Waking up early is less about willpower at 6 a.m. and more about what you do the day before. These habits are simple, widely recommended, and don't need any gadget beyond your alarm.
1. Pick one wake-up time and keep it
Your body likes a routine. Getting up at the same time every day, weekends included, is one of the most commonly recommended habits for easier mornings. A two-hour lie-in on Saturday makes Monday feel like jet lag.
In Wakefold, set one alarm with Every day under Repeat.
2. Move earlier in small steps
If you want to get up an hour earlier, don't do it in one jump. Move your alarm 15 minutes earlier every few days. Small steps are much easier to stick with.
3. Go to bed earlier, too
An earlier alarm only works if you also go to bed earlier. Work backwards from your wake time and set a regular bedtime. Some people set a second alarm in the evening, labelled "Wind down", as a reminder.
4. Get light soon after waking
Daylight in the morning helps your body clock. Open the curtains, step outside, or have breakfast by a window.
5. Use a gentler alarm
A sudden blast of sound is a rough way to start the day. A volume that starts quietly and rises is easier on you, and many people find they wake before it gets loud. Turn on Gently louder in Wakefold.
6. Put the phone across the room
If you switch alarms off without really waking, put your phone where you have to stand up to reach it. Once you're up, stay up.
7. Make dismissing take a moment of thought
Wakefold's optional wake-up sum asks you to solve a short sum before the alarm turns off. It's just enough thinking to make you actually awake.
8. Have a reason to get up
An early morning is easier when it has a purpose: a walk, a coffee you enjoy, quiet time to read. Label your alarm with it ("Coffee on the balcony") and it greets you when it rings.
9. Go easy on the snooze button
Snoozing feels kind, but it breaks the last part of your sleep into short pieces. If you snooze often, set the alarm for the time you really get up. More in is snoozing bad for you?
Make sure the alarm rings
All of this depends on an alarm you can trust. If one ever stays silent, check our list of settings that silence alarms on Android.
