I post lots of additional content on social media including photos, teasers, current adventures, and silly videos! If you’re interested, you can find our socials below!
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Stay safe and explore responsibly,
Happy Adventuring!
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Hello I’m Caryn!
I’m a Pacific Northwest based adventurer and storyteller. I take a lot of photos, Zack takes a lot of videos, and together we try to bring our fun adventures to life to inspire you to go outside and have meaningful, unique outdoor adventures for yourself!