Ever heard of the phrase “The early bird catches the worm”?
Who am I kidding, of course you have!
Waking up early has loads of benefits which is why many entrepreneurs and professionals like Richard Branson and Warren Buffet wake up early even on weekends.
I for one, despise that because I like sleeping through the day and waking up at night but once you’re older, you’ll start realizing that there are more things to life than sleeping…
Why wake up early?
There are TONS of benefits of waking up in the morning which actually is the main reason why I wake up early today and so should you:
1) You save more time to focus on something more important
Time is precious and a lot of people waste it on sleeping.
I’m sure nobody would want to work forever for the rest of their lives but they have to because they need to support their family and of course, money for food.
A lot of entrepreneurs juggle two jobs at once – their dead-end job and their business because they want to quit their job.
You might wonder how on earth are they doing that but the secret to that my friend, is to sleep and wake up early every day.
2) Quality sleep
Sleep experts say that if you go to bed earlier and wake up earlier, your body will be more in tune with the earth’s circadian rhythms, which offers more restorative sleep.
You will appreciate and enjoy your sleep more too if you time it properly and NOT sleep as long as you want.
3) Boost of energy
Studies show (my biology class) that waking up early will change your mental and physical state because the negative ion from the atmosphere and sunrise will charge you up good.
You are able to move faster, think better and you will become more optimistic which is key to life’s success.
Did you know that your body only needs 6-8 hours of sleep to recharge?
Oversleeping will make your body even more tired than it was initially so no, it’s not advisable to sleep until its dark.
4) Avoid traffic
Morning traffic can be the worst ever if you wake up as late as 8am.
The tube gets so packed, cars undergo unbearable traffic jams and worse – you will have to waste 1-2 hours of your life just trying to reach somewhere which will otherwise take you less than 30 minutes.
Besides, going to work early is a good impression for your colleagues and boss because it shows how serious you actually take your work which may lead to an eventual promotion or project if you keep that up!
5) More family time
Everyone is always busy today trying to find money to survive and propel their career.
However due to lack of organization, you waste so much time in life that you often forget to spend time with the person nearest to you – your family.
With my busy schedule, I often go out with my friends (almost every day) until my grandfather passed away and that actually made me regret that I didn’t manage my time properly to at least spend time with him every week.
HOW to wake up early
Probably the most difficult thing in the world!
As much will as you have, waking up early can fail because of reasons such as the alarm not ringing or you not being able to sleep at night.
So here’s some tips on how to avoid that and wake up early…
-
Sleep early!
Probably the most obvious answer anyone can tell you.
Sleeping early can be a chore when you’re not used to it, especially in college as we like to stay up without any reason to.
It may be hard but trying to sleep early bit by bit can make you get used to it fast.
Like if you’re used to sleeping at 4am, try to sleep at 3am instead, then 2am the next day and your body will adjust.
Some people just can’t make themselves sleep so maybe you need to…
-
Not eating or smoking before sleeping
This is why it’s not advisable to eat snacks before sleeping not just because it will make you fat, but because your body won’t be able to sleep.
It is best to prepare your body 4 hours after dinner because that’s when your body will adjust and become tired… and sometimes hungry.
But remember, all those urge of smoking and eating is only psychological because body health-wise, it’s perfectly okay to just get some rest and sleep.
-
Complete relaxation throughout the night
I understand the need to rush for work and assignment but if you don’t sleep early, you’ll never wake up on time to continue your work.
83% of people who sleep late at 4 or 5 in the morning will usually wake up in the afternoon which is more than the 6-8 hours of required sleep our body needs.
Try to shut your brain down, put your phone away for recharge and give yourself some peace and serenity that night because that will help you sleep better.
Remember not to give yourself any unnecessary adrenaline use like random pushups or playing Dota because that will not help at all in making you sleep.
My 30-day Challenge
It takes 30 days for a human to subtract or add a habit.
If you want to stop yourself from watching TV, try to struggle for 30 days because after that, you will change yourself in a way that you will never imagine.
If you want to try something like repairing your sleep or read faster, do that for 30 days and your body will pick up the pace that your mind has put.
Here’s a video by Matt Cutts on 30 day challenges…
Conclusion
Waking up early in the morning in important.
Sure it sounds like nothing but as long as long as you make it a habit to sleep early every day, you will be surprised that your body will adjust to it to the extent that you won’t need an alarm anymore!