One thing I didn't consider when becoming a nurse was the horrid early mornings I would have to endure. For the first few months I barely survived. My body was like "no, NO, don't wake up this early it's unnatural, please just go back to sleep K?!".

I've now been doing nursing for well over a year and I've been able to find some things which make waking up SO much easier. I hope these tips are actually practical/useful!

1. Leave your curtains open
I have found sleeping with my curtains open make it a lot easier to wake up in the morning as some natural light is already being let in and my body has it's chance to naturally wake up. In winter this doesn't work so well as it's usually pitch black but in the warmer months this is very helpful. Waking up naturally is the goal because it means you are less likely to end up the stingy tired eyes from waking up by an alarm.

2. Give yourself a lot of time 
Don't be that person who thinks it's achievable to shower, apply make-up, pack your lunch, get into a uniform, have breakfast in 15 minutes. The key is to give yourself a decent time so you're able to slowly wake up as the morning gets on, rather than having to leave in a hurried rush. I usually leave myself 45 minutes - 1 hour to get ready as it gives my time to get into a good zone before work/commitments.

3. Get into a routine
This is key. I wake up at 4.45am, go on my phone for 15 minutes to check emails, news etc, at 5am I go and make myself a coffee and toast and then I go on my laptop and watch either an episode of something (like Brooklyn Nine Nine) or youtube. At 5.20 I shower, then apply my make-up and get changed. By 5.50 I am set to leave for work. Now you don't have to do this exact thing but by giving yourself a lot of time and establishing a routine it means you can effectively manage time in the morning thereby making it more bearable.

4. *Try* to get to bed earlier 
Don't roll your eyes at me, I know this is an obvious one haha. But yeah, go to bed earlier so you don't wake up tired in the morning with sore eyes. You'll never be a morning person if you wake up feeling tired every day. Try and get your eight hours cause sleep is goooood. 

5. Music
Now I don't know if there's any research for this but personally I find listening to music in the morning puts me in a good mood for the day and makes the morning feel a lot nicer. So make yourself a playlist which will brighten your day.

6. COFFEE
Enough said.