Exclusive: I kept waking up exhausted until a NASA scientist shared her $0 lab-tested tip for beating morning grogginess — here’s how it works

This split screen image shows a woman in a dark bedroom on the left hand side, with her hands over her face struggling to wake up because she feels so groggy at 6am. On the right hand side a woman is sitting on the edge of her bed at 6am with her arms outstretched, looking out her window at a bright sun with a halo of blue light around it.

Astronauts on the International Space Station experience sleep inertia (grogginess upon waking) because they work in shifts, are rolling a chronic sleep debt, and see 16 sunrises and sunsets every 24 hours, among many other factors.

I experience sleep inertia because my pre-schooler doesn’t believe in sleeping through the night. And that build-up of broken sleep makes me feel punch-drunk some mornings.