hey everyone and welcome to top think today we're gonna learn about how to wake up at 4
a.m. feeling amazing now let's begin number one a morning presence if you're struggling to wake
up early this technique can turn your mornings around the trick is to give yourself a present
right after you step out of bed in other words you should reward yourself for waking up early because
let's face it it's a hard thing to do not everyone has the self-discipline or self-control to put
their productivity first so each time you get up at 4 a.m. start your morning with your number-one
favorite part of your routine maybe it's sipping on a nice hot cup of coffee mmm or maybe it's
making a healthy breakfast and enjoying the peace and quiet while you eat whatever it is use that
piece of your morning routine to reward your hard work not only will you find it easier to get out
of bed in the mornings your entire routine will feel more enjoyable when you start your morning
with something you love you feel encouraged to keep that good momentum going number two slide
your cycle the hardest part about getting up early in the morning isn't actually waking up sure it's
tough to physically drag your tired body out of bed you glanced out the window and you notice
that the Sun isn't even up yet in that moment every fiber of your being is telling you to go
back to sleep yeah it's difficult to resist that tempting offer but that's not the most challenging
thing about waking up at 4 a.m. the hardest part is learning how to start your day without feeling
totally exhausted most people use the same simple strategy to get themselves up so early in the
morning they set a whole bunch of alarms they set one for 4 o'clock another 4 for 10 a third 4 for
20 and so on and that way if their first alarm doesn't get them out of bed the rest will annoy
their brain into waking up now while this usually does the trick it only solves the first problem
you'll still feel fatigued and lethargic when you wake up instead of feeling rested and happy
because chances are you're not actually getting enough sleep and when you don't get enough sleep
it doesn't matter what time you wake up you're always going to suffer the consequences in fact
a study from 2019 found that losing as little as 16 minutes of sleep has a huge effect on your
mental state if you're not getting enough sleep on a regular basis it will negatively impact your
mood and your cognitive performance in other words if you're forcing yourself to wake up 15 minutes
earlier than your body wants to you'll feel slower foggier and lazier why well because your sleep
cycle wasn't finished yet if you fell asleep at midnight for example your brain thinks the next
eight hours are reserved for recovery and prep but suddenly your alarm stops your brain in its
tracks it interrupts the recovery process halfway through which means your brain will take longer to
catch up think clearly and be productive so how do you get up earlier and make sure your brain
finishes recovering from the day before the answer is a technique I like to call sliding your cycle
let's say your normal sleep schedule is midnight to 8:00 a.m. but you want to make a change you
want to start getting up earlier you want more time for all the productive motivating pieces of
a solid morning routine should you just set your alarm for 4:00 a.m. and jump right in know you'll
feel exhausted and unwilling to try getting up early again instead try sliding your cycle
every night move your sleep cycle back 15 minutes tonight for example go to bed at 11:45 and then
wake up at 7:45 in the morning tomorrow slide your schedule back another 15 minutes and then another
until eventually you're getting up at 4 a.m. without interrupting your sleep cycle oh and the
real beauty of sliding your cycle is that it gives your brain plenty of time to adjust in fact by the
end of your slide waking up early may feel more like a habit than a chore those small documents
are the perfect amount of change for your brain to adequately handle each night so it reacts a whole
lot better than being dropped into the deep end if you want to wake up before the sunrise feeling
on top of the world sliding your schedule may be the answer you're looking for so spend a few weeks
slowly moving back your cycle you'll be waking up at 4 a.m. feeling amazing in no time number
3 nightly prep work what's the very first thing you usually think about when you wake up after
that fuzzy dream slips out of your memory your brain drifts back to the thoughts and feelings
you had before you fell asleep if you were worried happy or inspired you'll feel those emotions again
they'll stick around through the night and even affect the quality of your sleep your night time
and morning routines may be eight hours apart but for your conscious mind they're right next
to each other that's why it's so important to have a strong and positive night time routine
you should spend that hour before bed doing things that improve your mood things that inspire you to
be a better or more productive person for some that means setting exciting new goals thinking
positively about the future creates motivation and builds momentum for the next day for others
it's working on their hobbies who are listening to music these activities balance your state of
mind and relax your nerves each of these night time habits relieve stress deepens your sleep
and helps you wake up feeling as positive as possible oh and not to mention that bursts of
positivity will propel you into a happier and more productive day number 4 sleep as a tool
for many people sleep is an escape it's a rare chance to get away from work responsibilities
and expectations it's an opportunity to rest and relax without worrying about work or stressing
about life and in some ways that's a good thing you should be using your eight hours to recharge
but if you want to improve your morning's don't look at sleep as an escape from your daily life
instead you sleep as an essential part of your work schedule it's like eating breakfast or going
to the gym you don't do these things just to avoid doing work you do them to give you energy and keep
you healthy they're necessary pieces of your productive lifestyle and sleep is no different
getting your 8 hours is a tool you use every night to rejuvenate your brain by changing your
approach to sleep you'll not only sleep better and deeper you'll wake up with a different state
of mind you'll get up feeling ready to go ready to tackle the day now that you've gotten your 8 hours
you can check that off your list which means your brain is prepped and ready to perform at its best
number 5 a gentle alarm do you use an alarm to get yourself out of bed if you do what kind of
sound do you play many people go for those grading radars and ear-splitting buzzers you might think
you need those blaring noises to wake you up in the morning to force yourself out of bed you tell
yourself that you can't wake up without them but you know what you can the problem is you've been
waking up to radars and buzzers for so long that your mind is trained to respond to those sounds it
hears that buzzer and immediately thinks it's time to wake up but you can do the same thing
with a softer more relaxing sound in fact you can conditioned your brain to wake up to almost
anything so why start your morning by jump scaring yourself out of bed when you startle
yourself awake you're actually hurting your entire morning mm-hmm even if you get the right amount
of sleep scaring yourself awake with a blaring alarm leaves you feeling frazzled and on edge so
replace those radars and buzzers with a gentle guitar or maybe a soothing piano you might even
use a relaxing song that you already know and love waking up should be as easy and relaxing
as falling asleep so don't let your alarm your morning number six setting your tone don't force
yourself out of bed right when you wake up sit up stay comfortable and take a few honest moments to
reflect in those moments think about all the things you're grateful for think about all
the opportunities you've had and everything that you've accomplished when you feel happy with the
past then reorient your thoughts toward the future imagine what you want to accomplish picture where
you're headed remind yourself that you have control over where you're going and finally
imagine the rest of your day going exactly the way you want it to and when you're done open your eyes
step out of bed and make it happen these quiet moments of reflection and gratitude can help you
wake up feeling amazing because they set the tone for your entire morning every morning starts to
feel important special and powerful and you'll feel inspired to be all you can be we're most
receptive to this kind of reflection right after we wake up so don't wait an extra second reflect
on your past envision your future and let them both motivate you moving forward hey thank you
for watching top think and be sure to subscribe because more incredible content is on the way