There are plenty of benefits to waking up at 5 am every day and starting your day before sunrise. Today we’ll talk about eight that I’ve personally experienced.
I know, you may be sick of hearing that “the early bird gets the worm” but clichés exist because most of the time they’re true.
So today, let’s look at some good reasons to wake up early on a daily basis, instead of lounging around, and what benefits it can bring to your life as a whole. Surely you’ll be motivated to adjust and improve your sleeping schedule by the end of this article!
Like many people, I used to love to occasionally stay in bed, hit snooze, and postpone the beginning of my day. But, years ago, I shifted my focus. Probably because I started working on the things that were actually important to me and I realized that there was something my coworkers who came to work at 6 am and left at 2 pm were doing right.
When you weigh off the reasons to wake up early and the ones to sleep until noon, it’s obvious what the winner is. Yes, sleepyhead, unfortunately, waking up before dawn comes on top of this battle. Especially if you love daylight.
But don’t get discouraged, because, even the biggest lovers of staying up late and sleeping until noon can change their habits. If I can, trust me you can.
Is Waking Up Early Good For You?
Well, it’s the natural thing to do. Therefore…it is.
For example, my grandparents used to wake up with the first roosters. That was before sunrise and depending on the season, many times around 5 am. This was their schedule – they didn’t have an alarm, and they didn’t have phones to look at until late at night…Their days had a natural rhythm and they followed it.
And unfortunately, I feel like over the last 20 years we’ve lost that natural rhythm. We’re not in tune with our bodily clocks anymore. We, humans, are made to live mainly when the sun is up, not when the lights turn on. When the sun goes down, it’s time for us to start unwinding and start going to bed.
We don’t have this anymore. We’re overstimulated by social media, work, TV, we eat late at night and we wonder why we can’t fall asleep, have anxiety, gain weight, are always tired and wake up with a headache. We need to change that and go back to the things that are good for us.
Waking Up At 5 am Doesn’t Mean Not Sleeping
Over the years, scientists have agreed that people should get at least six hours of sleep, ideally 8 hours every day. You can stay up from time to time, but your improved daily routine should include going to bed earlier in order to have enough rest and experience all those benefits of waking up at 5 am.
Ideally, you’d want to go to bed by 10 pm and wake up at 5-6 am. That way you’d have gotten the right amount of rest and you’ll be ready to tackle all the challenges your day puts in front of you.
What Would Happen If I Don’t Get Enough Sleep?
Sleep deprivation is not a joke. Just as there are many benefits to waking up at 5 am, there are even more downsides to not getting enough sleep. Your memory and brain function could be affected, as well as your heart health. If you don’t sleep well or enough, your immunity system may weaken and you can become more prone to depression, diabetes, and weight gain. Feeling fatigue is just the beginning, if you continuously skip the six-hour rule, you may worsen your health in a serious matter. Therefore if you’re intending to change up your daily routine, start going to bed earlier.
8 Benefits Of Waking Up At 5 AM Every Day
Now you know – you need to get enough sleep and if you go to bed early enough, there can be many benefits to waking up at 5 am. They include:
- You won’t feel rushed at the start of the day
- You can sit back and enjoy the sunrise
- It’s the perfect time to implement new healthy habits
- You can work on a passion project you always put off
- You have time to plan your day and be more productive
- You can start a new hobby or learn a new skill
- You can complete your workout for the day
- You’ll Have More Of The Day
1. You Won’t Feel Rushed At The Start Of The Day
The alarm rings, you snooze it a couple of times. Then you wake up in a cold sweat, realizing it’s way too late and you need to get going ASAP. Here’s one of the benefits of waking up at 5 am – you can completely forget about rushing and stressing out in the morning.
Most of us begin work at 8-9 am. If you wake up three or four hours earlier, you have plenty of time to prepare for your day, enjoy your morning coffee or tea, and even have a healthy breakfast.
Let’s not deny it, when we’re rushing we often either eat something on the go or skip the most important meal of the day completely. Rushing and stress are awful ways to begin your day!
2. You Can Sit Back And Enjoy The Sunrise
Going with the first of the benefits of waking up at 5 am, one of the best things about early rising is that you can witness the sunrise as well. The few moments of quiet and peace can really work wonders for your mentality at the beginning of the day and give you a calm start.
Too often we’re so wrapped up in work that we skip seeing the sunset, let alone wake up early enough to watch it rise. If you build the habit of waking up at 5 in the morning, you can be one of the lucky ones witnessing this magical moment every day.
3. It’s The Perfect Time To Implement New Healthy Habits
If you can get into the routine and wake up early, then you can use these precious early morning hours to develop new healthy habits as well. One of the benefits of waking up at 5 am is that you can practice said new habit first thing in the morning.
That way you won’t have any room for excuses – you’ll have a set time for it and you just do it. So whether it’s preparing a healthy breakfast, drinking a good amount of water, or even walking around the neighborhood, the perfect time would be early in the morning when you’re most fresh.
4. You Can Work On A Passion Project You Always Put Off
Our days can become overcrowded. And the thing we always put aside? The joy-bringers. Do something for yourself when you wake up at 5 am.
Start that blog you’ve always wanted to write or even do the first draft of the short story collection you’ve been planning in your head. Waking up an hour earlier every day will allow you to have time to build your passion project and sustain it.
5. You Have Time To Plan Your Day And Be More Productive
That early bird we spoke about, she got the worm because she planned in advance. You don’t have to sustain a fancy planner, you can jot down the important tasks of your day in a notebook or even on your phone.
One of the benefits of waking up at 5 am is that you have time to prioritize, to choose what you should do first and what’s more important than the other. That way you won’t waste energy rushing around and wondering what to do, what’s next?
Spending 10 minutes of planning in the morning will make you more productive because you’ll be able to organize your days more efficiently.
6. You Can Start A New Hobby Or Learn A New Skill
Another thing you can do at 5 am? Start a new hobby or learn a new skill you’ve always said you would…
Early morning is the best time to do it, since there’s hardly anyone around, meaning no distractions. You can start painting or improve your photography skills, and why not – learn a completely new language. I know it sounds pretty ambitious, but the last is actually extremely easy now, thanks to online resources.
7. You Can Complete Your Workout For The Day
You’ve noticed the pattern with the benefits of waking up early by now, right? Early in the day, means no time for excuses.
If you manage to skip the snooze button and get ready, you can even reach your fitness goal of the day. Running outside is amazing when there aren’t that many people and cars going around. You can go to the gym or even use the time to do a free at-home workout!
You’ll feel energized for the day and you will have already gotten your workout in by 7 am. It’s perfect!
8. You’ll Have More Of The Day
I know it seems like that’s not right, but imagine if you work for yourself and have done most of your work by 2 pm. You get to do so much more during the rest of the day!
You can go fishing, you can go to a cafe, you can go have fun with your friends or family, you can garden, you can go play bowling or golf or tennis…There’s so much you can do before the sun sets. These long days create memories and make life so much fuller. Imagine having more of them. What would life be like?
In comparison, what do you do when you wake up at 9 am and go to bed at 1 am? Besides, best case – going to a bar or (realistically) scrolling on your phone? You’re basically wasting a precious day. And when those become too many, you’re wasting a part of your life.
So don’t take waking up at 5 am just as something that you need to do in order to stay fit or to make more money. Take it as an opportunity to live life and live it in a better, more positive way. The way it was intended to be.
How To Wake Up At 5 AM: Helpful Tips And Tricks
Now you know some of the main benefits of waking up at 5 am. But you may be desperately asking yourself – how can you even achieve that? For starters, stop going to bed so late. Building a consistent sleeping schedule will turn this into a healthy habit. Here are some other tricks to help you out as well:
- Eat a healthy and balanced diet
- Start going to bed and waking up earlier in order to train your body
- Avoid screens an hour or so before going to bed
- Spend more time outside to improve your sleep
- Exercise regularly to improve your circadian rhythm
- Don’t drink too much coffee, instead switch to water
With these simple tips, you’ll improve the quality of your sleep, so that you can soon start waking up earlier. Not only will you have more time at the beginning of your day, but you also will feel more rested and focused throughout it.
More Morning Routine Inspiration
I hope you’re now feeling motivated and more open to waking up at 5 am, so that you can experience these benefits for yourself and discover new ones as well! If you’re trying to build new healthy habits and wanting to start with your morning routine, you might also enjoy these articles:
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