I'd recommend sleeping in a room that gets sunlight as early as possible. As the room warms up (and gets brighter), you'll naturally wake up less groggily.
If your schedule can handle it, try just going to sleep when you are tired and seeing when you wake up (ie. don't use an alarm at all).
I tried this for about six months, and the following happened.
The first week or two I slept upwards of 10-11 hours a night, and woke up in the afternoon.
The next couple months, my schedule kind of rotated around the clock (I'd wake up about 30-45 mins later each day), but I only slept 8-9 hours.
By month four, I was only sleeping 7-7.5 hours at a time, and my schedule rotation had slowed to where it was only shifting about 15 mins a day.
The best part was that I always woke up extremely fresh and ready to go. I never felt like the walking dead, and generally was happier.
Before I tried this, I thought I was a night person, just because I always seem to stay up too late and dislike waking up... but I realized what I really liked was the quiet, and found that early morning quiet time (4-7am) was actually more productive, just because I wasn't worn out from a whole day of being awake.
Sadly I had to return to a day job for a bit before grad school, so now I survive mostly on coffee, but it was fun to try when I had the chance.
I'd recommend this as well - particularly waking with the sun. I've been in some light-deprived places, and then I got a wake-up light (basically it slowly lights up the room, rather than an alarm).
Instead of having an alarm BAM wake up, it's much more natural - you'll find yourself thinking "hey I'm awake". Much, much more pleasant.
I used to wake up to my nokia mobile phone alarm (which are excruciatingly loud). I'd snooze it about 4-5 times... Terrible habit. It would totally wreck me for the morning.
I also tend to exercise in the morning. I find this motivating. Doing this, or taking a walk, or something similar - you hit the day in peak form.
I wouldn't say "get light as early as possible." (Ideally) I go to bed at 11pm and wake up rested (I said ideally, ok?) at 7am.
So in London in the middle of summer it's light from 5am or so and I have to use an eye-mask. That early light was not my friend. On the other hand in winter the dark at 8am wasn't my friend either. A "wake-up light" (google for "sunrise alarm clock" or "daylight simulator") for winter might help.
Agree with the sunlight recommendation. In my case, controlling light levels makes all the difference. I need it pitch black when I'm supposed to be sleeping (whenever that is), with gradually increasing light when I need to get up. Some motorized blinds and a sunrise simulating alarm (possibly linked into a home automation system) might help, since the sun comes up too early during the summer and late in the winter at high latitudes.
That's almost identical to my experience, except with a bit less sleep and a bit longer rotations each day.
One thing that I noticed with the light thing is that an ultra-bright, dim-able lamp works wonders. It somehow puts me in a decent mood even if I'm sleeping at weird times.
If your schedule can handle it, try just going to sleep when you are tired and seeing when you wake up (ie. don't use an alarm at all).
I tried this for about six months, and the following happened.
The first week or two I slept upwards of 10-11 hours a night, and woke up in the afternoon.
The next couple months, my schedule kind of rotated around the clock (I'd wake up about 30-45 mins later each day), but I only slept 8-9 hours.
By month four, I was only sleeping 7-7.5 hours at a time, and my schedule rotation had slowed to where it was only shifting about 15 mins a day.
The best part was that I always woke up extremely fresh and ready to go. I never felt like the walking dead, and generally was happier.
Before I tried this, I thought I was a night person, just because I always seem to stay up too late and dislike waking up... but I realized what I really liked was the quiet, and found that early morning quiet time (4-7am) was actually more productive, just because I wasn't worn out from a whole day of being awake.
Sadly I had to return to a day job for a bit before grad school, so now I survive mostly on coffee, but it was fun to try when I had the chance.