The Winter Mornings guide
Ten small, practical changes that make dark UK mornings easier. None of them needs willpower. Most take less than a minute.
1. Keep one wake-up time
Get up at roughly the same time every day, including weekends. Within an hour is close enough. A steady rhythm makes the alarm feel less of a shock.
2. Let light arrive before the alarm
In summer, light builds for an hour before you wake. In winter you can recreate that with a sunrise clock, or by setting a lamp on a plug timer to come on 20 minutes before your alarm.
3. Open the curtains straight away
Even a grey winter sky is far brighter than a room lit by a ceiling bulb. Make it the first thing you do.
4. Take your first cuppa somewhere bright
Sit by the window, or next to a bright daylight lamp, for your first 20 to 30 minutes.
5. Step outside before 10am
Five minutes counts: the bins, the post, the school run on foot. Outdoor light on an overcast day is still many times brighter than indoors.
6. Lay out tomorrow tonight
Clothes, keys, bag and the kettle filled. Fewer decisions in the dark means an easier start.
7. Keep the phone off the bedside table
If your phone is your alarm, it's also the first thing you scroll. Charge it in another room if you can.
8. Warm the room, not just the bed
Set the heating to come on 20 to 30 minutes before you get up, so the first step out of bed isn't into the cold.
9. Dim things down in the evening
Softer, warmer light in the last hour before bed makes the contrast with a bright morning clearer.
10. Give yourself something to look forward to
A proper breakfast, the radio, ten quiet minutes with the paper. A reason to get up helps more than a louder alarm.
Tips 2, 4 and 7 in one box
The Winter Light Kit is a sunrise clock for the bedside (so the phone can live elsewhere) and a daylight lamp for the breakfast table. Free tracked UK delivery and 60 nights to decide.
These are everyday tips, not medical advice. If you're struggling with low mood or sleep, please speak to your GP.
Brighter winter mornings, from the very first one.
The Winter Light Kit: a sunrise clock and a daylight lamp, with free UK delivery and a 60-night home trial.
See the kit