11 Things that Help Shift Your Sleep/Rise Schedule Based on Your Metabolism

If you’re like me, you just don’t like getting up in the morning. It’s not that I don’t like getting up early. I actually quite like it when the sun is still low. The way beams of light come into the windows and hit the walls at just the right angle. Sunlight fills the room and I’m reminded of childhood. I can hear my dad now, “rise and shine!” The days we all got up for breakfast together on the weekends and the times we woke up early before family vacations. Oh the memories. Good times.

Thing is, I’ve always loved sleep for as long as I can remember. I mean, I LOVE it! When I hit that REM cycle it’s wonderful. The days I can’t seem to wake up and I fall back asleep straight into REM so fast I can’t remember waking up.. ahhhh. I love a good sleep. Then again I can remember my mom telling me I can sleep when I’m dead. Truth. I wish I didn’t sleep so much. I wish I didn’t love it so much either. With all this sleep love, you’d think I wouldn’t be sleep deprived but yep, it happens.

I struggle staying up too long. I can push through anything to stay awake once I have been up all day. It’s like my superpower. I can only recall one time when I nearly passed out driving because I was so tired and I was in high school. I did just about everything to stay awake. It hadn’t been a particularly difficult or long day. I don’t know why I was so sleepy but I nearly hit a speed limit sign on a country road. All it takes is a second. It’s thankfully never happened again. Yet, I find myself nearly hitting a sign just about every night *metaphorically speaking* because I push well beyond bedtime. And for what?! Sometimes it’s school. Sometimes I’m enjoying down time watching tv. Sometimes I’m reading. Yet, always I push well beyond being tired.

I haven’t always been this way as an adult. There was a time when I went to sleep at a decent time and even a time I went to bed super early. When I got up before the sun and got to work. I never quite got that morning light at work as I do at home. The way the light hits the trees. It’s hard to explain the peaceful feeling that washes over me. The feeling is similar to a memory of tasting your favorite candy or craving your favorite dish. I can smell the dew on the grown, feel the breeze in the air, and I’m filled with joy. Yet, I still don’t wake up like I should today. I struggle waking because I struggle sleeping. My body naturally enjoys eight hours and it’s what I get even if I stay up super late.

At 36 now, I think it’s beyond time to stay the course. To shift the sleep cycle and enjoy the mornings. I never really understood why I enjoyed the night time so much. Maybe my way of avoiding people and isolating but I’m slightly more extroverted and I most definitely get my energy from being around others. When I spend too much time alone I get depressed and I can’t think straight. If you ask those around me, they’d tell you I’m just as productive because I work later but I start my day later too. I am productive but not as much as I am when I “rise and shine” early. There was once a time when I’d stay up well beyond 24 hours to be so tired that I’d go to bed early and I’d reset my internal clock that way. Those days are gone and more Han likely the reason I’m so good at pushing myself to stay up even when my eyes and body are telling me to shut down.

So, if you’re like me… you may need some structure to follow that makes sense for you. My brain loves to play tricks on me. It’s really a human condition. If you can push yourself to stay up… you can push yourself to go to sleep on time. It’s all about actually doing it. Now, I’m tried a million tips and many work for awhile or have worked in the past that do not work today. I’ve learned that your stage in life, history, experiences, trauma(s), and dynamics can and will most likely alter what works for you. Remember, we are always growing, changing, and learning so it’s no wonder that these things shift. If it’s not working, keep at it or shift the technique just a bit. Ultimately, you know you. If you say you’ll do something but allow yourself to not follow through when it’s your own goal… maybe it’s time to fine a way to trick your mind and follow through. For example, I’ll say I NEED to do this or that but I don’t set up the thing I need to do so I can succeed. Like turning the lights off at a certain time at night to help my body to become tired earlier. It’s easier to shut the tv off sooner when I’m tired sooner. And this works! Daylight bulbs are all the craze and if you have all the lights on late at night then your body is thinking it’s day time. You’d be surprised what you can do if you can take a few steps backward to set up your life to complete the goals you want to accomplish. Then you don’t NEED to do anything. You’ll be DOING it!

If you are like others I know and your internal clock is strong… rising at the same time in the mornings no matter what you do… yours may be as simple as focusing on going to bed eight hours before no matter what… if you struggle with that… these tips can still help you.

Before I get to the steps, I want to be clear that your body type, shape, and metabolism say a lot about how you sleep, when you sleep, and how you wake up. Those who have smaller frames and higher metabolism often get up easily and may fall asleep without a hitch. Those people don’t plan to sleep, they just fall asleep but they sleep lightly, may toss and turn, or struggle to stay asleep. Larger or heavier body weight and slower metabolism persons sleep heavier, struggle to wake up, are sluggish once they wake, and often push themselves to stay awake well beyond bedtime. It’s important to remember that what we put in our bodies can lessen or increase these traits in us so if some tips aren’t working at all or as well as you’d like…. its time to alter your eating habits to fit your body type. That is, high metabolism needs heavier foods and drinks before bed to rest or weigh them down to sleep. Slower metabolism requires lighter foods and drinks to jelly he body not be so sluggish in the mornings, wake up happier, and energetic.

10 Tips to Sleep Well and Rise and Shine

1. Eat dinner earlier!

• As I said above, your metabolism speaks volumes as to how you rest. The tip here is to eat earlier to move your schedule to earlier times. I like to think of people in terms of a balloon. Those with higher metabolism need heavier foods to keep them asleep. They are the balloons with helium. They naturally are high energy people and need to be weighed down, grounded. To do this they need a strong paperweight or weight to hold them down. Meaning heavier foods and more to burn through the night. Without having anything to burn (weigh them down) they will rise and float away. Slow metabolizers are the self blown balloons that rest on the floor. They are often VERY grounded people. Almost too grounded that they struggle to wake aka rise. Light, healthy, and whole foods serve as their helium to help them rise from the floor into the sky. Therefore, faster metabolizers need weight to help them stay asleep and should eat heavy meals just before bed. Slower metabolizers can eat the same but much less and much earlier in the day so they can wake easier. However, the best for them is to eat earlier, lighter foods in the evening in order to rise easier in the morning. Now this isn’t ideal for many families but it can be done. Trick I’ve learned: higher metabolizers need more protein and less veggies. The opposite is for the slower ones. Alter this and you’ll do much better.

2. Drink Chamomile tea before bed! Use a little local honey to cure the sweet tooth and stave off illness.

• Yes, it works! Even the smell of it helps to soothe your senses and prepare for bed! Senses are very important. For higher metabolizers, I also recommend using lavender essential oils or lighting a lavender scented candle to help create deeper sleep to stay asleep while slower metabolizers don’t need the help sleeping but they rest sooner. Consuming local honey helps your body adjust to any allergies in the area, helps detox the body while you sleep, and helps support immunity to sickness.

3. Wait to brush your teeth and complete your facial routine just before bed.

• The routine of preparing for bed helps to disconnect from technology and the light that keeps us awake. If you’re like me who still gets on the phone in bed because you think of something else to research… pull the article up and put the phone down. It’ll be there when you wake and it helps trick your brain into thinking you completed the task. If this doesn’t help…. I like to put my phone up and away before my bedtime routine. Then I’m not tempted.

4. Listen to a wind down meditation then sleep sounds. Turn on a box fan that drowns out any other noises.

• High metabolizers and anxious people benefit the most from the box fan because it drowns out any sudden sounds that can wake the light sleeper. Even if you have a ceiling fan, the box fan that’s louder is much more helpful. For slower metabolizers it helps to go into sleep and rest sooner for those who stay up and push themselves to later times.

5. Set your thermostat lower!

• This will differ by person. When I’m active a lot, I need it colder to cool me down but when I’m not active it doesn’t take as much. When I’m not sleeping alone, I also need the ac up because I get hot easier when someone is next to me. There should be a happy medium. I like to sleep at 70° alone and 68° with another. Remember that our bodies keep burning calories at night and high metabolizers will radiate more heat.

6. Don’t pick up your phone when you first wake up!

• More than likely this doesn’t get us up and moving. It slows us down and keeps us from functioning effectively.

7. Have a routine around your waking.

• Make the coffee, walk the dog and feed the cats, open the curtains, and stand in the sun or take in the day by looking out the window.The sun gives us energy and vitamin d to be happy. It’s a good thing to stand and move around. Having pets or kids helps the body remember that you have to get it. Speaking as a person without children… having animals that wake me just before my alarm goes off, meows it lays on my throat if hey are hungry… reminds me to get up and don’t lay back down. The process is a routine and it helps me keep going.

8. Drink a mix of green tea and peppermint tea!

• Both give you energy. I personally enjoy Tazo teas Zen and Refresh together with a little honey. It gives me a boost of energy and I’m ready for the day. Of course this is after my coffee. Buddha teas are really good too. I just haven’t found any that match Refresh so I stay with Tazo.

9. Eat something! Or Hold off!

• You’re probably like....what?! For higher metabolizers they need more food to go! They tend to be more tired when they don’t have anything to burn as opposed to slower metabolizers who store energy and can function on less. Higher metabolizers get tired because their energy stores are depleted so they need to eat often. Slower metabolizers get tired when they eat too much. They function best with less in their system. However, they will become hangry, tired and irritable when it is time to eat and their bodies can’t push any longer. It’s best to keep food intake low in the morning or fast till lunch. We eat for energy to fuel our bodies. Remember the balloons.

10. Move around!

• Don’t stay laying down! Get dressed even if you aren’t going anywhere. Don’t hit snooze! Ladies, go get ready or out on makeup. Don’t allow yourself to talk yourself out of getting up. It may not keep you energized if you didn’t sleep well but it helps you start. As other things shift, it’ll be easier for the slow metabolizer to want to workout or be able to feel good enough to. It’s best for them to increase their burning power and fuel their metabolism. I also love to wash my face, then use a matcha/coffee face wipe, followed with orange essential oil scented moisturizer when I put my makeup on. Perfect pick me up throughout my morning.

11. Drink water!

• I can’t tell you how often I come across this problem. People don’t realize that without water we become sluggish. Too much water and we become sluggish. Did you know that we retain water the most when we are dehydrated?! The body fears being without so it retains what it needs. We are 80% water! Imagine your car not having oil! The food is our gas but the oil keeps things running smoothly. Same for water. Without it we become sluggish, our health deteriorates as our joints become brittle, and we slow down. Water is energy. Water keeps us cool. Ever gotten hot really easy for no reason? Drink water. You’ll be surprised at the outcome.

BONUS: #12 Meditate!

• Yep. You read me right. Meditate. Seems like it’d be the total opposite of waking up but it truly gets the mind focused on the day ahead, creates a happy, joyful, and peaceful foundation for the day, and that gives way to more energy, better focus, and more accomplished! Go ahead and try it.

I finally want to note that high metabolizers may be quick to say they aren’t hungry or don’t feel hungry so they don’t eat even when they are tired in the middle of the day. I’ve worked with hundreds of people who have to make themselves eat something and once they do they feel better. Know your body. The same can be true for those slow metabolizers who have fasted for extended amounts of time or have been physically active a lot so they burn faster and aren’t hungry. If you haven’t eaten for awhile and you’re tired, you may need to fuel your body with sustenance. Heavy or light depending on who you are. Heavier foods are better digested mid day for slower metabolizers.

Hope this has been helpful. Let me know your thoughts. Have you tried these things? Leave me a comment, share, and smile!

Jennifer R. Piper, MS, LCDC, Coach