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may wonder, How do I pick which time I should get up each day?
    There are a few ways to select a standard rise time. First, let’s clarify the rules. A rise time is the time at which your feet should be on the floor and you should be out of bed. We say this because many people set an alarm but then do not rise until some time later. The time at which you become active (when you get out of bed for the day and start to go about your business), not the time at which you wake up and hit “snooze,” is the time at which you begin building your drive for the following night’s sleep.
    Here are some questions to help you select the best time to get out of bed.
    What is the earliest time at which you routinely have to get out of bed? If you have to be awake at a set time several mornings per week, this set time is often the best place to start.
    What time does your body wake up naturally? If your body naturally wakes up much earlier than the regular time at which you get out of bed, it is preferable to rise earlier. For example, if you tend to get out of bed at seven most mornings, but your body wakes you up at five thirty most mornings, this is a clue to your body clock type and you should strongly consider a 5:30 a.m. rise time. If you get out of bed earlier, you will build even more drive for quality sleep by being out of bed for longer during the day; your body is not producing quality sleep anyway when you linger in bed and doze.
    If on the other hand your body naturally wakes up much later than your usually scheduled rise time, meaning that you sleep soundly right up until your rise time and have substantial difficulty getting up each morning, you may have difficulty selecting your current earliest rise time as your new set rise time. In that case, if it is generally difficult for you to get out of bed no matter what time you have to get up, here are a few tips:
     
Force yourself to get up.
Expose yourself to bright light.
Engage in an activity with lots of movement as soon as possible.
    This will help you shake off your grogginess so that you can get on with your day more quickly. If you have difficulty getting up because you have a job that requires you to be awake and out of bed much earlier than your body clock would dictate, you can explore ways to save time in the morning so that you can set a slightly later rise time. For example, do whatever you can at night to prepare for the following day (shower, lay your clothes out, set the automatic start on the coffee maker) and remove unnecessary activities from your morning routine. Then stick to this rise time even on your off days, and most likely your body will eventually shift toward being more alert at this earlier time.
    “But I Hate Schedules.”
    Do you have a negative reaction to the idea of keeping a schedule? Why? Is it because you associate routines with childhood? Perhaps when you were growing up, your parents were overly strict or inflexible when it came to routines. Perhaps your mother or father told you things like: “No, you can’t watch the fireworks. They start at eight, and that’s your bedtime.” Maybe you think that following a schedule is too boring or limiting for you—you need freedom to do as you would like and room to be spontaneous.
    Keeping regular times for basic human functions such as sleeping and eating does not mean that you cannot be spontaneous. Also, humans do not outgrow the need for routines. Although some people may think that only children need routines to help them regulate their mood and alertness, adults need routines too. Routines help “set” the body clock that regulates sleep, mood, and alertness. Aversion to a schedule may interfere with your ability to make the changes needed for you to sleep better. You may want to consider examining and challenging your beliefs about schedules; it may help remove obstacles to improving your sleep.
    After you identify any beliefs about keeping a set rise time that could get in the