Early Mornings Made Easy

Ok, maybe not “easy”, but definitely easier.

Part of working in anesthesia is getting accustomed to early mornings. (Sometimes that is in addition to late nights.) During the winter months, it is not unusual for me to never use my sunglasses when driving to and from work because I drive in the dark both ways.

Most Operating Rooms (OR) have their first surgeries start between 7:00 am to 7:30 am. That means you have to be at the hospital between 6:30 am to 7:00 am. During your training, you may need to get to the hospital even earlier for a lecture which might start as early as 6:00 am. This can be a beating … but remember it doesn’t last forever.

Fear not, my purveyors of anesthesia. Even if you consider yourself a night owl, you too can become an early riser easier.

The Top 7 Things you can do to Make Early Mornings Less Painful.

1. Get Adequate Quantity of Sleep

I know this falls under the “Captain Obvious” heading, but when you are constantly waking up early, you need to get adequate sleep. There is no substitution for trying to get an adequate quantity of sleep. Safe anesthesia practice is rooted in vigilance. It is hard to remain vigilant if you are constantly depriving yourself of enough sleep.

Even if you are a night owl, you will need to learn how to get to bed earlier. Start by going to sleep 30 minutes earlier each night until you make it routine. It will take some getting used to, but when you get enough sleep, your alarm clock will not be as jarring in the morning.

2. Get Good Quality of Sleep

Even if you get to bed early, you also need to get good quality of sleep. This ranges from sleeping in a totally blacked out room, using some white noise or a fan to tune out sounds, and sleeping in a room that is cool. Along with your sleeping environment, you will want to optimize yourself by limiting bright lights and TV, avoiding caffeine close to bedtime, and using electronics in bed.

If you like to read before going to sleep, consider getting a Kindle Paperwhite and read with a low backlight. You want to avoid iPads and computer screens to do your reading because of the type of light they admit.

3. Keep Your Sleep Cycle

Keep the same sleep/wake cycle will help you to go to sleep early and get up early. This can be difficult depending on your call schedule, at leasing trying to stay consistent help.

4. Prep Yourself the Night Before

Find ways to get ready for the morning so you can save time. I know some people who shower the night before to save time. A group of us started shaving the night before working so that we could save time in the morning. Does it save a ton of time? No, but it is just one less thing to deal with the morning when you are trying to wake up. Much harder to shave in the morning when you are half blind from the light in the morning.

5. Prep Your Stuff

Lay out your clothes the night before. Pack your lunch. Prep your coffee maker the night before. (The best investment I have made was in my programmable coffee maker.) Automate what everything you can. Pack your bag, put your shoes by the door. Place your car keys your pager, and your name badge near your stuff. (At most places, you can’t even get into the parking garage without your badge.) Find a way to remember your cell phone as well.

6. Wake Up and Get Going

I love our Philips Wake-up light provides a lighted sunrise (warm red glow turning into a white light) over 20 tor 40 minutes. Set the alarm clock across the room so that you have to get up out of bed to have you turn it off. I also love the smell of coffee in the morning. It is even better when it is already brewed and ready to be poured. One of the best investments I made in medical school was to get an automatic coffee maker. I know it is a little weird, but you can find my guide to buying a coffee maker here.

7. Get to Work Safely

Find out how long it takes you to get to work in the morning. By doing most of the prep the night before, it should help you become more efficient in the morning.

By putting these 7 things to work, it should make your mornings less painful. Once you get into a routine. You may get int the habit of being a morning person.