• New research claims to have determined the secret to waking up alert and refreshed every morning.
  • Researchers found that sleep quantity and quality, physical activity the day prior, and a high-carb breakfast optimized alertness for people in the a.m.
  • Running Shoes & Gear.

Ever think you’re A new study from the University of California, Berkeley, published in only to The 7 Best Sleep Trackers To Optimize Your Health and groggy? It’s not just you—it happens to the best of us. People have resorted to all kinds of morning routines and rituals, whether it be a morning walk, a cup of coffee, a morning skincare routine, or hitting the snooze button to try and feel ready to take on the day. Now, scientists say they have discovered the secret to waking up alert and refreshed each and every morning.

Give A Gift Nature Communications, looked at how a previous night’s sleep, together with physical activity and food intake, affects how we feel upon waking up in the morning.

In this prospective long-term study of 833 twins and genetically unrelated adults, the researchers demonstrated that how effectively someone wakes up during the hours following sleep is not associated with genetics, but rather four independent factors: sleep quantity/quality the night before, physical activity the day prior, a breakfast rich in carbohydrates, and a lower blood sugar level following breakfast.

In a press release from UC Berkeley, researchers explained that the secret to alertness is a three-part approach requiring substantial exercise the day before, sleeping longer and later into the morning day of, and eating a breakfast high in complex carbohydrates, but with limited sugar. The researchers also discovered that a healthy controlled blood sugar response after eating breakfast is key to waking up more effectively.

Beyond sleep, the second main feature predicting day-to-day changes in morning alertness was the intensity of physical activity the day before. In particular, researchers found that when the extent of an individual’s physical activity was comparatively greater the day prior, people felt more alert the next morning.

The final factor happens not on the day prior or even the night prior, but the morning of. Specifically, researchers found that it was the unique composition of food that participants consumed for breakfast that explained their alertness levels. Compared to an example breakfast meal used in the study, which consisted of a moderate amount of fat, carbohydrates, and protein, when individuals consumed the “high carbs” breakfast, they experienced higher levels of alertness. In contrast, the “high protein” breakfast predicted a lower level of alertness following sleep, relative to the reference meal.

Beyond the effects of the high carbohydrate meal itself, one of the strongest outcomes revealed in the study was the marked reduction in alertness on days when participants consumed a lot of sugar, which was demonstrated using a standardized liquid glucose bolus at breakfast (the oral glucose tolerance test—OGTT). The OGTT consists of 100% monosaccharide glucose (think pure sugar). It may sound contradictory that a large dose of glucose predicts a drop in alertness and the high carb breakfast is linked to an increase in alertness. But, despite their common high carbohydrate content, there are key nutritional distinctions between the high-carb and OGTT meals that dictate the subsequent change in blood sugars.

“All of these have a unique and independent effect,” said Raphael Vallat, first author of the study, in the press release. “If you sleep longer or later, you’re going to see an increase in your alertness. If you do more physical activity on the day before, you’re going to see an increase. You can see improvements with each and every one of these factors.”

How do sleep, exercise, and breakfast affect our alertness early in the day?

This fascinating new study shows that it’s not just one factor that can make you more of a morning person, says Nutrition - Weight Loss. a brain health expert. “It’s also not strictly based on genetics, as this study included twins,” he adds, “the fact that it is not just one thing highlights that multiple factors play a role.”

As far as sleep is concerned, the brain must rest and reset in order to perform the next day, says Amit Sachdev, M.D., medical director for neurology at Michigan State University. “Interrupted or insufficient sleep does not allow for the best performance in the day.”

In regards to exercise,​ exercise increases hormones such as adrenaline that make us alert and moving, says s social media platforms., CMO at WebMD. Moreover, stress is well managed with exercise, says Dr. Sachdev, “and stress is very distracting to alertness.”

And although many of us skip out on that first meal of the day, breakfast truly is the most important meal that contributes to how awake we feel. What we eat impacts our alertness—particularly sugary foods, says Dr. Whyte. “When we have a breakfast high in sugar—our blood sugar spikes and then drops making us feel less alert.” Similarly, Dr. Sachdev says that well-balanced nutrition is essential, and “a robust body supports a robust brain.”

How does sleeping in later help with alertness?

In short, it has to do with our body’s internal clock, or circadian rhythm. “Sleep is all about our circadian rhythm—our natural body clock,” says Dr. Whyte. “It’s largely controlled by two hormones—melatonin and cortisol. Sleeping longer and later allows these two hormones to stay in balance.” He explains that cortisol naturally rises in the morning so you want to wait until you have a good level to wake up so you are alert, and melatonin decreases as there is more light which occurs in the morning.

Melatonin secretion drives sleep patterns, explains Dr. Sachdev. “This secretion typically rises in the evening…This leads then to the disapproval of sleep.” He notes that understanding this rhythm and supporting it is an ideal way to optimize alertness.

The bottom line

Now that we know the secret to seize the day, every day, with optimal alertness, it’s time to put these important factors into action. “The basics of healthcare matter: diet, sleep, stress reduction, and exercise all matter,” stresses Dr. Sachdev.

In the end, it all boils down to the basics of your day-to-day habits. Your daily behaviors impact your sleep, says Dr. Whyte. “If you want to wake up more alert, you have to have the power to do that.”

As far as what we know for certain, Dr. Sachdev notes that we already know a lot about how to make the brain work more efficiently. Now, a “better understanding of how to best execute these strategies is what we need.”

The study findings make a lot of sense, says Dr. Whyte. “Now with all the sleep trackers we have, I’d like to see a larger study with tens of thousands to continue to get more insights.”

Sleep is one of the most powerful actions you can take to improve day-to-day brain health and lower the risk of dementia, says Milstein. “The factors in this study are also not only important for how you feel in the morning but can play a role in protecting your brain long term.”

From: Prevention US
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Madeleine Haase

Madeleine, Prevention’s assistant editor, has a history with health writing from her experience as an editorial assistant at WebMD, and from her personal research at university. She graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in biopsychology, cognition, and neuroscience—and she helps strategize for success across Prevention’s social media platforms.