1 You need quality sleep. It sounds obvious, but you can only wake feeling rested if your body and brain have been able to run through all the stages of sleep. The usual rules apply (a quiet, dark, cool bedroom, and avoiding stimulants such as caffeine in the evening) to ensure your shut-eye isn’t interrupted.
2 Embrace your ‘chronotype’. Are you a morning or evening person, or neither? To maximise alertness, aim to stick to regular bed and wake-up times that suit your body, as far as life allows. Studies suggest that fighting our natural circadian rhythm can harm our health, as well as our quality of sleep.