Waking up early will change your life.
I understand this is a bold statement many may find hard to believe. But the truth is an early start to your day brings many benefits you’ll completely miss if you keep hitting the snooze button. There’s a reason why some of the world’s most successful people are early birds.
In fact, there are many reasons.
And in this article, we’ll be touching on a few of them so you can see how waking up earlier can improve the quality of your life. Also, if you’re a chronic night owl who has difficulty waking up early, we’ll discuss a simple technique toward the end of the article to help you adopt this advantageous habit.
But for now, let’s review the 7 benefits of waking up early.
1. Morning Workouts
Let’s face it, after a long day at work, the last thing on your mind is hitting the gym.
Few people have the self-discipline to squeeze in a training session after an 8-hour shift. For this reason, mornings are often the best time to exercise. And if you’ve decided to become an early riser, you’ll see how great it feels to hit the gym before you even start your workday.
You’ll feel a sense of pride and personal satisfaction.
What’s more, your day will be off to a healthy, positive, and productive start. There’s no better way to build momentum for the day than to wake up early and block out some exercise time. Adopting this kind of morning routine may be one of the best things you ever do.
Here are some additional benefits of morning workouts:
- Fewer distractions
- Improved energy levels
- Better mood, sleep, and focus
- Encourages healthier decisions throughout the day
- Stress reduction
Aside from these health benefits, training in the morning is just peaceful. Few people are around during those early morning workouts when you’re in the gym lifting weights or hitting up the trails for a run. As a result, it’s just you, your thoughts, and the barbell or pathway — and there’s something incredibly calming and peaceful about that.
2. Personal Time
Do you scramble each morning?
Many people do. In fact, their mornings typically consist of them rushing to eat, shower, and hurry out the door to get to work. I don’t know about you, but the last thing I want is to feel rushed when first waking up. It’s just not a pleasant start to the day.
I like to ease into my days.
This means I like to enjoy some time to myself before I begin giving it to everybody else. Waking up early allows you to have a few quiet moments to decompress before you start your day. You can catch up on some reading, do a little journaling, or spend some quality time connecting with your partner.
These morning activities help to set your day up right.
3. Stress Reduction
Waking up earlier gives you more time.
Consequently, you can start your mornings the way you want to start them. This freedom and flexibility make you feel at ease, calm, and peaceful. Simply put, being an early riser can lower your stress levels. Why? Because right from the get-go, you are taking control of your day rather than leaving it to the whims of a chaotic and unpredictable world.
The additional time allows you to unwind and mentally prepare yourself for the day ahead. As a result, you’ll feel more in control, keeping stress, worry, and anxiety at bay.
4. Increased Productivity
Earlier mornings result in more time.
And more time means more runway when it comes to both your professional and personal goals. You’ll have the extra time needed to map out your day, plan the action steps you’ll take, and allocate your time to the appropriate causes. This degree of preparation will skyrocket your productivity!
And all that’s required is an additional hour in the morning.
Moreover, once you begin waking up early and seeing the increase in productivity, it will build momentum. You’ll get on a roll, and other things you have to do (that you may have been previously avoiding or procrastinating on) will naturally snap into place as your momentum carries you throughout the day. It’s off the charts how productive you can become just by waking up early.
But words don’t really do it justice; it’s something you have to experience for yourself.
5. Better Sleep
To wake up earlier, you need a sleep routine.
And one of the main benefits of a sleep routine is it stabilizes your circadian rhythm. If you’re unfamiliar with the circadian rhythm, it’s the internal process regulating your sleep-wake cycle. It responds to your environment and controls the quality of your sleep.
As a result, waking up earlier can help promote a night of deeper and longer sleep.
So if you have difficulty getting good quality sleep, try waking up earlier. It may take some time to adjust to the new schedule, but once you get used to it, you’ll be amazed at the results it can have on your sleep quality.
6. Greater Self-Respect
This benefit may seem unusual.
But if you wake up at 4 or 5 am every morning, you’re getting a drastic head start on everyone else. And while it’s certainly not a competition by any means, there’s something to be said about the self-respect garnered from this degree of discipline. Most people are unwilling to wake up earlier to get that head start on their goals and ambitions.
So if you’re stepping up to the plate, you will have greater levels of pride, dignity, and self-regard.
7. Emotional Wellbeing
Mornings are perfect.
Everyone is asleep; smartphones are silent; it’s just you and your thoughts. This kind of setting helps relax your mind as you prepare for the day ahead of you. The silence gives way to introspection, planning, productivity, and other things that can help you get the most out of the morning and day.
As a result, you feel “lighter”, more composed, and balanced emotionally.
And this has an accumulative effect on the day. For example, your enhanced emotional stability makes you feel more confident and self-assured. This leads to more engaging interactions with others, better work performance on the job, and can even cause you to bounce back from challenges quicker and more efficiently.
Waking up early is key to a more emotionally balanced life.
3 Simple Ways to Begin Waking up Early
Sure, the benefits of becoming an early riser are compelling.
But that doesn’t make the practice any easier. This fact is especially true if you’ve been a night owl for a long period or you gain a lot of satisfaction from sleeping in. However, that doesn’t make it impossible — not by any means.
In fact, you can implement a few simple and practical steps to begin waking up earlier. They are as follows:
1. Improve Your Sleeping Environment
Many people want to start waking up earlier but lack the basics to support them with this aim.
Is your bed comfortable? Are your sheets and blankets clean? Do your pillows provide you with the comfort required for a good night’s rest? These simple things can all help you sleep better, and as a result, wake up earlier. So before you wind your alarm back to 5 am, ensure your room is conducive to quality sleep.
Here are some other ideas to help you improve your sleeping environment:
- Blackout curtains
- Earplugs (for all my light sleepers out there)
- No screens in bed
- Keep your room at a cool temperature (20 degrees, give or take)
- Wear an eye mask
2. Get a Habit Tracker
This tip is incredibly helpful.
It may not seem like a habit tracker would have any bearing on helping you wake up earlier, but you’d be surprised. When you successfully practice waking up earlier using a habit tracker — day in and day out — you begin to build a streak. This winning streak gives you motivation in the form of a psychological boost as your success accumulates.
It becomes a positive feedback loop.
This process makes habit trackers a great resource for helping you to wake up early and stick to it. Here are a few habit trackers you can download to your smartphone and try for yourself:
- HabitHub
- Beeminder
- Strides
- Notion
- Habitify
- Coach.me
- Habitica
3. Make Small Adjustments
Try making minor changes to your sleep cycle.
Winding the clock back 2 or 3 hours may be a bit of a stretch when just starting out. Instead, each week set your alarm to wake you up 10 minutes earlier. If you stay consistent with this simple practice, you’ll wake up earlier in a few months.
And it’ll be a much more enjoyable process too.
You don’t want to set yourself up for failure. Trying to awaken at 5 am every day when you’re accustomed to getting up at noon will be difficult unless you do it slowly, over time. And that’s what this process helps you to do.
Start small and amp it up at your own pace and comfort level.
Next Step: Challenge Yourself to Start Waking up Early
Becoming an early riser will give a jumpstart to your days.
It’s a simple practice, yet it can produce amazing results once you make it a part of your lifestyle. And the best part? It’s not nearly as difficult as you may think. With a little time and repetition, you’ll be living a happier and more productive life before you know it.
Stay motivated and disciplined.
