The after-sleep phase

Hopefully, the tips so far help you fall asleep faster, and stay asleep. That’s great! As it means you get good quality sleep, which was the goal of this course.

But there is more to learn. The 30-60 minutes after waking up are crucial and decide your mood and energy for the whole day.

What are some good and bad habits for right after waking up?

Transition

Right after waking up, our brain transitions from that deep sleep state, to a full awake state.

This transition is a special period. You are awake and active, but your brain is still in that “subconscious” mode.

• You are more creative and think faster
• You are less inhibited by doubt, or whatever “blockades” you usually have in your head
• But it also means you have no filter, so emotions, problems, etcetera hit harder

The lesson will be obvious: use this period well

Don’t waste the bonus it gives you. Soon after waking up, go and do something. Your mind will be clear, you will think faster, you will find solutions more easily. Doubts don’t have a chance to stop you.

But also don’t let negativity or mood in. If you start your day by grabbing your phone and reading the news, you will ruin the rest of your day. (Unless you happen to read one article that happens to be amazing news for you.) If you start your day by complaining to your partner about something, you’ve ruined both your days.

Whatever happens in that period, simply hits harder and can barely be filtered. So remove any bad trigger. Perhaps make an agreement with your partner that you don’t have discussions about what bothers you during this time.

Get out of bed quickly

This only works, of course, if you leave the bed quickly. There’s no need to jump out of the sheets once you open your first eye. But once you feel you’re awake, eyes open, body ready, step out of bed.

This way, you can make the most use of this great transition period. And it keeps the bed for sleeping, and nothing else.

Exercise

Exercising in the morning is preferable, even before eating breakfast. Why?

• Exercising late, as mentioned, makes it harder to fall asleep
• Late on the day, you have less motivation and energy to exercise
• You are most fresh straight out of bed. Exercising immediately starts your day even better. You already did the most important thing! And now your body is energized!
• You haven’t eaten anything yet, so there’s no heavyweight in your stomach slowing you down, and you’ll burn more fat