Teaching Team

Wake Me Up! Part 2

A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog about my difficulty within getting out of bed in the morning (see here). It generated a lot of helpful responses (and empathy) from our blog readers.

I took these suggestions to heart and began implementing some of them. I'm happy to say my mornings have been much better thanks to the advice of our readers. I right up this morning and had two hours to prepare for my day.

So that others might benefit from this advice, I want to share the results of my experiment with my morning routine.

Here’s what works for me (remember, I’m no doctor, but I had have a lot of experience with sleep).

1. Have a plan – This is the biggest part. Set your mind on developing a rock solid routine in the morning. Pump yourself up for it. Live it, breathe it, think about it constantly. If you want to read Scripture, pray longer, have more time to eat breakfast, think about it throughout the day. Long for it. Desire it. (Wouldn’t it be so nice if…) This way, your mind will slowly commit to it even in your subconscious mind. This is important because it is the subconscious routine that gets your body up out of bed when your mind is still foggy and half asleep. You may even need to do what I did and chart out your morning routine minute by minute. (i.e. 6 am - get up; 6:10 - get in shower, etc.) Sticking to the same routine will help you as well.

2. Start going to bed early – At least to start this routine. In reality, you probably won’t be able to get to bed early every night. But in order to start this routine, you need to do it for a while. Then, those nights when you do have to stay up later, you will still have the routine and still get up. Then the next night you can get to bed a little earlier, since you’ll be a little more tired.

3. Don’t stay up too late or sleep in on weekends – With later Havdalah (end of Sabbath) times during the summer, it messes up my sleep schedule. Saturday night will last until 12-1am. Then, I’ll want to sleep til 10 on Sunday, but then I’m not sleepy until 12-1am on Sunday night, which makes getting up on Monday hard. Going to bed around the same time (esp. now since Havdalah times are eariler) will really help solidify the routine.

4. Be accountable – My wife keeps me accountable to my routine. We have a schedule that is interdependent on one another. I get up and shower, while she exercises. Then, I get dressed and pray while she gets cleaned up. I get done praying and make breakfast while she prays. Then we eat together and read the Chofetz Chaim (see the Torah Club Dictionary) If I don’t get up, I not only mess up the schedule, and interfere with my prayer routine, but I might possibly prevent my wife from being able to have time to pray (which I don’t want on my head!) This motivates me to get up and get going.

5. No computer or TV in bed – We don’t have a TV in the bedroom, but I’m known to get one last check of the email for the day while in bed. Bad idea. Something about the stimulation of the bright screen keeps me from feeling tired. There’s probably some medical reason behind this, but all I know is that computer before bed equals no sleepy time.

6. Avoid the snooze button like the plague – Whoever invented the snooze button doomed many to a life of rushed mornings and late arrivals to work. Don’t use it. Don’t even think of it as an option. If you can, disable it or get an alarm without one. For me, I had to ween myself off of it. Today, I only hit it once and then I got up at alarm 2. Tomorrow, I go cold turkey. You should too.

7. Pray about it - Though it may seem like too mundane a thing to pray about your sleep, it really isn't. Nothing that concerns you is too petty for God. Obviously, if your morning routine does not allow for more spiritual devotion, it is a matter of great concern to the Father. Pray that God would give you the extra determination to get out of bed and get on your way. Pray that he would make you more disciplined to get to bed earlier if you need to. Just pray for His intervention; He will.

These are just suggestions, take them or leave them. These are what I have found to helpful in my life. They may not be in yours (except for prayer, obviously).

Some of you may ask, “What in the world does a sleep schedule have to do with spiritual matters?” It’s a fair question, but I think a good sleep routine is conducive to a healthy spiritual life.

When we submit to God in Messiah, the control of our lives is handed over to the service of the King. We are slaves, pure and simple. Slaves don’t have the option to get up whenever they want. Or if you prefer, we are soldiers. Soldiers get up when the commander says to; there’s no arguing about it. It seems rising early goes hand in hand with service.

Furthermore, we must adequately prepare for the day set before us. Each day in the Temple, the altar had to be arranged and prepared and then the sacrifice was made. As living sacrifices (Romans 12), we must prepare ourselves for a day of service for the King.

I’m not saying early risers are more godly than later risers. Everyone has a different schedule. What matters is how we prepare ourselves. Whether you get up at 4:00 am or 9:00 am, be sure that you are spiritually fed for the day. It’s commonly said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, perhaps our morning service of God is the most important regimen of the day.

“In the morning, O LORD, You will hear my voice; in the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch.” Psalm 5:3

Grace and peace,
Seth Dralle
24 Cheshvan 5768

About the Author: Seth Dralle worked in the fulfillment and shipping department and as a research and teaching assistant for FFOZ. He also contributed to messiah magazine, the Monthly eRosh and the Torah Club Online Dictionary.