Night Owl or Early Bird?
Written By: Natalie Koeber
Many people classify themselves as a morning person or a night person. For the longest time I convinced myself that I was a night person and that made getting up in the morning so hard for me. But there are so many reasons to wake up early that have changed my whole mindset!
When waking up early, it is best to have something to do. If you’re anything like me, you snooze your alarm for 45 minutes until you have to get up so that you’re not too late but just make it on time. This is something that over the past few months I have been trying to work on and change. One thing that really helped me was switching from night workouts to morning workouts. This way I wake up and have something to do. Waking up early just to wake up early may not be beneficial because there is no point. I found this really good quote that gave me some perspective “When you’re up at the ass crack of dawn working on your side business, exercising, or planning your day, you feel like you have a head start on the rest of the world.” Once you look at the clock and see the time you would normally get up has rolled around, you feel so proud of yourself. You feel on pace to get more done in the day than the average person and you will be so motivated. You’ll realize how much time you actually have in a day and you won’t feel like you wasted the day!
Getting up early has so many productivity benefits. You can create more time in your day to do or start the things you have always wanted. Maybe you rush out of the house without eating breakfast; waking up 30 minutes earlier than usual to cook yourself a hearty breakfast can change your day. Maybe you want to read more but can’t figure out how to squeeze it in during the day, waking up half an hour earlier allows you time to sit, relax, read a chapter of that book before even starting your day. You have more time to plan out your day, get things done for yourself, make a healthy lunch, finish up homework or study. You get a complete jump start on the day allowing you to have a better mindset and result in a better day.
It is so interesting how waking up early is actually more restful. It is more restful for your mind when you have a slow and relaxed morning versus a stressful and rushed morning. I get it, we are busy people! But life only gets busier! It is vital for our mental health to have a quiet time of reflection, meditation or maybe for you it’s simply being able to sit and drink your coffee before the rest of your house is awake. You might make the argument that you are more tired when you wake up early, but there are 2 solutions to that problem. Try and go to sleep earlier and the more you wake up early, the easier it will be! Your body will start to get into a routine and soon you’ll find yourself waking up at 7am on a Saturday morning :) Finding quiet time and space throughout the day is difficult.
Creating those extra minutes by waking up earlier allows your mind to slowly wake up, by waking up quickly and rushing to complete your morning routine to get to work or school is not healthy or restful for your mind. Getting up earlier reduces stress during your morning routine! And of course, waking up earlier makes it easier to go to sleep at night. So many people have a hard time going to sleep. People often have a sleep ritual that may consist of- melatonin, weighted blankets, sound machines, fans or maybe just turning their phones off. Waking up early could possibly eliminate your reliance on these items and have the ability to naturally fall asleep easier and quicker. Have you ever had a long day, where you got up early and were busy all day long?
As soon as your head hits the pillow you pass out and it’s the best feeling. This is more likely to happen often if you are waking up earlier everyday. People who often work non-consistent shifts are more susceptible to physical and mental ailments, such as police officers or nurses. Working day shifts one week and night shifts the next confuses your brain and your body, which makes you more prone to health problems. Waking up early might not feel amazing, but you can get used to it! It just might become a habit, a habit that you just might learn to love and appreciate more than you ever thought you would. Time is incessantly ticking, might as well get the most out of every day, right?
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