Wake Up Refreshed: 7 Science-Backed Morning Habits

Try these seven tips to wake up feeling refreshed when the alarm goes off.

Waking up is hard to do. Some of us night owls have always struggled to get the early worm. We prefer sleeping through the sunrise and drink our morning coffee in wonder at those people who are up before dawn for their morning run.

Waking can be difficult for people who go to bed at a reasonable hour too. Feeling sluggish in the morning even after a cup of coffee is common. According to one 2020 study, 65% of Americans rarely wake up rested and energized and daytime tiredness negatively affects 75% of respondents' productivity.

Getting enough sleep is one major way to tackle daytime lethargy and morning grumpiness. But feeling refreshed in the morning isn't only about what you do the night before. Below are seven tips on how to wake up feeling rested, recovered, and ready for the day.

Reasons your sleep quality may be low

Waking up tired after spending eight hours in bed often comes down to the quality of your sleep, not just the duration. When you experience poor sleep quality, your body struggles to cycle through the restorative stages of Deep and REM sleep. This can be caused by a lack of sleep consistency—going to bed and waking up at different times each day—which disrupts your circadian rhythm.

Your circadian rhythm is controlled by an area of the brain called the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), located in the hypothalamus. This area is sensitive to light and dark signals received from the eyes. The SCN triggers the release of cortisol and other hormones that wake you in the morning, as well as melatonin in the evening.

Additionally, accumulating sleep debt from previous nights means your body requires more recovery than a single night can provide. Environmental factors, late-night meals, and stress can also fragment your sleep, leaving you with sleep inertia and morning brain fog. Adults are generally most tired between 2-3 am and 1-3 pm (which is why we all want an afternoon nap).

7 ways to wake up feeling refreshed

Here are some tips to help you become an early bird and wake more easily and less befuddled in the morning.

1. Prepare for the morning the night before

Give yourself as little to do in the morning as possible by getting it all done the night before. Before you go to bed, prep the coffee machine, make the lunches and find the kids' shoes. Get your work bag ready and put your keys and transit pass with it.

2. WHOOP Sleep Planner and haptic alerts

Waking up to an obnoxious noise can have a number of unintended consequences. Loud audio alarms may cause high blood pressure and increased heart rates. They can also add anxiety to the existential dread of waking up.

There are several benefits to a silent alarm, including decreasing sleep inertia. WHOOP devices, including the WHOOP 5.0, feature a Sleep Planner with haptic alerts that wake you using gentle vibrations on your wrist for a more pleasant experience than a blaring alarm. The Sleep Planner gives you three options to help you plan your sleep so you can wake at the optimal time based on your sleep needs.

You can set the haptic alert for the exact time you need to get up, when you've reached your nightly sleep goal, or to wake you when you're "in the green" and optimally recovered. Join WHOOP to optimize your wake-up routine and monitor your sleep trends over time.

3. Don't hit snooze

Avoid hitting the snooze button on your alarm clock or phone. Pressing snooze and going back to sleep tells your body that it's OK to begin another sleep cycle. If you do this multiple times, your brain and body will get confused.

4. Don't check your phone

Plenty of us wake in the morning with our phone alarms and immediately begin checking texts, social media, emails, etc. But, this may do more harm than good. Checking work emails or social media may trigger your stress response and put you on edge while you're still half asleep.

Your brain has been busy all night moving through different states of sleep to file away memories and prepare your body for the next day. At that first alarm, your brain activity begins switching from delta waves of deep sleep to theta waves of drowsy wakefulness—you're awake but not very good at processing information. Scrolling in the morning can force your body to skip over the theta waves and bull straight into wakeful, alert beta waves.

However, you need that theta state, it's where we have ideas and visualize plans and actions. So, when the alarm sounds, turn it off, get up and put the phone down.

5. Create a morning routine

It takes time to build habits and create a routine, but starting small can help lead to larger changes. Here are a few minor tweaks that may help start the day.

Get up at the same time every day. The first change to try is waking up at the same time every day, even on your days off. You may not like getting up at 6 am on a Saturday, but rising early on your days off will help you feel less tired on workdays. Working on sleep consistency helps you reset your internal clock, so you aren't feeling sleep deprived every morning.

Let the sunshine in. When you get up, open the curtains and let the morning sun revive you. You may notice you're more tired on gloomy mornings. This is because the blue light of morning boosts alertness for the same reasons you want to avoid blue light in the evening.

If you use blackout curtains or blinds in your bedroom, open them up in the morning and let in sunlight. If you don't want to wake a partner, step outside into the sunlight for a moment or sit in a sunny room.

Water. Splash cold water on your face and drink water before caffeinating. Cold water causes an immediate sympathetic reaction meant to startle you away from a possible threat. Your adrenal gland releases adrenaline to jolt you into alertness.

Water may also help you wake up more than your choice of morning caffeine. Two 2019 studies show that hydration helps improve mental performance and that dehydration negatively affects short-term memory and attention. Drinking water in the morning after fasting for 8 hours may help boost mental performance even without caffeine.

Finally, a warm (not hot) morning shower may boost alertness by raising your body temperature gradually.

Stretch. There are dozens of morning yoga routines on YouTube (here's my favorite) that only take 5-10 minutes and give your whole body a good stretch. A light exercise routine can get your heart rate up and increase your body temperature.

6. Go outside during the day

You don't have to go outside when the rooster crows, but going for a walk or even sitting outside for 5-15 minutes (more in the winter) will get you some Vitamin D. This helps you absorb other minerals, boosts your immune system, aids the production of blood cells and strengthens bones. Sunlight also helps decrease anxiety by boosting serotonin, letting you stay calm and focus.

7. Get exercise

Go for a run while you're outside, go to the gym or do an at-home workout. Exercise increases endorphins and raises body temperature, which might be why those morning people are so chipper before we've gotten out of bed. Doing a 40-minute aerobic workout at any time of the day except right before bed will help you sleep better, thus enabling you to wake up easier.

Frequently asked questions about waking up refreshed

What is the 10-3-2-1 rule for sleep?

The 10-3-2-1 rule is a popular framework for winding down before bed to improve sleep quality. It suggests stopping caffeine intake ten hours before bed, finishing your last large meal or alcohol three hours before bed, stopping work two hours before bed, and turning off all screens one hour before bed. This routine helps your body naturally produce melatonin and prepare for restorative sleep.

What is the 4am rule?

The 4am rule refers to a productivity and lifestyle trend where individuals wake up at 4:00 am to start their day without distractions. While waking up early can provide quiet time for focused work or exercise, it requires shifting your entire sleep schedule to ensure you still get enough total sleep. Consistency is more important than the specific wake time.

Can sleep disorders cause morning fatigue?

Yes, underlying sleep disorders can severely impact your ability to wake up feeling refreshed. Conditions like sleep apnea cause repeated breathing interruptions throughout the night, pulling you out of Deep and REM sleep. This fragmentation prevents your body from fully recovering, leading to chronic morning exhaustion even if you spend eight hours in bed.