Getting Out of Bed: Snooze Mindfulness

Getting out of bed when our alarm goes off is tough. You know you shouldn’t hit snooze, but It’s an impulsive moment when our judgment is weak. I’m here to tell you that you can and should hit snooze. Do it every day. But, once you hit it, make sure you do this next:

Waking mindfulness

When you wake up and hit snooze, don’t try to fall back asleep. Instead, once you hit snooze, start to appreciate how comfortable your are. Feel the touch of the covers on your skin. Feel the warmth of your blankets and the softness of your pillow. Feel your breath come in and your chest rising. Wiggle your toes and fingers. Stretch out your legs and enjoy the fact you’re still laying down.

Keep your attention on these feelings. The more you can appreciate and enjoy how comfortable you are, the more awake you will start to feel. You may not feel ready to jump out of bed, but your mind will now feel alive. Once your snoozed alarm goes off again, it’s time to get up!

Try not to check email when you’re lying down. You’ve already done yourself a huge favor by starting your day in a mindful way, so try to wait before you plug in to a barrage of email and social media. Your mind is most clear right when you wake up. A sure way to ruin that is by looking at all of your news feeds.

This strategy does a few important things:

1. It starts the day with mindfulness. Are you someone who doesn’t have time to meditate every day? Well this is an incredible way to start. Make the snooze mindfulness trick a ritual. You will have baked mindfulness into your day and it will never feel like a chore.
2. Starting your day with gratitude. One of the most important parts of this strategy is appreciating how comfortable you are. You have to feel grateful for the fact that you are indoors and warm. If we can be grateful for this every morning, our days will be off on the right foot.
3. It’s realistic. I often hear bloggers and influencers talking about how they jump out of bed in the morning because they love what they do. Apparently they’re energized the second they wake up. I’m excited for every day,  but that’s just not how I feel when my alarm goes off. It’s much better for my routine if I can wake up slowly and mindfully. It’s unrealistic to say, “don’t hit snooze just jump straight out of bed!”
4. You’re hitting snooze, but not sleeping more. Research has shown that hitting snooze and sleeping is not good for us. This strategy takes an impulsive desire and makes it a helpful habit.

I’ve recently found that this strategy that consistently allows me to get out of bed in less than 10 minutes, and it leaves me feeling good. I wake up energized, appreciative and happy. My mind is clear and I’m far more prepared to take on what happens during the rest of the day.