Surprising Benefits of Waking up Early

An old adage goes like this, “Early to bed and early to rise; makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.” Waking up early in the morning can jump start your day. They say early birds are happier, slimmer and healthier than night owls.

Waking up early in the morning perhaps does not fit into our lifestyle. Coming home in the evening, crashing on the sofa, watching TV, having a late dinner, going late to bed and waking up just in time to get ready and get going to work is what life is all about for so many people.

There is no sunrise so beautiful that it is worth waking me up to see it. ~ Mindy Kaling (Tweet this)

Waking up early is not only difficult, it is also undesirable. Only if we knew the benefits of rising early, we would perhaps get up much earlier in the morning than we do now.

Benefits of waking up early

• You have time for workouts which makes you healthier and fitter. Most people are not able to work out regularly due to their packed schedule. The benefits of exercising regularly need not be detailed here as everyone knows about them. Regular workouts not only makes you fitter, it also makes you happy and you can become more efficient at work too. But working out is reserved usually for those waking up early as they get more spare time. Regular exercise boosts levels of feel-good brain chemicals called endorphins and lifts energy levels. Getting up early regularly exposes one to fresh oxygen and leads to higher metabolic rate all through the day.
• Waking up early makes you more emotionally balanced. A study reveals that people who sleep on time in the night and wake up early in the morning are happier than the people who wake up late. Early risers are emotionally more balanced and physically more energetic. On the other hand, people who sleep late in the night and wake up late are more temperamental and impulsive.
• You could gain more weight, staying up into the night. People who stay up late in the night have higher chances of gaining weight than those who sleep and wake up on time. Sleeping and waking up late is also related to laziness. A study reveals that people who sleep late usually watch more TV and have unhealthy eating habits too. Late risers also work out less and as a result feel physically more inactive throughout the day.
• Waking up early means quieter time with self. Early risers not only enjoy health benefits, there are other benefits too. If you have been out of your house even once in the early morning, you will know how good it feels breathing-in the fresh morning air. When you start your day with the “feel-good” factor, you stay happier for the rest of the day. More importantly you get to enjoy the quiet of the morning leaving you alone with yourself to introspect and think about life.

How to start waking up early in the morning?

• Change your schedule gradually: If you are in the habit of waking up at 9 AM and want to change your schedule drastically by waking up at 5 AM, you will find it difficult to manage. After a few days, you will most likely give up. Therefore, change your habit gradually. Decrement your wake-up time by 15-20 minutes every week. It will take you a few months to change the habit but it will be permanent.
• Sleep early: This goes without saying but you need to sleep early to wake up early. If you sleep late and wake up early you will be sleep deprived which will result in related health problems. To sleep early, you will need to change your routine and habits. You will have to give up watching TV till late night. You will need to get done with your dinner early too.
• Keep your alarm clock away from the bed: What do you do when the alarm goes off in the morning and you are still feeling sleepy? You snooze it. Keeping the alarm clock away from the bed will ensure that you have to get up and walk up to it. You will already be up by now. So now you will have to focus on staying up rather than getting up.
• Become a robot: The moment you wake up in the morning, start behaving like a robot under someone else’s command. Do not let your brain do the talking with you. If you will allow your brain to talk, it will convince you that you should sleep again.

Also Read – Good Night’s Sleep – 10 Tips, Sleep and Happiness – Are they Connected

Conclusion

You might feel grumpy in the beginning on account of waking up early, but once habituated, you will feel more energetic all day. It has been studied that “morning people” are lesser prone to pessimism and negativity and are a more satified lot. Staying up at night on the excuse of being a creative person might cost you heavily by exposing you to depression and other psychological issues.

Lose an hour in the morning, and you will be all day hunting for it ~ Richard Whately (Tweet this)

Early birds are also less stressed, due to having more time to plan their day, exercise before work, and eat a healthy breakfast. So, start waking up early and never let the sun catch you sleeping!