Talia Lego
- Jul 13, 2023
- 4 min read

How to Become a Morning Person | Early Morning Tips

When I think of nursing, I either think of early mornings, or late, late nights. I have been on both sides of the spectrum. When I originally became a nurse I was working night shift (typically 11:00 pm - 7:30 am or 7:00 pm - 7:00 am). I currently work in an outpatient surgery setting where my days are early and I’m off by the afternoon. I absolutely love it!

One thing that I have learned working “normal” hours is that if I am wanting to do something after work it can be tough to also squeeze my workout in. Or if I do choose to work out after work I find myself feeling sluggish and difficult to find the motivation to get my butt there. So what I started to realize, is that if I can wake up earlier and workout, I a: feel more awake in the morning with my endorphins flowing and, b: don’t have the pressure or thought in the back of my head that I still need to squeeze my workout in all day long.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. “Talia if you work at 7:00 in the morning what time do you wake up to work out?” I usually have my alarm set for 4:30 am and aim for 5:00 am workouts. It’s definitely daunting in the beginning and trust me, it is still very tough some mornings to get up. But I have picked up a few tips and tricks to help me fall asleep, stay asleep, and wake up to have a successful morning and morning workout!

The first step to having an early morning is also having an early bedtime.

I like to start winding down for the night around 8:30 (now when I say this I usually mean Sunday - Thursday). I typically do not follow my early morning routine on the weekends because of BALANCE! This is something I stress so much in my life and I will preach it to my audience too! You do not need to wake up at 4:30 Monday- Sunday! I actually encourage you not to! You need to live your life on the weekends, stay up late with the people you love, sleep in, and enjoy your comfy bed too!

To start winding down I get into a comfy set of pajamas, brew some sleepy-time tea, and do my going-to-bed routine like washing my face, brushing my teeth, etc. Then I’ll crawl into bed and either flip on a show for 30 to 45 minutes, watch some Tik Tok, or maybe read. When I’m in bed this early I am physically telling my brain that it’s time to start feeling sleepy.

Use white noise to drown out sounds and signal your brain it’s time to sleep.

I personally have a Hatch Alarm Clock that I am absolutely in love with! When I am not at home I also use the white noise feature on Spotify. This is one thing that I have learned is so important for me to have a good night’s sleep

Take magnesium glycinate to improve digestion and enhance your sleep cycle naturally

I take a magnesium supplement every night and this is the #1 supplement I encourage you to take! There are many benefits of taking magnesium, like Improved sleep, reduced muscle tension and cramps, enhanced mood and stress management, support for bone health, cardiovascular health, and regulation of blood sugar levels. In summary, this stuff is a miracle worker!

Essential oils for me are… essential!:

Almost every night I put about 4 drops of lavender into my diffuser. I would love to have a whole separate blog post about essential oils and their benefits, so I will most likely post that in the near future! Lavender helps promote relaxation and stress relief, improve your sleep quality, alleviate headaches or muscle aches, mood enhancing and it’s also antimicrobial! The smell of lavender will also signal your brain that it’s time to sleep if you stick to this routine.

Try to signal your brain to wake up naturally:

I also love my Hatch alarm clock for the sunrise alarm clock feature. My clock starts to illuminate the room about 15 minutes before I actually have to wake up. Then, when it’s 4:30 I have my alarm set to a super relaxing sound of birds chirping. It doesn’t scare or startle you awake. Most of the time I actually wake up naturally to the light and before the sound starts to play. That means I am waking up on my own terms and not being forcefully woken.

Give yourself 5 minutes to sulk and whine and then get your ASS UP!:

The hardest part about waking up early is physically getting out of bed. The minute you walk to the bathroom, flip on the light and brush your teeth, you feel awake enough to just go along with the morning. I have my workout clothes laid out the night before so I don’t even have to think about what to wear. I literally just throw my outfit on and I’m off.

Pre-workout is essential:

Usually this early in the morning I just dry-scoop my pre-workout with some sips of water. I really don’t think I would be able to muster up the energy to do a full workout at 5:00 am. My pre-workout is a true essential to my morning routine.