How to Wake up Early ?

Whether you're a morning person or a night owl, you'll likely have to wake up earlier than you're used to if you decide to go into the medical field. 

So, how do you make this as painless as possible? 

What it ultimately all comes down to is "sleep hygiene".

 What is sleep hygiene?

 It's essentially your behaviors and patterns leading up to sleep. With good sleep hygiene you can fall asleep faster and maintain high quality sleep. Here is  detailed break down of every aspect of sleep hygiene.

You can find detailed guides elsewhere. But here are the major  key factors for  being able to wake up early day after day… and not be miserable. 

First :  Consistency with Bedtime and Waketime

This is the most important factor in making this an easy process. First, determine what time you have to wake up in order to get to work on time. Then subtract the number of hours of sleep you'll need. Ideally, we should be getting anywhere from seven to eight hours each night but let's be honest, that can be a challenge during certain rotations. Figure out what works best for you. 

Once you've determined your bedtime and wake-uptime, stick to that for every day that you're going in, which usually means six days perweek. Even if somebody's you can go in an hour later, stick to your original schedule and use that extra time in the morning to get work done. This will make the entire chore of waking up early that much more bearable. 

Now, technically you should be doing this on weekends as well for optimal results, but you probably have some sort of semibalance of a life you're trying to live and sleeping at 9:30 p.m. And working about 3:30 a.m. is probably not how you want to spend your Fridays and Saturdays. That's totally okay, just stick to it during the week. 

Along with having a consistent bedtime andwake-up time, having a pre bedtime routine will help train your body to wind down and get ready for sleep. For me, a warm shower followed by ten minutes of meditation worked wonders. My mind used to race at night and I know that'sa common problem for a lot of you. Meditation and writing down any lingering thoughts or ideas essentially cured me of this problem. 

Limiting screen use before bedtime is a huge one. 

My own personal rule was no screen time thirty minutes before bed unless it was to set an alarm for the morning. You would be surprised how big of a difference this little change makes. The backlight on TVs, phones, computers and other screens tells your brain that it's bright outside and messes with your circadian rhythm. Limiting the use of these items in the 30 to 60 minutes leading up to your bedtime wIll both help you fall asleep faster and increase the quality of your sleep. In short, it makes you feel a lot better when you wake up. 

I also like to use apps that transition the screens to warmer temperatures at night. This decreases the negative influence that backlit devices have on your sleep cycle.  

 Next, find an alarm system that works for you.

 I use my smart phone as my alarm, as I'm suremost of you do as well. Sleep Cycle alarm clock, it estimates your sleep stage and tries to wake you up during lighter stages of sleep and there's many other apps for your phone that either force you to do a math problem or perform some othertasks to help you wake up and not go on a snooze a phone. Wakeup Lights I also found extremely helpful. They essentially mimic sunrise to help tell your body it's time to get up. You can either use a Wakeup Light, 

 So, another quick word on lighting; 

when you're sleeping, the room should be pitch-black. Invest in blackout curtains if street lightor daylight depending on your sleep schedule is creeping into your bedroom, you'll sleep durn much better. 

Some other tips; avoid naps if possible or keep them short like 15 or 20 minutes tops. Taking naps during the day decreases the sleep debt that is so necessary for natural sleep onset. Obviously, avoid stimulants by late afternoon and evening. Caffeine late in the day will likely be more trouble than it is worth. 

Cooler temperatures are more conducive to sleep. So, a little bit cooler is better than a little bit warmer when it comes to bedtime. Don't sleep with the TV on, this is terrible for your sleep quality. But other background white noise like a fans fine and can actually help you drown out other distracting sounds. Your bed is for sleep only. That means no working, no reading and definitely no TV while you are in bed. Otherwise, you will subconsciously associate your bed with wakefulness. 

So, one last thing: 

I also found it helpful to set my alarm clock on the other end of the room to make sure I had to get up and couldn't just lie in bed constantly snoozing but and I know this sounds really cheesy, hopefully you decide on the specialty that actually makes you excited to go in every morning. If you haven't found that specialty yet, keep on looking. It is one of the most important decisions you'll be making since you're gonna be doing it day in and day out for the rest of your career.