Seven tips to help you wake up in the morning

If you're not a "morning person," getting out of bed when the alarm goes off each day can feel like torture. Everyone has their tricks for waking up and greeting the day – from turning on the lights to pounding cups of coffee – but if you're looking for a way to start your morning that won't have you cursing whomever decided that it was unacceptable for the work day to begin later than 9 a.m., try out these helpful tips:

1. Go to bed when you're tired
Listen to your body, and go to bed when you begin to feel tired each night. This way you'll get a good night's sleep instead of lying awake and tossing and turning for hours. The better you sleep, the more refreshed you'll feel when you wake up.

2. Mentally prepare
Make the decision to get up early before you go to bed, and hold yourself to it. In order to mentally prepare for rising early, give yourself a good reason to wake up on time, whether it's making pancakes or seeing your kids off to school.

3. Avoid technology
Surfing the web or watching television before bed can be stimulating and make it difficult to fall asleep. To rid yourself of the temptation, remove the TV from your bedroom and use an alarm clock to help you wake up instead of your cell phone.

4. Use your body clock
If you're having trouble getting out of bed in the morning, you may not be getting the natural amount of sleep that your body needs.Try using the Sleep Cycle alarm clock app to make sure you wake up during your lightest sleep cycle.

5. Move your alarm
Take your alarm clock and plug it in across the room. Forcing yourself to get out of bed to turn it off each morning will make it more likely that you actually stay out of bed and begin your day. Don't hit snooze, either.

6. Be active
Exercise is a great way to get an energy boost in the morning. Home fitness treadmills like the TRUE Fitness M30 treadmill that come with pre-programmed workouts make it easy to get up and go without putting too much thought into your exercise routine as you wake up.

7. Stick to a schedule
To program your body to stop resenting the mornings, you'll need to stick to a consistent sleep schedule, both during the week and on weekends. If you train your body to wake up at a certain time each day, eventually it won't be so painful.