Sometimes getting out of bed feels like the hardest thing you’ll do all day. Even when you’re not sleep deprived, you might wake up feeling groggy, low in energy, and lacking motivation. This feeling is known as sleep inertia.
You don’t need to spend the morning in a sleepy daze or crawl back under the covers, though. There are some proven tips and tricks to make waking up — and leaving the comfort of your bed — easier.
“Getting out in sunlight is key to waking up and boosting your mood," says Dr. Chester Wu. "Open the curtains and blinds as soon as you can, get out for a morning walk, or enjoy a cup of coffee in the garden.”
Dr. Chester Wu is double board certified in Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine, and provides sleep medicine services, medication management, and psychotherapy to adults at his private sleep medicine and psychiatry practice.
Below, we’ll dive into how you can make getting out of bed easier each morning. Plus, we’ll share how the RISE app can help you get enough sleep and stay in sync with your body clock — two key behaviors that make waking up easier.
As tempting as the snooze button is, try to resist it and get up when your alarm clock rings the first time. Waking up at the same time each day helps to keep your circadian rhythm — your roughly 24-hour body clock — running smoothly.
When your circadian rhythm is in check, you’ll have more energy when you want it (in the morning and during the day) and feel sleepy when you want to (at night).
If you have an irregular sleep schedule, on the other hand, your body won’t be primed to wake you up in the morning. You’re also more likely to wake up during a deep sleep phase of sleep, which may make you feel groggier than usual.
The default alarm sound on your phone probably isn’t making it any easier to get out of bed in the morning.
Opt for a gentler alarm that eases you into wakefulness.
Try:
We’ve covered how to wake up to an alarm here with more recommendations on the best sounds to wake up to.
If you find yourself hitting snooze or scrolling on your phone for hours before leaving your bed, try charging your phone on the other side of the room, so you have to get out of bed to turn it off.
You can choose between melodic sounds, your choice of music, and gentle vibrations with RISE’s alarm feature. If you wear an Apple watch, install the RISE Apple watch complication to wake up to gentle haptics right from your wrist.
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Try pulling yourself out of bed and opening the blinds or curtains right away.
Light is powerful as it suppresses the sleep hormone melatonin and tells your circadian rhythm it’s time to be awake and alert.
Getting light first thing will boost your energy levels and mood, and set you up to feel sleepy later that night (so getting out of bed the next morning is even easier).
As part of your morning routine, try to get out in natural light for at least 10 minutes. If it’s overcast or you’re getting light through a window, aim for 15 to 20 minutes.
Timing is important when it comes to light exposure. To get it right, follow RISE’s personalized recommendations on when to get and avoid light exposure each day.
RISE users on iOS 1.202 and above can click here to set up their get bright light reminder.
If you can’t get outside or it’s dark out when you wake up, light therapy can help you get up in the morning.
Try sitting in front of a 10,000 lux light therapy lamp for 30 minutes while having breakfast or getting ready.
Red light may also help you feel better in the morning. A 2019 study found that red light therapy can reduce sleep inertia.
If poor mental health is stopping you from getting out of bed, light therapy may help here, too. There’s research showing light therapy can help those with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and non-seasonal depression.
Try playing a few of your favorite songs to wake up faster and start your day on a positive note.
Research shows “excitative music” can help to reduce sleep inertia, and it works even better when it’s music you like.
Try setting your favorite song as your alarm sound, or turning on a go-to playlist before you get out of bed.
Exercising might be the last thing you want to do if you’re struggling to get out of bed. But working out can help to shake off sleep inertia, so you feel better, faster.
You don’t need to do a full workout (although that will be beneficial if you can). Research from 2021 found just 30 seconds of exercise can help boost morning energy levels.
Expert tip: Once you’re out of bed, try to be active throughout the day. A 2022 study found more physical activity during the day leads to more energy the next morning.
Exercise in general can also boost your mood and reduce stress. Just be sure to avoid intense workouts within an hour of bedtime as these can keep you awake.
RISE can tell you when it’s best to skip a workout.
RISE users on iOS 1.202 and above can click here to set up their avoid late workouts reminder.
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As the body transitions out of sleep, it’s normal to feel the desire to stay in bed or go back to sleep. It's called sleep inertia.
Biologically speaking, it’s thought that sleep inertia is caused by adenosine, an organic compound that causes feelings of sleepiness — although more research needs to be done to confirm this theory. Adenosine builds up in your brain during the day and gets flushed out during sleep. But the chemical residue doesn't completely disappear the moment you wake up.
Some key tips in this article can speed up how quickly you get over sleep inertia, including:
But it’s hard to eliminate it altogether. Instead of fighting it, give yourself about 90 minutes in the morning before you have to be “on.” Use this time to do your morning routine, have some me-time, and do easy tasks, like household chores or work admin.
RISE can predict the timing of your circadian rhythm and tell you how long your sleep inertia is expected to last each morning. This way, you can plan your day around it.
RISE users on iOS 1.202 and above can click here to see their circadian rhythm on the Energy screen.
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You’re going to wake up dehydrated, and research shows even mild dehydration can cause fatigue, making it feel harder to get out of bed. Head straight to the kitchen for a glass of water.
If you can’t get out of bed, try keeping a water bottle by your bed to drink first thing. Even the act of drinking water can perk you up.
Bribe yourself out of bed with a promise of a good cup of coffee.
Caffeine temporarily blocks adenosine from working in your brain. This gives you an energy boost to kickstart your day. Coffee can also boost your serotonin levels to improve your mood.
Need added motivation to get out of bed? Set your coffee maker on a timer, so you wake up to the smell of coffee brewing.
If you can’t get out of bed because of a low mood, anxiety, or poor mental health, breathing exercises may help.
Science shows simple breathing exercises can help to lower stress and anxiety, improve mood, and even help you sleep at night.
Doing a few minutes of breathing exercises is also a simple goal to set yourself in the morning when getting out of bed feels impossible.
We walk you through how to do these breathing exercises here.
RISE also has in-app audio guides to walk you through breathing exercises like diaphragmatic breathing.
RISE users on iOS 1.202 and above can click here to go right to their relaxation audio guide homepage and get started.
Getting out of bed is hard if the first thing on your mind is your to-do list, errands, or daily stresses.
Try creating a morning routine you enjoy and one you want to get out of bed for.
To make it more effective at waking you up, try to include getting sunlight, exercise, and perhaps coffee or breathing exercises in your routine.
You could try:
As well as morning sunlight, prioritize getting out in natural light throughout the day.
The more light you get during the day, the less sensitive you’ll be to it in the evenings.
Daytime light can boost your mood, too. A 2021 study found participants spent about 2.5 hours outside each day, but each additional hour outside was linked to lower odds of low mood, lifetime major depressive disorder, and antidepressant usage.
The researchers also found each hour of daylight was linked to greater ease of getting up, less frequent tiredness, and fewer insomnia symptoms.
A good morning starts the night before. And one key habit to be aware of is using screens before bed.
Late-night screen time can cut into your sleep as the blue light from your devices can push back your circadian rhythm, keeping you awake.
It’s also easy to get sucked into Netflix or scrolling on social media and blow past your bedtime without even realizing.
But pre-bed screen time can also make mornings feel harder. A 2020 study found longer exposure to blue light from screens in the evenings was linked to more sleep inertia the next morning.
Expert tip: Try avoiding devices about an hour before bed, or putting on blue-light blocking glasses about 90 minutes before bed (we recommend these).
It’s going to feel much harder to get up in the morning if you haven’t had enough sleep.
A lack of sleep can also contribute to:
To make getting out of bed easier, focus on keeping your sleep debt low.
Sleep debt is how much sleep you owe your body. It’s compared against your sleep need, the hours of sleep your body needs. Your sleep need is determined by genetics, and it may be longer than you think.
Want to find out how much sleep you need? RISE can work out your individual sleep need and whether you’ve got any sleep debt.
We recommend keeping sleep debt below five hours to feel your best. To lower your sleep debt:
RISE users on iOS 1.202 and above can click here to view their sleep need and here to view their sleep debt.
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Your circadian rhythm is always ticking away inside your body, but you can get out of sync with it. This will make it much harder to get up in the morning. You’ll also have a harder time falling asleep at night, meaning more tiredness the next morning.
Being out of sync with your circadian rhythm is also linked to mental health problems like depression.
To stay in sync:
RISE predicts your circadian rhythm each day. You can then see when your body naturally wants to wake up and go to sleep. Sync up your daily life with these times for maximum morning energy — or reset your circadian rhythm if these times don’t match your lifestyle.
RISE users on iOS 1.202 and above can click here to see their circadian rhythm on the Energy screen.
Sleep hygiene is the set of daily behaviors you can do each day to get better sleep.
With good sleep hygiene, you’ll fall asleep faster, wake up less often during the night, and get natural, healthy sleep. This will help you meet your sleep need, so getting out of bed doesn’t feel like such a difficult task.
Good sleep hygiene includes:
RISE can walk you through 20+ sleep habits and remind you when to do each one daily.
RISE users on iOS 1.202 and above can click here to set up their 20+ in-app habit notifications.
If you’ve tried improving your sleep hygiene, lowering your sleep debt, and getting in sync with your circadian rhythm, and you’re still struggling to get out of bed, consider seeking medical advice.
Your healthcare provider or a sleep specialist will be able to test you for sleep problems, sleep disorders, medical conditions, and mood disorders that may be to blame.
These include:
While dysania isn’t recognized as a medical condition in its own right, it’s seen as a symptom or sign of other health problems, including many of those listed above. Dysania is when you have extreme difficulty getting out of bed. You may not be sleeping more, just struggling to get out from under the covers when you wake up.
Some medications can also make you tired in the morning, including antidepressants, antihistamines for allergies, and sleep aids.
Sometimes, getting out of bed can feel like a herculean task. But there are simple things you can do to wake your body up faster. Try getting out in sunlight as soon as you can, doing a short burst of physical activity, and playing a few favorite songs.
And don’t forget, keeping your sleep debt low and staying in sync with your circadian rhythm are two of the most impactful things you can do to feel better when you wake up.
To help, the RISE app can work out how much sleep debt you have each day and predict your circadian rhythm, so you can sync up your daily life to it.
RISE can also guide you through 20+ sleep hygiene habits, which will make getting a good night’s sleep easier.
You could be enjoying brighter mornings sooner than you think — 80% of RISE users feel better within five days.
If you can’t get out of bed, you may be sleep deprived, have a mental health condition like anxiety or depression, or have a medical condition. But sleep inertia, or grogginess right after waking up, is also normal, even when you’ve had enough sleep.
If it’s hard for you to get out of bed, you may be sleep deprived, have a mental health condition like anxiety or depression, or have a medical condition. But sleep inertia, or grogginess right after waking up, is also normal, even when you’ve had enough sleep.
If you can’t get out of bed all day, you may be sleep deprived, have a mental health condition like anxiety or depression, or have a medical condition. Sleep inertia, or grogginess right after waking up, is normal, but it should fade in about 90 minutes.
To get out of bed in the morning, try waking up at the same time every day, using a gentle alarm sound, playing your favorite music, getting out in sunlight as soon as you can, doing some exercise, having a morning routine you look forward to, and getting enough sleep overall.
To make it easier to get out of bed, try waking up at the same time every day, using a gentle alarm sound, playing your favorite music, getting out in sunlight as soon as you can, doing some exercise, having a morning routine you look forward to, and getting enough sleep overall.
It can be hard to get out of bed with ADHD. ADHD is linked to daytime sleepiness, trouble sleeping, anxiety, and depression — all of which can make it harder to get out of bed.
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