PERHAPS your morning ritual involves hitting the snooze button again and again. You eventually pry yourself out of bed, only to feel rushed and frantic because you’re late. Or maybe you stumble out of bed but feel groggy for hours. You may have chalked it up to the fact that you’re just not a morning person. But you can be.

If you have to force yourself out of bed every day, it’s a sure sign of imbalance in your life, says David Simon, M.D., medical director of The Chopra Center for Well Being in La Jolla, Calif. For example, you may be working too hard and not getting the rest you need, he says. Sticking faithfully to our three-part plan can restore your balance and make waking up easier. You’ll need to adopt as many of the following habits as you can, including those related to light, like “Simmer Down” on page 58 and “Create a Sunrise” on page 59, which researchers say can help you wake up earlier and faster in only three days.

Rethink Sleep. Many of us stay up late to cram more into our day. “We tend to view sleep as wasted time and a luxury,” says Scott Campbell, Ph.D., director of the Chronobiology Laboratory at Cornell Medical School in White Plains, N.Y. If sleep is low on your list of priorities, give it the promotion it deserves. Aim for seven to nine hours a night, or whatever amount leaves you feeling fresh and alert the next day.

Choose an Earlier Bedtime. Consider this: Going to bed earlier can help you accomplish more with your mornings. “The benefit to waking up early is that you’ll perform better and be more alert at the time of day that you need to be,” Campbell says.

Look Hard at Your Schedule. Are there any habits you can alter to get to bed earlier? Tape your favorite 10 p.m. television show and watch it on the weekend. If friends call late, offer to call them back in the morning. Or turn off the ringer on your phone.

Don’t Deviate. Hitting the hay at a consistent time is one of the most important changes you can make, sleep experts say. Consistency normalizes your circadian rhythms, your body’s internal clock, so you’re the most deeply asleep in the first half of the night. This makes waking up in the morning easier. Most people benefit from a bedtime between 10 p.m. and midnight and a wake-up time between 6 and 8 a.m., Campbell says. Whatever you choose, stick to it faithfully, even on weekends and holidays.