Most people need food, most people need bathrooms, most people need sleep – and anyone who isn’t dead (or undead) needs to wake up. It’s the waking up part that a lot of people have trouble with, especially when you don’t have a lot of time to get ready for going to work or attending a bridge tournament.

Here are 6 practical techniques to wake up your mind and body faster when you don’t have a lot of time left to prepare.

1. Start Stretching

Stretching is essential and it’s not just something you should do in preparation for exercise or part of your yoga class.

The body goes through a significant amount of changes while you’re asleep: Some things get a little looser, others tighten up  – and this is why there’s a noticeable height difference in most people when measured in the morning versus when measured at night. It’s also why a lot of people feel “tight” until approximately ten or eleven in the morning.

Start the day with a few minutes of stretching out. Give your body a few moments to get used to the feeling of being back to awake and you’ll notice that your morning goes a little easier from there.

2. Lights and Action

Very few people can wake up while they’re still lying comfortably in the confines of bed. In fact, it’s a lot more tempting to hit the snooze button, pull the blankets back up and go right back to sleep when this is how you  try to wake up.

The brain associates lighting with daylight – and daylight with activity.

It’s why a lot of clubs, supermarkets and offices everywhere are brightly lit, and sometimes horribly so. It’s also why cities that never sleep are usually also very bright ones.

Switch on the lights and get out of bed as soon as possible after waking up. It really helps.

3. Turn the Volume Up

Loudness can do a lot of the same to the waking brain as brightness. Again, it’s why environments like clubs turn the volume progressively higher up as the night goes on. It’s also why many alarm clocks have songs instead.

If you have trouble getting yourself to wake up in the morning, the right music track might do the trick.

Choose an upbeat song in an electric genre. Listening to it while waking up or doing your stretching exercises for the morning can help your brain to catch up with what’s going on around it.

4. App Aids Out There

There’s a fair chunk of the population who can’t wake up with the use of a traditional alarm clock.

If this is the case for you, you’re in the right century: There are plenty of smartphone apps that can get you out of bed, including ones that obsessively vibrate.

There are also weird enough alarm clocks, including ones that have to be chased around the room before they’ll stop.

5. Try Some Coffee

If you’re having a rough morning and it’s turning into a habit, try a coffee or two to wake you up. Caffeine has a lot of health benefits when it gets consumed in moderation, including an increase in blood circulation and heightened thought. It’s why it works, but it’s also why turns you jumpy when consuming one cup too many.

6. Seize the Morning with Some Bridge

Still waking up? Play a game against our friendly neighborhood bot and get right into a game of Just Declare or Video Bridge. It’s one way to activate the brain into waking up faster, and it’s a technique that can be combined with having your morning coffee.