How to Wake Up Early and Own Your Mornings: A Peaceful, Productive Life
The world has consistently pushed back the time for sleeping ever since the discovery of the light bulb. As the night sky grew brighter, so did I our desire to stay up and enjoy then nights. And as technology advanced in the 20th century, and especially after the discovery of television and devices with screens, we got more and more activities to keep us up in the night. Most tv shows for adults happen late at night. Sports matches happen late at night.
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The humans who once slept little after sundown, now casually sleep at midnight, losing valuable sleeping time and waking up late in the morning, missing all the beautiful sunlight.
But there is a fallback, a change, a considerable group of people willing to make the change; to make use of the darkness of the night for quality sleep, and the freshness of the morning for productive work. This is especially amongst students, sportsmen, and good businessmen.
Why me? Why should I subscribe to this lifestyle?
First of all, to avoid harming your body. It doesn’t matter if you control what you eat, exercise daily, be clean all the time; if you don’t go to sleep at the right time, all the benefits from the above activities will go to the bin.
Studies have found that, sleeping after 11 pm disrupts your natural circadian rhythm(your body’s internal clock, that regulates when you feel tired or awake, and plenty of other functions), cause hormonal imbalance(especially increases stress hormones like cortisol, which affect mood and blood sugar), mental health, cognitive function(thinking and memory), immunity, metabolism, and increases the risk for heart disease.
Wow, right? Who would’ve thought that by sleeping after 11pm you’re hurting the most important organ in your body the heart?
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But doesn’t it make perfect sense? Reports suggest that mental health problems, especially depression, are at historically high levels. So is the average sleeping time of the world. Coincidence?
So what’s the other side of the coin: better immunity, better weight management(studies have found that sleeping earlier regulates appetite controlling hormones, which helps control cravings), better cognitive function, better mental health, reduced risk of heart disease, and better overall health. And notably, there’s an old saying that “an hour of sleep before midnight is worth two after.” Although this isn’t literally correct, it holds some truth; sleep before midnight tends to be richer and crucial for physical repair and brain organization.
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Therefore, it doesn’t matter if you’re a competitive sportsman, a student, or a businessman; if you wish to live a healthy, peaceful life, sleeping early and capturing your mornings is essential.
How do I Sleep Early?
To wake up in the morning, you have to go to sleep first, right? We talked of circadian rhythms and our body’s clock. If you are someone who sleeps past 11 pm, or even worse, midnight, you can’t suddenly sleep at 10 pm, let alone earlier. The body clock won’t allow it.
Set a goal of sleeping about 15-30 minutes earlier every day until you reach your target, and make sure to follow the rules set in the following section.
So, How Do We Wake Up Early?
I know it sounds pretty counterintuitive, considering how the world has done everything it can to make us sleep later. But we are humans; we have wisdom and creativity. We can use the same technology that’s stopping us from sleeping to help us sleep.
But before that, let’s look at some of the non-technology methods of sleeping early.
1. Intention and Sleep Early
Whatever it is we’re doing, it is important to make sure we have the right intention. Unless you really want to do it, after looking at the benefits and dangers listed above, you won’t be able to do it. Mindset comes first.
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Decide what you want; the more specific the better. Maybe you want to lead a healthier life, better weight management, wake up early, etc. Decide it.
I have joined sleeping early with intention because the two go together. Yes, our goal is to wake up early, but we don’t want to sleep fewer hours and wake up groggy.
2. Avoid heavy eating, caffeine, and eating close to bedtime
Eating close to bedtime, especially foods heavy in sugar and sodium, can result in lighter sleep and disturb the circadian rhythm because the digestive system is forced to work when it should be resting. The resulting digestion is poor and can cause weight gain, acid reflux, and heartburn. Think of it like an employee forced to work overtime, no wonder it's grumpy.
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Everyone knows what caffeine is used for. You can’t expect to get better sleep from caffeinated beverages.
3. Reduce exposure to blue light before bedtime
Blue light is a specific wavelength of light and the light emitted from electronic devices or screens belongs to that wavelength. We actually get most of our blue light from the sun, but this isn’t a problem because the sun isn’t shining at night. Back when artificial light and blue light weren’t a thing, the sunrise and sunset perfectly regulated our circadian rhythms.
Blue light suppresses the release of the hormone called melatonin which makes us drowsy and reduces alertness. This is useful during the day, and that’s how sunlight keeps us awake.
But what happens when we’re exposed to it right before bedtime? I’m sure you already understand.
It is recommended by experts to block exposure to blue light at least an hour before sleep.
4. Set multiple alarms
Now for the more practical approach. Big words for something simple, I know, but it is effective if you aren’t someone who easily wakes up to alarms.
Set alarms for every 5 or 10 minutes from your intended time.
5. Remain consistent
Go to sleep at the same time everyday, regardless of what day it is. Even if the night looks inviting, remind yourself why you signed up for this in the first place. The morning is more valuable.
Go to sleep at the same time, wake up at the same time, everyday.
A Better Life
I haven’t so far mentioned a time. One person’s early morning might be another’s late morning. But generally, try to target 5am or earlier. Waking up just before the sun rises is so refreshing and calming. You can begin work or exercise with no distractions.
Let’s change ourselves for a better life, simply by changing how we sleep!