12 Tips for Waking Up with Positivity and Battling Sleep Inertia

As a morning bear — I’ve had to be strategic.

Do you wake up growling? Claws out, ready to obliterate any poor soul that comes between you and your coffee?

Morning bears are difficult. You know you are being difficult. You know people are a bit afraid of you when you crawl out of bed in the morning and stumble your way into your day.

My boys, from grade school on, got themselves out of bed in the morning, got themselves ready for school, and got themselves on the bus. I’ve managed to raise two very independent young men who don’t need to be told to get up and tackle their day. Of this, I am quite proud. But doing this for themselves was merely a survival strategy.

They didn’t get themselves ready for school because I was unwilling to help, to be present, to be Mom. They did it because I was an unruly bear in the mornings, prone to anger, confusion, and mumbled words that just complicated matters. They avoided me and developed their own morning routines, thankfully ones without claws or yelling. In short, I advised them on developing their routines, but had to get out of the way.

Let’s face it, I am completely non-functional in the mornings. Just talking to another person seems impossible. Decision-making? Forget it. But, developing a strategy to deal with my morning self has become a bit easier over the years.

Sleep Inertia is the term given to this condition and it can be defined as:

Sleep Inertia often appears as the feeling of incomplete awakening and grogginess that reduces your ability to perform even simple tasks. Part of your body is actually still in a sleep state. — Sleep Inertia

As a lifelong morning bear and sufferer of sleep inertia, I have discovered a few things that have soothed the fur, retracted the teeth, and helped me to be a bit more “bearable” when I get out of the bed. Perhaps a few of these will help you to calm the morning madness.

Tips for calming the Morning Bear:

• Start with a “happy thought” as cliche as that may sound. I began to notice after one of my favorite shows debuted, Survivor, that I started looking forward to Wednesdays. I love these reality shows and one morning I realized my thought pattern as I woke up…what day is it? Wednesday? Oh, Survivor is on tonight, YAY! What do you look forward to? If you start your day with a quick reminder of “today is _____day!” then that quick boost of excitement can help you to get you day started “on the right foot,” (claws retracted). Make a sticky note and place it where you will wake up to remind you of your “something good” of the day. Self-affirmations are great as well.
• Learn your triggers and remove them. Lose your mind when there’s no creamer or the coffee’s not made? Plan ahead and avoid this catastrophe. Set the coffee to make on a timer so you don’t make a mess stumbling through the impossible task while half-sleep walking. (I have broken dozens of coffee pots. Dozens.)
• Get enough sleep. You know this is important. Prioritize your sleep. There’s a “sweet spot” of sleep that is unique to each individual. For me, it’s 7–8 hours. Figure out what works best for you, helps you be the most positive and productive in your day without feeling sleepy, and commit to getting this much sleep each night.
• Adopt a morning exercise routine that will burn off the negative energy. Even if it is just a morning walk to take the dog to potty, getting your body moving will help you to wake up. For me, I like to focus on something as simple as loading the washing machine or feeding the animals, just to get moving so I can manage to get dressed, have coffee, and speak with kindness to other human beings. The cats often don’t care about my mood and are grateful to be fed. Often, just speaking to them helps to elevate my mood. A test market, if you will, before I speak to human beings in my half-human/half predator state.
• Wake up in a manner that works for you. I have learned to avoid loud, scary-sounding alarms to wake me up in the morning. It’s like a PTSD nightmare for me. I wake up confused, angry, and sometimes fearful. Music and light are my preferences (although a bit less effective.) I’ve found the most reliable way to wake up is my children’s voices. Record your child saying “Mommy wake up.” It’s pretty darn helpful as an alarm sound.
• Have Alexa help. There are all kinds of apps that work with Alexa and you can formulate a morning routine that reads you prayer, leads you in meditation, tells you the news of the day, or even jokes. I can say “Alexa, play wake up music” and darn if she doesn’t do it every single time. What a joy!
• Take a bit of distance to adjust. If you have to be awake fully before you can “deal” with other people, I completely understand. Take those moments you need and face the family when you are prepared to at least say “good morning.” I also keep the remote for the tv right next to me and often turn on to the news before I even get out of bed. The cognitive work of just paying attention to what is going on helps me to wake my brain up and start thinking like a human. The family then, knows I am up but wait patiently for me to emerge from my bedroom as a human.
• Food. If food is your motivator to get moving in the morning, plan breakfasts ahead of time that excite you. Nothing gets me moving in the morning like realizing we have what we need for biscuits-n-gravy.
• Be honest with your family members. Talk to them. You can be pretty sure they have noticed your morning struggles. As you develop your routine ask them for support. Work with them to make sure their routine and yours can overlap in the most positive way. (I get that this is hard — I grew up in a home with 7 people and one bathroom. Do the math.) Working together to plan for the morning moments can help them to go more smoothly, for everyone.
• Be kind to yourself. I highly doubt when you were born you decided — I am going to SUCK at MORNINGS! So stop the blame game and work on strategy.
• Avoid situations that will escalate. These are not “let’s have a talk” moments or “Mom I forgot this thing” moments. Try to handle the big things at a better time of the day.
• Talk to your doctor. If you’re not sleeping and it is ruining your life, talk to your doctor. If you wake up feeling terrible and sluggish and emotional, talk to your doctor. There may be some medicinal or medical treatments to consider. Personally, CBD oil has made miraculous changes in my life with regards to sleep and mood. But if I take it first thing in the morning, before tackling my day, it has a better chance of helping to smooth out my morning moods. Finding what works for you may take a bit of trial and error, but your doctor can help.

Tackling your sleep inertia does not have to be a losing battle. Your family members do not have to continue running from you until you are fully awake and functional. Taking a few proactive steps can empower you to take back your mornings. You can do this!

Christina Ward 💗 is a poet, an author, and a fierce advocate for living your best life. Follow her body of work at Fiddleheads & Floss Poetry.