Some people just can’t handle mornings. The sun seems to burn their skin and they are so groggy they can only tolerate coffee for breakfast. Are you the kind of person who needs to snooze more than 5 times every morning? Those extra minutes of sleep are the best and you won’t trade them for anything. You’re so attached to your snooze button that you’ve accidentally turned off your alarm altogether before. Yes, you’ve been late because of that pesky snooze button and because you’re so attached to your precious bed. Don’t worry, it’s not your bed that’s the problem. You don’t need to sleep on a rock or get an alarm that punches you in the face each morning.

Is there a way to become more of a morning person? Well, yes and no. Your body has a natural rhythm so if you’re a true night owl you may never really become a morning person, but you can try to get accustomed to early wake up calls. You can, at least, become the type of person who doesn’t want to murder others before the clock hits noon. We’ve got 15 tips to help you tackle mornings with a little more grace and elegance.

15. Don’t Rely On Coffee To Wake You Up

Don’t rely on caffeine to perk you up in the morning. It’s not guaranteed to work. Relying on a quick fix is never the answer. If you’re tired in the morning, to the point where you can’t keep your eyes open, a cup of joe just isn’t the answer to your problems. Relying on caffeine might even backfire. You might find yourself crashing later in the morning because that jolt of java isn’t going to last forever. Caffeine withdrawal might even suddenly hit you on the days where you forget to brew a cup or the coffee machine breaks at work. That’s not to say you can’t enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning. Go right ahead! If you enjoy the taste of a hot brewed cup, you should make sure to fit that into your day. If the caffeine has a negative effect on you, consider decaf!

14. Use The Sun

You can try waking up naturally by using natural light. If you don’t need to wake up in the darkest hours of the morning, you can simply use the actual sunrise to kickstart your wake cycle. Our bodies respond to sunlight so a bit of sunshine will alert your body that it’s no longer time to sleep. There’s a slight problem, though. It’s a good idea to sleep in complete darkness. You’ll get a more restful sleep experience if there are no lights interfering with your slumber. So how can you keep your blinds shut, yet still enjoy the morning sunrise? There’s the option of a sun simulator, as we mentioned. There’s also such a thing as programmable blinds. You can program them to open at whatever hour you desire. Pretty neat.

13. Or Get A Sunrise Simulator

If you’re an unlucky person who has to wake up before the sun rises, you might want to think about investing in a sunrise simulator. Replace that old alarm clock that you’ve come to hate and wake up happily again. Sunrise simulators are meant to mimic the gradual brightening of the sun. You can set the intervals yourself. So you can decide if you want the sunrise to last for fifteen, twenty, or thirty minutes. The idea is for you to wake up without a blaring alarm, the ever brightening light wakes you up slowly so you don’t wake up feeling like a truck ran you over. You might even wake up feeling a bit happier.

12. Get Used To Waking Up Naturally

A sunrise simulator is one way to achieve a more natural waking routine. But you have to get your body used to this change. You need to get used to waking up gradually and naturally. Think of the weekends when you wake up without an alarm. There’s no sound or person shocking you to your wakeful state. You wake up feeling refreshed instead of feeling angry and annoyed at the world. Isn’t that the way you want to live your life? Trust us, it’s a way better way to start the day. You’ll feel more content and at peace with the world.

11. Get Rid Of That Blaring Alarm

Throw it out. Burn it. Or maybe, just change the tone that’s waking you up. That’s a start. When you wake up to the sound of screeching monkeys or a loud buzzer, it’s not exactly a peaceful way to come out of a deep sleep. Jarring yourself awake is not the best tactic to get yourself up in the morning. Chances are if your alarm is an unpleasant sound you probably hate waking up in the mornings. You might even find yourself throwing that alarm clock (or your phone) on the other side of the room. Try choosing a more calming sound to wake up to. Birds chirping, a relaxing song, or spa sounds. Make sure it’s loud enough for you to hear and you’ll find waking up way more pleasant.

10. Go To Bed Earlier

This is an obvious one. If you’re trying to wake up early, you should go to bed early. But it’s not that simple. You can’t exactly force yourself to climb into bed if you’re not tired. You’ll likely spend some mornings forcing yourself to slog out of bed without having gotten enough sleep. Keep at it. Eventually, you’ll start to feel tired earlier in the evening. Resetting your internal clock is tricky business, but with some persistence you can manage to change the times you go to bed and wake up. A tip for making sleep easier, is to make your bedroom a sanctuary. Get rid of electronics, get a good set of blinds, and make sure you’ve got a comfy pillow and mattress.

9. Find Out About Your Natural Sleep Rhythms

There’s a neat tool on the New York Times website that allows you to find out what kind of sleeper you are. You can find out whether you truly are a morning person or not. It’s true that some folks are simply better functioning at different hours of the day. Knowing that information, even if it’s not what you want to hear, is important. Fighting your natural rhythms is probably not a helpful exercise, but you can learn to work with them. There’s also another tool, called sleepyti.me bedtime calculator, that allows you to figure out the best wake time for your bedtime. It tells you, depending on your bedtime, what time of the morning (or whenever you’ll be waking up) you’ll be in a lighter sleep stage. This means that you’ll be awoken during a time that will enable you to avoid feeling groggy while you eat your Cheerios.

8. Discover A Morning Routine You Enjoy

If your morning routine consists of rushing around the house to find your briefcase, it’s likely that you don’t exactly look forward to mornings. Of course, you hate mornings! You’re spending your early morning hours in a bad mood and in a state of stress. If you want to look forward to your mornings, try to find a routine that makes you happy. It can be the smallest morning activity, as long as it brings joy to your day. Maybe you really love a cappuccino. Make that a part of every morning. Maybe you love playing Sudoku. Have a few puzzles stuck to the fridge so you can spend your morning firing up your brain.

7. Get A Dog

Of course, you should only get a dog if you actually want one and if you have the time and patience to care for a pet. If you have a dog, chances are you’re going to be forced to become a morning person. Dogs need to be walked, fed, and usually want to wake up before you. If you have any kind of desire to be a good person, you’ll want to wake up for your dog so you can keep it alive and give it all the love it deserves. Were pretty sure that waking up to a dog licking your face is pretty great. Waking up feeling like you’re loved unconditionally? That’s the stuff.

6. Make Breakfast Ahead Of Time

Remember when we talked about how rushing is really unpleasant? If you’re rushing around, you’re sure to feel like your mornings are horrible. Try to find ways to improve your morning efficiency so you can actually manage to enjoy that time. You might find that laying out your clothes the night before is a good strategy. Maybe for you it’s prepping your bag the evening before. Maybe you prefer to shower the night before to avoid the temptation of a long hot morning shower. Another way to have a more efficient morning, without rushing, is to prep your breakfast in advance. If you head over to Pinterest, you can find loads of recipes and ideas for make ahead breakfasts. Freezer burritos, oatmeal, fruit salad, to name a few.

5. Make It A Habit

Making something a habit takes a bit of determination and hard work. You can’t simply declare that you’re going to be a morning person. Forming the habit will take some time. If you stick to it and manage to make waking up at your desired time a regular thing, you’ll be making it a habit in no time at all. You might find yourself experiencing bumps along the way, but keep at it. Think of all the things in your life that have become habit (not the bad habits!) and recall how you got so used to doing those things. It takes a bit of time and patience and you’ll get there. Don’t worry.

4. Make Exercise A Part Of Your Morning Routine

Try to make exercise a part of your morning routine. Exercising should be an important part of your life regardless. Being physically active has a bevy of benefits that can improve your life and extend it as well. Your exercise routine doesn’t have to be vigorous. Enjoying a brisk morning walk is the perfect way to start revving up your mornings. If you’re already exercising but find your evening workouts tiring and draining, maybe moving those sweat sessions to the mornings is a good idea. Getting things accomplished first thing in the morning is a great way to start your day and motivate you to kick ass everyday following.

3. Stick To A Wake Up Time

Stick to a wake up time. This is important. We tend to spend our weekdays having trouble hitting the hay early. Then, we spend our mornings in a perpetual state of grogginess. The thought of weekday mornings fill many of us with a sense of dread. Every morning feels like torture. The blaring alarm, the depressing darkness, and the toast you burnt because you were rushing. All signs that you’re doing it all wrong. You should make sure that you’re waking up at the same time on weekends. Sleeping in a Sunday morning feels good. But it’s only necessary if you’ve been lacking sleep all week. Try to maintain a steady schedule. It will do wonders for your mind, soul, and morning routine.

2. Quit Napping

Unless your sick and your body needs extra sleep to recuperate, stop napping. Resist the temptation to snooze in the afternoon or early evening. Do not snuggle in that blanket and close your eyes just before dinner. You must stay awake. Napping is only going to screw with your natural sleep cycles. You’re likely going to end up wide eyed at your regular bedtime. You’ll wonder why you’re totally awake at 11 p.m. and you’ll curse that nap when you have to wake up a few hours later to get to work. A short nap isn’t usually a problem. But, really, who the heck only naps for 15 to 30 minutes? Yeah, exactly.

1. Find An App To Help You

There’s are a ton of apps out there for those of you who want to get used to being morning people. Your smartphone might even come equipped with features to help with sleep hygiene and help you figure out why your sleep quality is poor. There are alarm clock apps that aim to wake you up in lighter stages of sleep. There are apps to track your sleep patterns and provide you with suggestions on how to improve your sleep. There are white noise apps that can help you drown out your spouse’s snoring. There are even cheap sunrise simulator apps that can help you to wake up gently in the dark winter mornings.

Sources: Everyday Health, TIME.com, The New Yorker, Sleep.org