How to wake up feeling refreshed

The Ultimate Guide to Smart Sleeping

“Why can’t I wake up feeling refreshed and ready to conquer the day?”

If you’re anything like Jim Taylor, you’ve woken up with this exact thought in your head too.

It’s a bright sunny day out, his wife is preparing breakfast and his kids are jumping on the bed trying to get him up. The ideal birthday morning. But the only thing holding Jim back is… Jim.

Jim thinks back to all the movies and commercials he’s seen where people are just magically getting out of bed. Can that really be so impossible to achieve?

“If I’m having such a hard time getting out of bed on such a great day. How am I supposed to get out of bed on the rougher days?”, says Jim.

It’s a complicated question. Thankfully, there is a simple (and natural) solution.

But first, we need to better understand sleep and bust some myths around it.

The 3 Steps To Understanding Sleep

1. So... Is it Insomnia?

Most people tend to assume that they have insomnia. And chances are if you have sleep problems, you’ve thought about this too.

To tackle this issue, I’d like to introduce you to Patrick Fuller. The Associate Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School. What are his thoughts on insomnia?

"People throw that word around, but most cases of insomnia are not primary insomnia," Fuller said. "In other words, that's not the main issue."

So if only “15% or so” of people that seek help concerned with insomnia truly suffer from insomnia, what is the true problem?

“People throw that word around, but most cases of insomnia are not primary insomnia.”
— Patrick Fuller

2. Circadian rhythm

A more likely cause that you suffer from sleep problems and morning exhaustion is because your body has adjusted to sleeping at the wrong time (and thus waking up at the wrong time).

This “adjustment” is called the circadian rhythm. It is the natural pattern of the body’s functions, which includes the drive for hunger and sleep.

If you have a difficult time falling asleep earlier or consider yourself a “night owl”, you may have Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome. Which basically means your circadian rhythm is out of whack.

So why exactly is your circadian rhythm off? You probably have an idea already. But, the heart of the issue is something called “sleep hygiene”.

3. What Is Sleep Hygiene?

No. Bad sleep hygiene doesn’t mean you smell at night.

Sleep hygiene is the collection of behaviors, habits, and choices that can make it hard for you to fall asleep. These can include:

An irregular sleep schedule. Being a night owl or not having a consistent schedule.
Your sleep environment. Too much or too little lighting, unclean/uncomfortable pillows or sheets, uncomfortable temperature, etc.

To summarize: bad sleep hygiene leads to an irregular circadian rhythm which leads to you not feeling great in the morning.

So what’s the solution, you ask?

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Solutions For Better Sleep

As it turns out, there are several simple solutions that anyone can apply right now. Here are some of the easiest and most effective ways people like you solve the problem of not having refreshing mornings today:

Schedules. Schedules. Schedules.

Consistency is key. It can definitely be hard but sticking to some simple schedules will have a dramatic effect on how good you feel in the morning.

Using just the alarm clock and reminder feature on your phone you can start today! Here are top 2 recommendations:

Use your phone’s alarms to go to bed and wake up at the same time each day.
Set a recurring reminder in your phone to stop having caffeine after 3 PM.

Adjust your room for sleeping.

As mentioned before, your sleep environment is a big part of your overall sleep hygiene. Here are our top 2 changes we recommend for your room:

Experiment with your room’s temperature until you find the perfect comfortable temperature.
Avoid excessive sound and bright lighting by shutting off your lights and closing shades at night and opening your shades first thing in the morning. (Or even schedule them to do it for you!)

Sunshine!

You may have heard about melatonin before. It is great at night for when you want to fall asleep but it is not what you want when you’re trying to wake up feeling refreshed. What you want in the morning is serotonin.

If you expose your body, face and eyes to sunlight every morning, your body will actually increase serotonin production. On top of this, the body converts serotonin into melatonin in about 12 hours (aka when you are getting ready to sleep).

One solution is something like the Happy Light, which simulates the full spectrum light that the sun produces. However, the true key to waking up feeling refreshed is natural full spectrum light.

The kind that can only be produced from the sun.

So what’s the best way to capitalize on the refreshing sunlight in the morning while blocking it out for good sleep hygiene at night?

Trung Pham is the CEO and founder of AXIS. Being a busy entrepreneur, he’s a true believer in the importance of getting quality sleep. To take on the challenges of growing a cutting edge new business, sleep isn’t just a nice to have. It’s a necessity.

“As the CEO of a small company of only 15 employees that serves over 9,000 customers, every day I need to be in tip top shape to take on the day. Mornings are quite simply a huge part of that.” says Trung.

“Luckily, my team and I have developed a product that helps me wake up to refreshing sunshine every morning and fall asleep to privacy, quiet, and darkness at night.”

AXIS is an underdog in a space crowded by big names with big teams and big money. Their small team based out of Toronto, Canada consistently punches above their weight through passion and an eagerness to try things differently.

This is how they created AXIS Gear. The world’s first smart device that can motorize the window shades and blinds you already own. It takes your ordinary blinds and transforms them into smart blinds.

But what brought this team here?

“It all started when I was moving to my first condo in Toronto. After spending money on essentials like a couch, bed and TV, there wasn’t much left in the bank for a luxury like smart blinds so I got normal blinds. Months later, I wanted to upgrade my blinds but found out it would cost $1000 per window and I wasn’t able to keep my current blinds. I knew there had to be a better way for normal people like myself to enjoy smart blinds.” says Trung.

Today, Gear helps thousands of people enjoy a more convenient life with a home that works for them. Not the other way around.

But Does AXIS Gear Actually Work?

“I already have blinds up that I like so I wanted something that didn’t force me to have to rip all my blinds down just to get remote control. This was really the biggest thing for me when deciding. Purchasing motorized blinds and installing them was out of the question so this was my only option.”

The last remaining question of course being ‘would it work?’

The answer to that is yes.

In the end, I am happy with this purchase and think I am going to get some more to motorize the other rooms in my house.”

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But Will AXIS Work For You?

If waking up to authentic and refreshing sunshine every morning and falling asleep to privacy, quiet, and darkness at night is important to you, then AXIS Gear is something you need in your bedroom.

Nothing beats the real thing. So definitely try opening and closing your shades every morning and night to try out the effects of sunshine in the morning.

When you’re ready, click here to learn more about AXIS Gear and what it can do for you, your home and your quality of sleep. Or scroll down to find out for yourself.

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