When you wake up at 7 a.m. on a Monday morning, attending a two and a half hour lecture is not the first thing you may want to do. Snoozing the alarm and going back to sleep until the late afternoon would sound like the better option. However, the early bird gets the worm! While having early morning classes are not fun, they do allow you to enjoy the rest of your day and do other productive activities such as homework, working out, or even having a good time with friends! Morning classes can be a struggle to stay awake in, so here are a few tips that will help wake you up before going to class!
1. Sleep the night before.
It is important that you get at LEAST seven hours of sleep the night before your class. This will help you avoid over-sleeping and missing class, or even falling asleep during class. You don't want to be that person that falls asleep in the middle of class snoring, while everyone takes snapchat stories of you.
2. Eat breakfast before class.
As hard as it is to just get out of bed for class, try waking up an extra ten or fifteen minutes early to eat breakfast. Having food in your stomach will give you energy and wake you up. Bonus: Your stomach will not make those embarrassing ghost-like sounds during class. Even a granola bar or an apple will give you that extra boost to stay awake!
3. Exercise before class.
You do not have to full-out go to the gym before class. That is asking a lot for a Monday morning! Believe it or not, doing twenty or so jumping jacks when you roll out of bed will wake your body and your brain up!
4. Dress yourself up for class.
People who go to class in their pajamas are asking to fall asleep in class. They are bound to knock out during a monotonous lecture at 8 a.m. Instead, try dressing yourself up for that boring math lecture! Put on your favorite outfit and wing your eyeliner! Looking good leads to feeling good!
5. Shower in the morning.
Instead of showering the night before, shower in the morning before class. This will definitely wake you up and have you feeling refreshed and ready to conquer the day ahead!
6. Sit in the front of the class.
Studies show that sitting in the first two rows of the class correlate with receiving better grades. It will be easier to stay awake and engaged in class when you sit in the front. Sitting in the last few rows of the class provoke distracted behavior and only show the professor that you are not interested, leading to a bad grade.
7. Drink water during class.
Drinking water is so good for you! Bring a water bottle to class and take a sip every 10 to 20 minutes. This will keep you awake and feeling good. The biggest no-no when it comes to surviving these early classes is coffee! As yummy as coffee is, it is bad for your teeth, blood sugar level, and overall health! Those energy boosts it provides you with lead to crashes with headaches. As shown, there are many alternatives to drinking coffee for energy. So when you wake up in the morning, put down the coffee mug and open up that water bottle!
8. Pack your backpack the night before.
It's always good to stay ahead. Packing your backpack the night before with all of your books and papers will make your morning easier. That way,you can use that extra time to do a few jumping jacks and eat a granola bar! :) Preparing for your class the night before will make waking up the next morning a little brighter.
9. Laugh/smile.
Believe it or not, just smiling or laughing in the morning will wake you up! It will instantly energize you and put you in a good mood, So why not crack a silly joke with friends at 8 a.m. Don't be so grumpy in the morning :(
10. Have a positive attitude.
In the end, your attitude is everything. If you wake up in the mindset that you hate mornings and you do not want to go to class, then you are making your own morning miserable. If you wake up and tell yourself that it is going to be the best morning ever, then it will be. Believe in yourself and your ability to succeed in class, no matter how early in the morning. After all, we are here to learn.
