Stop being a slave to the snooze button. These six tips will help you get up and get out for those early-morning rides. By AC Shilton

Stop sleeping in on weekends.

It confuses your system, says Frank Scheer, PhD, a neuroscientist at Harvard Medical School. Scheer says shifting your wake-up time from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. on Saturday has the same effect as changing time zones.

Ease into it.

The part of your brain that controls your internal clock is evolutionarily wired to shift your wake-up time gradually with changing seasons. Scheer recommends going to bed 30 to 60 minutes earlier and setting your alarm back by the same amount each day until you reach your goal time. Then give it at least a week to feel normal.

Eliminate decisions.

Humans are prone to “decision fatigue”—we have a finite amount of willpower, and deciding to get up early flexes that willpower muscle hard. Eliminate as many subsequent decisions as possible, says Stephen Graef, PhD, a sports psychologist at the Ohio University Sports Medicine Center. Prep your bike, clothes, breakfast, and workout plan the night before.

Make a date.

A study published in Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice found that exercisers who felt like part of a group were more likely to show up on a regular basis, regardless of the hour. It’s easier to bail on yourself than a friend.

Sleep in cycles.

Your body cycles between light to deep sleep and back in about 90 minutes, says Shawn Stevenson, author of Sleep Smarter: 21 Essential Sleep Strategies. Being roused mid-cycle leads to that groggy feeling. Instead, Stevenson says, try to get five or six full cycles (seven-and-a-half or nine hours of sleep) before your alarm goes off.

Get a light-emitting alarm clock.

A 2014 study in the European Journal of Applied Physiology found that when people were gradually exposed to light 30 minutes before they woke up, they performed better in a 4K cycling time trial and also had quicker reaction times, a good thing if your dawn patrol includes techy trails or pack riding.

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