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Do you always wake up groggy? There is a solution for that.
Scientists think they’ve found a foolproof three-step formula to turn sluggishness into a refreshed morning feeling.
Although it’s only three factors, some might find it a little difficult considering it involves exercise and avoiding sugar.
University of California researchers believe the key to feeling refreshed in the morning is a combination of vigorous exercise, seven to nine hours of sleep, and a high-carb, low-sugar breakfast.
“We know there are people who always seem to have bright eyes and busy tails when they first wake up,” said author Professor Matthew Walker. “But when you think you’re not like that, you tend to think, ‘Well, I guess it’s just my genetic destiny that I’m slow to wake up. There’s really nothing I can do about it other than using the stimulant chemical caffeine, which can interfere with sleep.
“But our results offer a different and more optimistic message,” he continued.
Published in the journal Nature Communications, the formula was put together after analyzing hundreds of people.
While research showed that strenuous exercise helps sleepyheads, the scientists couldn’t pinpoint exactly why — but they did find that it tires a person and is a known mood-booster.
“Physical activity in general is known to improve your alertness and also your mood,” said Dr. Raphael Vallat, co-author and postdoc of the study.
The researchers found a high correlation between mood and alertness, with those who were happier on average also being more alert.
“It may be that better sleep induced by exercise is part of the reason that exercising the day before helps by helping you sleep that night and leading to superior alertness the next day,” Vallat said.
While seven to nine hours of sleep is ideal, even a little more can help. Sleeping in — staying in bed after waking up — can also help stave off that foggy feeling, Walker says.
Getting the recommended amount of sleep and extra quality sleep can rid the body of “sleep sluggishness”—impaired cognitive and sensorimotor performance upon waking. Getting enough sleep also helps rid the body of a chemical called adenosine, which makes us tired and builds up throughout the day.
Sleeping in late can also help with alertness.
“Considering that the majority of people in society don’t get enough sleep during the week, getting more sleep on any given day can help clear some of the adenosine sleepiness debt they carry,” Walker said.
Participants also received different meals for breakfast, kept food diaries for two weeks, and wore watches to record physical activity, sleep amount, quality, time, and regularity. They also self-recorded their levels of alertness from the moment they woke up and throughout the day.
All of the prepackaged breakfasts were centered around a muffin and packed with different nutrients. Some had just a muffin, while others were paired with items like chocolate milk, a protein shake, or fiber bars. Some also received a dose of glucose.
Participants were asked to fast eight hours before breakfast and three to four hours after eating. They also wore a blood glucose meter.
The researchers wanted to test the breakdown of breakfast meals high in sugar, protein and carbohydrates. A high-carb, low-sugar breakfast has been discovered as the best meal to wake up alert.
Breakfasts high in sugar made participants feel the worst, as it can spike blood sugar levels, which negatively impacts the brain’s ability to return to wakefulness.
“Eating a high-carb breakfast can increase alertness, as long as your body is healthy and able to efficiently dispose of the glucose from that meal and prevent a sustained spike in blood sugar that would otherwise dull your brain’s alertness,” said Dr. Vallat.
While most people assume that morning sleepiness is nothing more than an annoying part of our lives, Walker shared that it actually “costs developed nations billions of dollars each year in lost productivity, increased health care utilization, and absenteeism from the workplace.”
He also said that morning drowsiness can be deadly, leading to car accidents and work-related incidents.
“As scientists, we need to understand how we can help society wake up better and help reduce the deadly cost of society’s current struggle to wake up effectively every day,” Walker said.
“How you wake up each day is largely under your own control based on how you structure your life and sleep.”
