Every night owl is perfectly aware of the struggle to rise up and stay awake in the early morning. Energy and alert levels are at low levels while the feeling of being sluggish, wooziness and generally moving at a slow pace seem to be common. The usual response would be to take a strong cup of joe and let the brew wake you up as it courses through your veins. But not everyone is able to tolerate the bitter taste of coffee and some even avoid it because of its effects on the nerves. If you are one of these people, don’t lose hope. There are other ways to stay awake in the morning without caffeine and some of them are listed below.
Stand Up
The easiest way to jolt yourself from sleep is to stand up from the bed when you wake. Staying in the bed would only make you feel all the more lazy and sleepy as you are surrounded with comfortable pillows and beddings. The rush of blood in your head as you stand up would also help you stay alert.
For those who are already at work and suddenly feeling drowsy in the middle of the day, this activity would also boost your feeling. Get up from your desk after sitting for more than four straight hours to keep you alert. The added benefit is that standing up helps boost your metabolism, helping your body burn more calories in the process.
Switch on the lights
Turning on the lights in your room could help keep you awake, as light works to shut down your body’s production of melatonin that makes you feel sleepy at night. You could also opt for natural light so open up the curtains to let in that sunshine in your room.
Drink water to hydrate yourself
Sleeping for more than six hours without consuming anything would definitely lower the water levels in your body causing you to feel sleepy. Instead of reaching out to grab that cup of latte, begin your day with a glass of water to hydrate you.
Aside from that, consuming water would push you to move around as you take restroom breaks to relieve yourself, which in turn, would keep you awake and in your toes.
Turn up the music
If drinking water is not enough, it might be time to keep your ears engaged with music. According to recent studies, listening to tunes would keep not only your ears but also your brain engaged, helping you to stay awake and alert. Just be sure to listen to upbeat and fast music as classical and slow tunes could relax your mind and in turn make you feel drowsy and sleepy in the process.
If listening to music, however, distracts you from doing your job, one suggestion is to choose a tune with unfamiliar lyrics to prevent you from singing along and keeping your mind engaged.
Exercise
Walking and working out are good ways to keep your body stimulated. The cardio exercise pushes your heart to pump faster and in turn spike up your energy levels to keep you alert. If your time in the morning is limited, a quick jog or walk around the block is already enough to boost your body and brain in motion and help you stay awake.
This is true even for midday drowsiness and sleepy feeling. A simple walk up and down the stairs instead of the elevator would already jolt you awake.
Eat small meals throughout the day
Snacking on small meals is more effective in keeping you awake than taking in three huge meals. Bingeing on big meals could lead you to carb coma and make you feel sleepy. When your tummy digest food, it takes away circulation from your brain and transfers it to your stomach, which in turn gives you that drowsy feeling. Eating smaller meals, on the other hand, does not take away much of that circulation when the digestive system processes food.
Make sure that the food you snack on is healthy to give you the right kind of nutrients and vitamins you need to help you stay awake. Avoid processed and frozen food as these contain high amount of sodium, which could also make you feel sluggish and sleepy afterwards.
