The Slow Morning Solution for Night Owls

 
Today is a cozy, slow living one here at MeetJeanine.me.

Four slow living posts are up already and this one is the final one, today. The first posts describe and explain the slow living philosophy and lifestyle and then, several do the same for cozy, slow morning routines.

It's that last idea we'll take a closer look at in this post, as a solution for night owls. If you're a night owl mom, who does battle with mornings because life won't let you sleep in, take a look at slow mornings to see if they might help.

But first, here are the other posts in the series ...

The Slow Living Lifestyle and Philosophy
Slow Living for Women of Faith
How Do You Want Your Mornings to Feel?
Tea and Meditation: Tea Ritual Ideas
The Slow Morning Solution for Night Owls

To download all of the slow living posts in a free printable pdf & bonus getting started checklist, plus bonus information about slow living for families, go to The Slow Living eBook.

If you’re naturally a night owl, dragging yourself out of bed early is challenge enough. There’s no need to add meditation, journaling, a five mile run and a head start on emails on top of that. If mornings are hard, your morning routine should be easy. - Beth Swarecki,
A Night Owl's Guide to Surviving Early Mornings

Are You a Night Owl?

I know I've mentioned on this blog before that I am, so if you are, too, then you have my sympathy. I know what it's like to be staring down an unbelievably late bedtime because you're just not sleepy yet. And then, being forced to greet morning far earlier than you want.

And morning might be an even bigger challenge if you're a mom with young children who are usually bright-eyed and bushy-tailed long before you're ready to concede that morning has arrived.

So how can those of us who are night owls wrest control of our mornings from our late nights? ...

Being a morning (or evening) person is inborn, genetic and very hard to change. "What I think we’re showing here is that there’s some sort of importance about us ideally being able to work, wake, and match up our schedule as best as we can to what we are biologically suited for," Patricia Wong, as told to Brian Resnick, Vox.com

The Slow Morning Solution: Don't Force Yourself to Get Going too Quickly

For struggling night owl moms, who have to get up too early, design your morning routines to be as easy as possible. I'm not sure that means you can't do meditation or journaling, as the first quote suggests, or anything you want, as long as it works for you.

But give yourself the amount of time you need to come to life, no matter how long that is, before demanding anything of yourself that will challenge you unduly.

Slow mornings, as I have come to understand them, are morning routines for moms (or anyone) during which you don't rush through getting ready and you take the time for self-care or other experiences you'll enjoy as you gradually wake up fully and become more alert.

They can last 15 minutes or 2 hours or can include the entire morning - how long the routine is designed to last would depend on your needs and your schedule for that day. My slow morning routine usually lasts for 3 hours, and then, I feel much more ready to face whatever comes next in my day.

And slow mornings can include beginning the day later, when you can do that, as mine sometimes do. Creating a slow morning routine may help in many ways to make mornings easier for night owls.

But hitting the snooze button as many times as you want is likely to be a mistake. Especially if you have to go in to work.

Because when you do that, you leave yourself with no time to adjust to the fact that it's morning before you thrust yourself out into the middle of it. What if you got up earlier, but had plenty of time to actually wake up?

I have tried it both ways - giving myself plenty of time before working outside the home or at home, and sometimes I got ready first and then allowed myself free time before working and other times, I gave myself time to do nothing, and then I got ready for the day.

For me, it's the second strategy that works the best. If I have a cup of tea, have a quiet time, read or do other things that don't require any movement, I get the time I need to move later with much more coordination. :)

But for others, gentle movement like yoga or stretching might be a better way to wake up gradually. That's why I don't think there is any one way, except your way.

I do think, though, that forcing yourself to rush and giving yourself very little time to wake up is unkind, if you're not a morning person. So my question for you, night owl moms, is what would be kinder for you?

And is there one change you could try to see if it helps?

Consider adapting the slow morning routine idea to fit your own morning situation.

And speaking of your morning situation, tell me in a comment what your morning routine is like. Is it challenging?

See you tomorrow!

Love, Jeanine