"I Can’t Get Out of Bed in the Morning" - Possible Solutions

Introduction

I think we all know the feeling. The alarm goes off and it feels like a mistake. Even if you’ve chosen one of your favorite songs to play as the alarm, you gradually start to hate the song more and more each morning.

Your body feels heavy, and you just can’t imagine getting out of bed at all. You imagine staying in bed all day long, sinking into the mattress to finally get the rest you deserve.

But instead of giving in, day after day you get out of bed and slog through your morning routine. After all, you need to get to work, take care of your family, or just run through the errands on your to-do list.

But maybe there comes a time when you just can’t do it anymore, when you say to yourself, “I can’t get out of bed in the morning.”

Hopefully, it will help you to know that you’re not alone. Whether the underlying problem is a lack of motivation or just a lack of sleep, we’re going to take a look at how you can make it a bit easier to hop out of bed when that alarm sounds.

Is the Problem Physical or Psychological?

Before getting started, it’s important to stop for a moment and ask yourself what the underlying problem is.

For example, the real problem may be purely physical. If you’re just not getting enough sleep because of a hectic work schedule or a young child or a pet in the house, then the answer is fairly simple.

But it could be that the problem is one of motivation, or lack thereof.

Potential Physical Causes

One of the most common causes of being unable to wake up each morning is simply not getting enough sleep each night.

It’s important to remember that your amounts of rest are cumulative. How tired you feel each day is the result of your sleep habits of the past several weeks, if not months. It’s not entirely dependent on how much sleep you had last night.

Adults should aim to sleep at least 8 hours each night. College and high school students should aim for more than 8 hours each night.

Another potential physiological problem is waking up during REM sleep (the deepest phase of sleep).

Sleep cycles play a major role in how rested you feel. Waking up during a shallow stage of sleep can help you feel much more energetic and motivated right when you wake up.

In contrast, waking up during a deep phase of sleep can result in a form of intense anxiety that is caused by hormonal shifts that take place while you’re sleeping.

One way to combat sleep cycle problems is to use a sleep cycle alarm clock, which does its best to wake you up in line with your natural sleep rhythm.

Potential Psychological Causes

Feeling like you can’t get out of bed isn’t always because you haven’t been getting enough sleep. It could also be caused by a number of psychological problems, from normal stress to more severe instances of anxiety and depression.

Let’s take a quick example. Let’s say you dislike your job, and that it requires you to wake up at 6 AM every day.

If you don’t enjoy your job, then you’re likely to feel a lack of purpose in your daily life. And when you don’t feel a sense of purpose, it’s difficult to motivate yourself to do anything at all.

It can even make it difficult to do things that will sustain your existence, like eating and going to work.

Or, you may feel so intimidated by your workplace that you’re simply afraid to go into work at all, worried that you’ll be fired for not meeting deadlines or following procedures.

Or maybe you've just been working too much lately.

If you find yourself without the necessary motivation to get out of bed, regardless of how much sleep you’ve been getting, then you may want to speak with a doctor or therapist who can determine whether you should pursue forms of treatment.

The Importance of Getting Enough Sleep

Getting plenty of sleep can help resolve many different health problems, from physical ailments to psychological stresses and anxieties.

It’s definitely not a blanket solution for your problems, and it’s not a guarantee that you’ll want to get out of bed in the morning, but getting plenty of sleep is certainly a step in the right direction.

Try to set a bedtime for yourself that you can meet consistently. You don’t need to abandon your social life to make sure you get enough sleep, but it’s important to grasp the consequences of staying out late on a regular basis.

If you regularly have trouble staying asleep, then you may want to look into home remedies such as banana peel tea or using a weighted blanket that can help you feel secure and prevent waking up in the middle of the night.

Staying Motivated

If you’ve found that your main problem is a lack of motivation, then it may be time to look into ways in which you can improve your life as a whole.

For example, if your job is a major source of stress and demotivation, then you can start looking for a new job in your free time.

We advise against quitting right away, but knowing your personal limits is very important.

Set goals for yourself, even if they’re only minor goals for cleaning your home and eating healthy.

When you achieve these goals, you’ll feel much more motivated to set loftier goals in the near future.

Find a Schedule that Works for You

Above all else, you should try to find a schedule that works for you.

Your schedule should serve your interests, not the other way around. If you have difficulty creating a healthy daily schedule, consider speaking with friends or even a life coach, who can help you determine your priorities and stick with them on a consistent basis.

Once you find a schedule you’re comfortable with, you’ll likely feel much better about how you’re spending your time.