Your Wake Up Call Without Caffeine

So it's almost the weekend. Yahoo! 

Here's a little dose of how you, yes tired, grumpy in the morning you, the caffeine fix you need, without having the 5 cups of coffee before you head to work or school. 

I have done some research on this topic, as I am not the avid coffee drinker, I prefer tea (some of which contain caffeine), so I will focus on the foods you can eat and the different modalities you can try out, to give you that energetic, ready to get on with the day feeling, without having a single sip of coffee. 

Here's a quick video I thought was suitable for the topic of giving you the umph you need to get out of bed in the morning and wake up. 

I bet you, you did not know the following foods and products can be helpful in aiding you to get out of bed in the morning. 

SOAP: ThickGreen (company) offers Shower Shock, which is a peppermint scented soap, that will give you the morning buzz you need. ($6.99/bar at www.thinkgeek.com)

WATER: Decreasing your water intake in the night will help you sleep, but drinking a glass of water when you wake up in the morning will get you hydrated quickly. 

"Imagine going an entire work day without drinking. Your body does the equivalent of this every night when you sleep. Many Canadians are starting the day dehydrated, which leads to fatigue very early on in the day."  --Kim Stinson-Burt

DARK CHOCOLATE: Yes, indulge in a small amount of dark chocolate in the morning. Dark chocolate energized by providing a substantial amount of iron and magnesium.

BANANAS: They are rich in potassium and Vitamin B, and they also help slow down digestion and can keep blood sugar levels stable

WET FACECLOTH: By keeping a wet facecloth on your bedside table (non-wooden surface) and slapping it on your face in the morning, the initial shock will make you quite alert.

SOUR CANDIES: As soon as your alarm goes off in the morning, eat a couple sour candies to awaken your senses. 

APPLES:  Apples contain fructose, which is a natural sugar that can wake you up, and help keep you going.

EXERCISING: Even if you just run around the block, you are not only staying healthy and fit, but you are also waking up your body in a very good way. 

MUSIC: I know when I get out of the shower in the morning, I like to put on my favourite playlist from www.songza.com on, and jam to the music while I get myself ready. It pumps me up for the day, and also distracts me from the fact that I am still tired. 

LEAVE YOUR BLINDS/CURTAINS OPEN: the light from the sunshine/morning will awaken you, and you will not have the urge to go back to sleep. (I'm definitely guilty of trying to go back to sleep when my room is very dark). 

This alphabet of healthy foods will also be helpful when waking up, if you are not the morning person you were on Sunday morning as a child. 

I hope you find this informative, and I hope you try some of these methods out, as I know they sometimes work for me. 

Here's a task for everyone who reads this post. Try one of these methods, and then tell me how they worked out for you. If you woke up and were raring to go because you slapped that cold cloth on your face, or if you jammed out to some music. Let me know if these methods worked for you, and if not, what did you do to wake yourself up?

Let me know, comment below, and stay tuned for my next post on Monday. 

Enjoy the weekend everyone!

--Kate