Top tips on how to be a morning person

A pan-European survey of 11,000 people, commissioned by Philips Wake-up Light, has revealed that British people are among the grumpiest in Europe when it comes to waking up in the morning.  The research showed that 90% of us admit that we don't feel refreshed, alert (93%) or ready for the day (68%) first thing in the morning. Furthermore more than 70% of us admit to being negatively affected by darker mornings.
One of the UK's leading sleep experts, Dr. Neil Stanley, shares his advice on how you can help yourself become a morning person. Here are his top five tips for being a 'morning person':
1. Don't rely on coffee to wake you up. The caffeine content of coffee can vary greatly depending on where it's bought or how it's made. In the past, tests have shown that the average cup of coffee does not contain enough milligrams of caffeine to have any pick-me-up effect, so you may actually be getting no benefit at all from the coffee you convince yourself you need to help you start the day.

2. Don't press the snooze button, instead set the alarm for the time you have to wake up and then get up at THAT time. The extra sleep is far more beneficial for your body than the time spent 'snoozing'.

3. Try and have a regular time that you get out of bed, and stick to that time even on the weekends. The body starts preparing itself to wake up one hour before you actually do, so the routine helps the body know when to start to prepare.

4. Alarm clocks can often startle you out of sleep, which is not perhaps the best start to the day. Dawn simulators offer a solution that allows you to wake-up more naturally.

5. Finally, the best way to feel awake and refreshed in the morning is to make sure you get a decent amount of sleep the night before.