If your room is dark, even in the morning time, this could be one of the top reasons why you feel like you just can’t seem to get out of

bed. Not only groggy, but low in energy too. Some people select window treatments that are thick in material or dark in color without even realizing that they significantly decrease

their natural light. One way around this is to get the kind of window dressings that are lighter in color, or that reveal some of your windows. Then, when the

sun rises, more light will come into your room. That can immediately make you feel so much better.

Your sense of smell is pretty powerful. Use that to your advantage by keeping a bottle of essential oil by your bed. When you wake up in the morning, take

a drop or two into the palm of your hand and then breathe the scent in. The aromatherapy effects have a great way of almost “jerking you” awake. Some of

the oils to have in your collection include lemon (great for anxiety), peppermint (improves concentration), rosemary (brings clarity), lavender (reduces stress), orange and grapefruit (uplifts the spirits), cinnamon (increases blood

flow to the brain), and geranium (helps to alleviate mood swings).

You might remember the Army commercial that said “We get more done by 6am than most people do all day.” There’s a lot of truth to that. Getting up early

in the morning, while a lot of the world is still pretty quiet, can give you the opportunity to get a lot work done without being interrupted. You can send

emails, pay bills, clean up your office, iron for the next couple of days---all sorts of things. Start off small by setting your alarm for 30 minutes earlier. Then do

two things on your to-do list. Build up more from there. At the end of the day, you’ll feel a lot less stressed knowing you were able to get a

lot more done.

According to Sleep.org, there are all sorts of ways that having technology in your bedroom can affect your sleep pattern. It stimulates the mind, making it harder to

fall sleep in the first place. It messes with your melatonin levels, so you end up feeling more stressed out than relaxed. And if it’s your smartphone and you forget

to turn off your notifications, the sounds can disrupt your rest all throughout the night. It really is best to turn everything off at night. If you feel that you need

to keep your phone on for certain people, set them to “favorite” so that their calls come through, no matter what. Just in case of an emergency.

If you don’t have a set sleep time, that might explain why you don’t rest well at night and you’re tired in the morning. Try going to bed no later

than 10:30pm. If you have trouble falling asleep, keep the television (and laptop) off and read a book or magazine instead. Allow your body to drift off to sleep. If

that still doesn’t work, take a warm bath 30 minutes before and drink some warm almond milk. The calcium in it can also soothe your nerves and make sleep easier.

Just don’t drink too much of it. Otherwise, you’ll be going to the bathroom all throughout the night.

Are you surprised to see this? Probably not. There’s no way around the proven fact that exercising reduces stress and that can also make sleeping easier to do. It can

also make your quality of sleep a lot better. Just don’t do it right before turning in. In the mornings or evenings, 2-3 times a week for 30-45 minutes, should

be all you need to keep your body and shape and to slowly transition you from a “morning enemy” to a morning person.