Sleep (Obviously!). The best way to wake up refreshed is to get seven to nine hours of sleep each night, says Singh, who stresses the importance of establishing good sleep habits. ...
In addition to that, some studies recommend that early bedtimes are preferable for a healthy body clock and some argue that 8 am is the best time to wake up.
Exercise. 4/10. Moving your body tells your cells you need more energy. Your body will rise to the task and start making more. Exercise also releases endorphins -- the “feel-good” hormones -- and gives you a bit of a natural mood boost.
"The overall best is if you can wake up naturally because you're done sleeping," he said. On the other hand, if you're waking up early on just a few hours of sleep, you should probably try and squeeze in some more shuteye.
"As soon as you wake up after a night of sleep, you should get out of bed. If you lie awake in bed, your brain links being awake to being in bed," according to Professor Matthew Walker from University of California Berkeley.
Sleep inertia, or wake-up grogginess, is the main reason you're unable to fully wake up in the morning or after a nap. It's a completely normal part of your sleep-wake cycle that's intensified by factors like high sleep debt and circadian misalignment (caused by sleeping in, social jetlag, and travel jet lag).
Wash your face and eyes, so you completely wake up. Make it a habit to drink a glass of water, to supply to your body the liquids it needs. This would energize you and make you more awake.
"Most people hit their deepest sleep between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m.," says WebMD sleep expert Michael Breus, PhD, D, ABSM, "so it's very hard to wake up during that time."
Can Boost Your Mental Health and Productivity, a New Study Shows. Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh noted that the best daily routine includes rising early each morning and staying active throughout the day.
Sleep needs can vary from person to person, but in general, experts recommend that healthy adults get an average of 7 to 9 hours per night of shuteye. If you regularly need more than 8 or 9 hours of sleep per night to feel rested, it might be a sign of an underlying problem, Polotsky says.
Set a consistent bedtime and wake-up time and stick to it, even on weekends. This can help regulate your body's natural sleep-wake cycle. Create a sleep-friendly environment. Keep your bedroom cool, dark, and quiet, and avoid screens and bright lights before bedtime.
The most common cause of sleepiness is not sleeping long enough. Getting enough restful sleep is crucial for maintaining good health. Research over the past decade has shown that healthy sleep is just as important as exercising regularly and eating a healthy diet.
For example: a person needing 8 hours of sleep but getting only 6 would build a sleep debt of 2 hours that day. A person with an 8-hour sleep need who gets 6 hours each day for 5 days builds a sleep debt of 10 hours. As sleep debt builds, brain and body functioning deteriorate. Sleep is needed to “pay down” this debt.
The more abruptly you are awakened, the more severe the sleep inertia. While we may feel that we wake up quickly enough, transitioning easily between sleep mode and awake mode, the process is in reality far more gradual.
And while the occasional long sleep is generally nothing to worry about, oversleeping several days a week could be a sign that something more serious is going on.
The SCN is located in the hypothalamus. The SCN is sensitive to signals of dark and light. The optic nerve in your eyes senses the morning light. Then the SCN triggers the release of cortisol and other hormones to help you wake up.
