Waking up early may seem impossible to you, but lots of people do it every day.

Many surgeons start operating at 6 am. Morning TV anchors are on the air at 5 am or even earlier.

How in the world do people deal with such an early wake-up time?

There are many reasons why getting up early can be a problem. Some are lifestyle-related, and others have to do with the way the body works.

The good news is that even night owls can wake up early if they have to. Here’s how to do it.

If you regularly have difficulty forcing yourself out of bed and shaking off the cobwebs, you’re not alone – and it’s not because you’re lazy. It’s because of biology.

We’ll discuss that in more detail, after a quick look at some of the less-common problems that can make it impossible to get up in the morning.

Medical Issues and Sleepiness

Some people have difficulty waking up because of medical or mental health conditions that affect sleep quality.

They include acid reflux, sleep apnea (the middle of the night breathing problems that can be controlled with CPAP machines), chronic pain, stress and anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders like sleepwalking and night terrors. Some medications can also interfere with good sleep.

Other possible reasons that people can’t stop “hitting snooze”: sleep deprivation, which is a fancy way of saying that someone doesn’t get enough sleep, and sleep deficiency, which means the person doesn’t get enough quality sleep.

Medical or mental health causes that are causing sleep problems should be discussed with a healthcare professional. They may have suggestions that will help.

You may also need to see a sleep medicine specialist, who will conduct a sleep study to determine if medical issues are interfering with your sleep. That specialist is also the right person to see for treatment of sleep deficiency.

Stress relief strategies often help with sleep deprivation. They include exercise, meditation/mindfulness, or a schedule adjustment that prioritizes more sleep each night.

Now, let’s get to the biological reasons why most of us find it difficult to wake up early.

Sleep Inertia

Ads often show people leaping out of bed in the morning after a good night’s sleep, eager to get a fresh start on a new day.

Those ads are largely fantasy. A new mattress or pillow can’t overcome the body’s natural sleep inertia, which occurs between sleep and wakefulness.

Sleep inertia is what causes the grogginess that you feel when you wake up. It happens because some of sleep’s effects linger even after you awaken.

Research has found that sleep inertia can last as long as several hours, and it’s hardest to shake off after a full night’s sleep. The issue is common among adults but even more common among adolescents; one study found that 91% of teens reported problems waking up in the morning.

The effects of sleep inertia are even worse among those who have serious sleep disorders. They’re said to suffer from what’s called “sleep drunkenness.”

Why don’t we fully wake up when we open our eyes? It’s because of a chemical called adenosine. Read on.

The Body and Sleep Control

You don’t feel sleepy simply because it’s getting late.

You feel sleepy because of the two body processes that control sleep.

Homeostasis

The first is commonly called the sleep/wake cycle, but it’s known to science as sleep/wake homeostasis.

Homeostasis means that two elements are in equilibrium. In this case, it refers to the balance between our sleep drive – the “need” for sleep – and our desire to stay awake. When we get tired, our body is falling out of sleep/wake homeostasis. Sleep restores that balance, easing our sleep drive and allowing us to wake up naturally.

That brings us to adenosine, the chemical we mentioned earlier. The body produces adenosine throughout the day, and it plays an important role in many metabolic functions. Here’s what’s important for this discussion, though: adenosine slows down the activity of nerve cell activity in the brain, making us feel tired.

Since adenosine is being produced all day, its levels in the body continue to rise the longer we’re awake. That causes our wake/sleep homeostasis to become unbalanced – and we get tired and fall asleep. Adenosine production slows dramatically while we sleep, restoring homeostasis.

There’s more to the story, though. Another body process is also intimately involved in the sleep cycle.

Circadian Rhythm

The second body process that controls sleep is the circadian biological clock, more commonly known as circadian rhythm.

There’s a “24-hour clock” in a part of the brain (known as the Suprachiasmatic Nuclei, or SCN), and it responds to light and dark.

When the sun comes up, the SCN goes to work. It triggers a rise in body temperature, the production of adenosine, and the release of hormones like cortisol that make us more alert and wake us up.

When it becomes dark, the SCN lowers body temperature and triggers melatonin production; melatonin is a hormone that helps us sleep. Early the next morning, sunlight causes melatonin levels to drop, making it easier to awaken.

In that way, the body’s natural circadian rhythm regulates sleep/wake homeostasis. 

Unfortunately, you can’t do much to change your body’s internal clock; its operation is based on when the sun rises and falls where you live. That’s why we experience jet lag when traveling long distances, and it’s why people who work odd hours are likely to experience sleep difficulties. The body always operates on its normal circadian rhythm.

Here’s the good news, though: it is possible to alter your sleep drive. And that’s the key to being able to wake up early without feeling zonked.