Want to Ditch the Alarm? Here Are 5 Tips For Waking Up Naturally

While training yourself to wake up without an alarm, the idea is to work with your own internal clock, not against it — because if you're not getting adequate rest, you'll probably need to continue depending on an alarm to wake you up. "Someone with a sleep debt will always have a hard time waking naturally in the morning, or getting into a healthy regular rhythm," Alex Dimitriu, MD, a double board-certified physician in psychiatry and sleep medicine, told POPSUGAR.

The best way to figure out how much sleep your body really needs is to wait for a long weekend or holiday when you don't have any commitments at any particular time in the morning, explained Abhinav Singh, MD, a board-certified sleep physician who serves on the Medical Review Panel for SleepFoundation.org. That way, you can start going to bed when you actually feel tired and wake up when you're fully rested without worrying about whether you'll sleep through your morning meetings.

Experts say that the number one factor in programming yourself to wake up naturally is maintaining a consistent sleep schedule. So, once you've determined your natural sleep-wake cycle and how many hours of shuteye you need, you should start going to bed at the same time every day. "It's just like how you train yourself for certain mealtimes where your body anticipates food and drink, so you start to feel hungry and thirsty at those hours," Dr. Singh said. "If you keep your sleep rhythms consistent, you will crave sleep at a certain hour in the evening and you will wake up much easier in the morning feeling refreshed."

Allison Siebern, PhD, a licenced clinical psychologist certified in behavioural sleep medicine, and head sleep science advisor for Proper, recommends sticking with this schedule even on weekends or days off, when you may be tempted to sleep in. "This avoids confusing the body and throwing off physiological processes that thrive off the routine of a 24-hour day," Dr. Siebern told POPSUGAR.

There are two hormones that play a significant role in sleep: melatonin and cortisol. At night, melatonin levels increase in the body, while cortisol levels fall. In the morning, the opposite happens, and increasing cortisol levels signal to your brain that it's time to rise and shine. Cortisol is commonly known as the stress hormone, and for that reason, it's crucial to avoid any activities that trigger anxiety late at night, explained Allison Brager, PhD, a neuroscientist who studies sleep physiology and sleep specialist for Molecule. That includes doomscrolling through Twitter and watching the news.

Dr. Kansagra also recommends powering down your devices at least 30 minutes before bed (an hour is even better!), because the blue light they emit can mess with your body's natural sleep signals, by suppressing the production of melatonin.

And if you just can't put those devices away at night, Aaron Hartman, MD, a functional medicine physician, suggests downloading f.lux. This app adjusts the display screen to match the warmer colours of your evening environment. "Forcing technology on your eyes all day long until you go to bed is a recipe for sleep disaster," Dr. Hartman told POPSUGAR. "It has huge impacts on your melatonin and cortisol levels and activates your brain to be awake and alert."

Keep in mind that there are lots of "cues" you can use to tell your body it's time to wind down. Using these can help you to get to sleep at the right hour so that you're able to wake up naturally at the time you need to.

According to Hemalee Patel, MD, a physician at One Medical, it's important to avoid caffeine in the six hours leading up to bedtime, and to try not to eat or drink alcohol two to three hours before you plan to go to sleep. She also recommends making sure your bedroom is cool (around 65 degrees) and clutter-free, and using noise reduction devices if needed.

Even your workout routine can have an impact on your ability to wake up naturally on a consistent basis. "Exercise is crucially important for sleep cycles," Dr. Hartman told POPSUGAR. "Our bodies were designed to work eight to 10 hours a day, so when you don't work enough, you don't burn off enough cortisol and calories, and you don't produce enough muscle-based enzymes and hormones." Consider this just one more reason to squeeze in a morning or afternoon workout.

Still having a hard time drifting off when you want to? Dr. Singh recommends creating a wind-down routine — his go-to includes showering, journaling, reading, and breathing exercises for 10 to 15 minutes for each, prior to hitting the hay. "You can train yourself in an almost Pavlovian way to allow your body to see these activities as a precursor to sleep," he said.