Waking up late eats up a lot of time throughout the day that you could have made available for yourself. Plus, it’s detrimental to your mental, physical and emotional health as well. Therefore, let’s steer our wheel and understand the benefits of waking up early so we stick to a productive morning routine.
The perks of being an early-riser are manifold. You find more time to work on yourself like exercising, meditating, journaling, studying, walking, etc. But you also need to start somewhere. Hence, in this blog, we are also going to discuss how to wake up early in the morning and stick to the sleep schedule.
10 Health Benefits of Waking Up Early in the Morning
When you start to wake up early, you immediately feel a sense of accomplishment and therefore a motivation to do more. This slight push in energy brings a rich sense of positivity right in the early morning. And as they say- morning shows the day. So, let’s look at some of the health benefits of waking up early in the morning!
1. Get More Time to Do More
Do you love exercising? Is walking in nature your idea of fun? Are you into poetry but haven’t written a single line in years? As you wake up early, you can give yourself that “extra time” you are always looking to do the things you are fond of.
If nothing, you can just watch the sunrise, hear the birds, smell some flowers, take time to drink your tea and eat a royal breakfast, and have a long warm bath in the morning to start your day in your best mood. Hence, this is one of the benefits of waking up early as it allows you more time to enjoy the things we generally have no time to appreciate!
2. Helps Maintain a Healthy Diet
As you wake up early, you tend to feel hungry soon. This way, the timing of meals are proper as you don’t miss out on breakfast which is really important for our body. As opposed to late risers who tend to miss out breakfast majorly and grab the kind of food that is quick to eat.
Therefore, one of the benefits of waking up early is that you can maintain a healthy diet. You will get more time to prepare a meal or maybe meals for all three times! Basically, you wouldn’t have to grab food from outside and you’d be more likely to take cooked food with yourself.
3. Improves Concentration
As an early riser, you can expect to improve your concentration. Your focus on the tasks at hand and at the present moment will enhance dramatically. To boost it further, you might want to consider meditating first thing in the morning. Just 20 minutes can work wonders.
With enhanced concentration, you tend to be more efficient and find yourself following a productive morning routine!
4. Boosts Productivity
Sleeping early, getting a goodnight’s sleep, and waking up early is one of the benefits of waking up early as it leads to greater productivity.
Have you heard of the 5 am club? It was a concept developed by leadership and performance expert, Robin Sharma, more than 20 years ago. According to him, one of the surefire ways of achieving professional success is by joining the 5 am club, that is, waking up early.
You can sort out your tasks and prioritize work more efficiently since your mind is fresh and functioning at its best. You are more likely to make better decisions in such a state of mind. Also, your energy levels tend to be way higher when you wake up early, which directly affects your productivity and performance.
Remember, lack of a healthy routine and habits, and frequent sleeplessness can negatively affect the cognitive and behavioral aspects of your body. Hence, understanding the importance of sleep and, in turn, waking up early can bring a really positive impact on your well-being in the long run.
5. Strengthening Mental Health
One of the significant benefits of waking up early is that it helps improve your mental health dramatically. You tend to have fewer stress issues thanks to the break of dawn that you get to experience the time with yourself and focus better.
As you wake up early, you don’t fight with the rush of time. This way, you can form a healthy morning routine for yourself. Starting from journalling where you can mention the things you are grateful for today. Thus, with such positivity, you can start the day and win!
Did you know that waking up early can actually lead to an enhanced mental health? Read this to know more!
6. Enhanced Quality of Sleep
To wake up early consistently, you need to go to bed early at night. This means you need to maintain a healthy nighttime routine before bed so as to fall asleep quickly as you hit the bed. This stands as one of the important benefits of waking up early! When you wake up early, your body accumulates adenosine faster thereby making you sleepy in the late evening hours. Now, adenosine is a neurotransmitter that triggers your body to feel sleepy. And it does this by inhibiting neuron activity!
If you want additional information on how to incorporate the most healthy sleeping habits into your day-to-day life, check this blog to help you get a sound sleep tonight!
7. No Distractions, Quiet Time
Early in the morning when everything is quiet, you tend to think more clearly and calmly. With the distractions gone, you can enjoy a peaceful time. This is one of the advantages of early rising. You can either take a walk down the street, do some chores to free up the maximum of your day, or even study for better focus.
8. Helps Maintain a Healthier Skin
A good night’s sleep can turn out to be miraculous as it allows your body to repair and replenish the skin. As a result, getting uninterrupted sleep and waking up early will help your skin rejuvenate itself and get back its natural glow.
When you get more time in the day, you make more time to follow a healthy morning routine. For example, exercising, hydrating, exfoliation, etc. These oxygenate your body further thereby making your skin glow and maintain good health.
Furthermore, healthier skin becomes one of the benefits of waking up early as you develop healthier and more consistent sleep schedules!
9. Boosts Energy and Motivation
Waking up early gives you more energy with motivation right at the start of the day! If you are new to this practice, you will feel a clear sense of energy followed by a strong motivation to start the day on a positive and productive note. Better yet, try getting some sunlight during that time as it helps you with your sleep schedule at night.
Also, here’s a thought-provoking study by Harvard which shows how waking up an hour before can prevent you from getting into the trap of anxiety or depression in the long run. Do read!
10. Improve Performance
With the morning light and essence, you tend to focus better thereby resulting in better performance in whatever you put your mind to. In Indian households, there is a belief that studying early in the morning helps keep the new information in your memory for long and improve your performance.
Hence, improving performance is one of the benefits of waking up early thanks to the quiet and calm environment around!
8 Effective Tips to Wake up Early in the Morning
Now that you understand the advantages of early rising, it’s equally important to stick to this practice! Simply waking up one fine morning and the remaining mornings of the year meeting you at 9 am won’t be really meaningful. Hence, we brought some effective tips to wake up early in the morning!
1. Have a routine before bed
Maintain a hygiene routine before bed. Brush your teeth- no matter how much you hate it, wash your hands, feet, ears or take a bath, write down your to-dos for tomorrow, and set your alarm. This alone makes your body prepare for bedtime!
2. Drink warm milk before sleep
One of the foods that help in falling asleep faster is drinking milk. Milk contains tryptophan, an amino acid that allows us to sleep better. This acid turns into a hormone that gives you pleasure named serotonin. And eventually, serotonin boosts the amount of melatonin that’s responsible for good sleep!
3. Do some stretches before bed
Doing stretches before sleep is one of the key tips to wake up early in the morning as it helps soothe muscle tension and enhance blood flow. And these factors are responsible for your sleep quality at night. Plus, stretching also caters to rejuvenating your body during sleep.
4. Go to bed early
Obviously, one way how to wake up early in the morning is if you have a healthy sleep cycle and go to bed early. Fix a time to go to sleep at night and stick to it. Preferably, you can choose 9 or 10 pm as your bedtime. And start your nighttime routine that we mentioned 45 mins before the fixed time. This way, you will stick to the said time and gradually make your body habituated to this.
5. Reduce electronic devices 2 hours before bed
Try reducing the usage of electronics, mobile phones, etc at least 45 mins before bedtime. This will prepare your eyes and your body to feel sleepy at the right time. As opposed to you using your phone right in bed prepared to sleep will further keep you awake.
6. Eat less before bed
One of the ways how to wake up early is to eat less before hitting the bed at night. Your body takes time to digest and hence you should in fewer quantities and at least 2 hours before sleep. This way, you don’t wake up with indigestion or gastric issues.
7. Fix a reason to wake up early
Set a goal that you’d do as you wake up early. Some people need a good reason to wake up early or else they cannot. Hence, if you find it difficult to wake up in the morning, try to keep a good goal that you will finish or start in those early hours.
8. Use the extra time with positivity
As you wake up, try using the free time with positivity. For eg, start journaling or listen to podcasts for personal growth. This will help you maintain a positive attitude towards the things you do throughout the day.
Now, that you understand the benefits of waking up early, you may also follow the tips on how to be an early-riser. This way, you can form a new habit that will take care of your mental health and physical health better.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the best time to sleep and wake up?
The best time to sleep and wake up is as early as possible. For sleeping, ideally, you should sleep by 10 PM every night. And wake up ideally at 6 AM. If you prefer and consider the best time to sleep and wake up a little earlier, that too is perfect!
- How should I follow a productive morning routine?
You can start by planning the next day at night before sleep. Here are what you can do:
- Note down your to-dos for the next day before bed,
- Wake up between 5:30 to 6 AM,
- Journal your thoughts and positive affirmations,
- Meditate,
- Exercise for at least 15 minutes,
- Get some sunlight,
- Prepare a meal,
- Study
- How to wake up early in the morning?
You can wake up in the morning easily if you follow some basic steps:
- Have a routine before bed,
- Drink warm mil before bed,
- Do some stretches before bed,
- Go to bed early,
- Stop using phone/electronics 1 hour before bedtime,
- East in fewer quantities before bed,
- Set a good reason to wake up early.
- What are the benefits of waking up early in the morning?
The morning light allows more time for you to do more for yourself. You find a peaceful surrounding and hence a good focus. Here is why you need to start waking up early in the morning:
- Improves performance,
- Boosts concentration,
- Improves mental health,
- Keeps skin healthy,
- Maintain a healthy diet,
- More time for yourself,
- No distractions.
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