Mornings are tough but it may be easier than you think to become a morning person. The Health Initiatives (HI) health educators each shared their favorite tip for making the morning easier. Not only can these routines boost your overall health and well-being, but they can actually improve your sleep at the end of the day as well. These tips are sure to help you get out the door faster and start the morning off right! Sit back, grab your morning coffee, and check out these easy tips you can incorporate into your morning and night routine.

HI Health Educator, Elaine Miller recommends…

“Try doing something consistently every morning, whether it's listening to a specific song, making fresh coffee, eating a healthy breakfast, taking a minute of mindful reflection, or doing a set of stretching. Doing it daily will cue your body that it's time to be awake and energized.”

HI Health Educator, JaPeera Edmonds recommends…

“Wake up with enough time in the morning to get into a good routine. Feeling rushed and stressed in the morning is not a great start to the day. Make sure that you have enough time to accomplish all your morning tasks and start the day off on a positive note. “

Hi Health Educator, Deontez Wimbley recommends…

“How you end your day actually helps how you start. I highly suggest students do as much as possible the night before to ensure when they wake up stress and anxiety is significantly reduced. Students can prepare for a great morning by deciding what to wear the night before, preparing breakfast and lunch, and setting phones to do not disturb. A good night’s sleep is critical to a having a great start to the morning. I recommend students download an app that aids with getting a night of restful sleep.

HI Health Educator, Jocelyn Resnick recommends…

“I recommend three simple steps. Make time to eat breakfast, stretch, and practice gratitude by journaling.”

HI Health Educator, Sarah Morales recommends…

“My tip would be to have a consistent bedtime and a consistent wake-up time. Going to sleep and waking up around the same time each day helps your body get on a schedule and will eventually make waking up a breeze (because our body follows a circadian rhythm that relies on consistency). I also recommend getting your work/school bag and lunch/snacks packed the night before so you can grab them and go in the morning. This saves time and energy in the mornings that you can use for a little extra sleep or more time for getting ready.”

These morning routines are easy to incorporate to help you maximize the amount of sleep you get each day. Sleep plays a key role in helping fix and consolidate memories, as well as prevent the decay of memories.  Without sleep, people work harder but don’t always perform as well. The amount of sleep that a college student gets is one of the strongest predictors of academic success. “When a student is rested, memory recall, decision making, critical thinking, and the ability to maintain concentration are much improved,” said Edmonds. Researchers state sleep deprivation is one of the main reasons college students receive low academic scores. For more information on how to get the most out of your sleep go to healthinitiatives.gatech.edu/sleep.