Scool-ish Type Problem

[Ather]

Alright, so my school isn't really bad. Sure, I can't stand most of the people in it and some of the teachers get on my nervs a lot but I can handle that. My main problem is having to get up at 6-630am to get ready for school.

Sure, that's not bad to most people but I'm not a morning person at all. I HATE getting up anytime before 8ish. I have such a hard time getting motivated to get ready for school. It takes me maybe 10-20 mins to get dressed, brush my teeth, fix my hair, eat breakfast, what not, simple things like that. But having to get up so early in the morning just throws all that stuff out of balance. I'll loaf around for a good 15 mins or so and just do nothing. And after doing that I usually have no interest in going to school that day and I'll make myself think I'm sick for whatever reason, call my mom to have her call me in sick, and stay home. I really don't like doing this but I can't help it for whatever reason. I have no motivation.

But I guess my question is, do you guys have any sort of advice to help me out here? I dont like missing school, I want to be able to graduate and not become a high school drop out like all of my sisters. Any sort of help you guys can give, I would love. You guys are good at this stuff :D

Thanks so much!

[Dilorenzo]

I'd help, but being a graveyard shifter, I have no real special advice- just try going to bed earlier, make sure you get eight hours sleep, and it should be a little easier. I say a little easier, cause getting up early has always been a pain for me.
Hope things get better for you though- if you really want it, you should be able to do it.

[TheShadowFox]

There are steps to take to make it easier for you to get up in the morning. I used to be like you when I was younger, but now I'm 32 & my job is from 6:30am-3pm (alarm clock at 5:45am). I still like the sleep in on my days off, but the key factor for getting up earlier is making sure you're rested.

You didn't say what your nighttime habits are, but I'd bet you have a hard time getting to sleep before 11-12 o'clock at night. Crazy as it sounds, you should really be going to sleep at 9:30-10pm to properly be rested for a 6am wake-up. If you're willing to try this out for a couple weeks, here's some tips to help you change your routine:

Try not to eat anything at all after about 7:30-8pm. Digestion takes energy & can temporarily make you sleepier, but the result is an increase in overall energy a couple hours later.

Do not eat or drink caffeinated or sugary products at all after about 6pm. This will ensure that the energy-boosting effects of these sources aren't effecting you any more by your set bedtime.

Get anything that you need to do (ie Homework or chores) done earlier. Doing fun things right after school tends to be the norm, and procrastinating obligations until after dinner as well, but then you tend to be crankier & less focused on completing the tasks this way. If you have everything done first, then spend the hours before bed doing enjoyable things, you'll be in a better, more satisfied state when bedtime rolls around, allowing you to fall asleep easier instead of having nagging thoughts about things you didn't complete well.

While it's cliche, eating healthy foods & being physically fit really does help your mental state. If you're treating your body well, you will have more energy & a more positive outlook on life in general. Your confidence & charisma increase and things like getting up at 6am stop being that big of a deal. This last one is sort of a longer-term thing rather than just something new to try, but it's really true.

I hope any of this helps. You already noticed a problem (being too tired to get up in the morning) and are aware of the effects (missing school, bad grades in the future), so now you just have to have a willingness to change things about your life to correct the problem. Good luck, and let us know how things go.

[Ather]

Yeah, I normally do have a hard time feeling tired or sleeping before 11. But I'm usually in bed trying to sleep by 11. I try not to drink caffein anytime past 6 so I've been good on doing that. It's help some already.

I usually have a later night snack mode that gets turned on around 8 or 9ish. So I'll have to keep in mind not to eat and make sure I eat more before that time. It's just always been a habit for me.

I've been getting ready to set up myself an exercise routine lately. Will be starting tomorrow. School helps out with that as well since I am in a Gym class. I try to eat as healthy as I can, but since my mother and I don't always have a lot of money to buy the more healthy foods I dont always get a chance to but I will do my best there.

I should be ablet o get myself on bed around 10ish. I've just always gone to bed normally at 11 but I don't think it will be that hard to change that habit.

Thanks for all the advice. I'll work on it asap. Hopefully this will help me out a lot

[Kaylen]

When I had this problem, I started going to sleep when I got home and waking up around 1 or 2am. I find I'm always groggy (generally no matter how much or how little sleep I get) for four or more hours in the morning, and if I'm put in a mildly hot room with a teacher who has a monotonous voice, my textbook begins to look like a very comfortable pillow. So I change my schedule so that I'm going to school after a relative noon.

I do the same with college now. At one point I was waking up an hour before I had class (which at the time was 6pm) and had the same problem I had in earlier levels of education. But then I've had parents that allow for an awful lot of freedom. Well, my mother didn't, but all she'd really do is yell that my erratic schedule wasn't healthy and I'd die of sleep deprevation (because sleeping at odd times meant I wasn't getting enough sleep?) and I really just ignored her (warning: not sound advice, especially if your mother isn't insane).

[Billybobtheranger]

And then...Realize , That Highschool is only 3 to 4 years....and if you go to college, you can wake up whenever you want and do half the work and get more from it :)