Waking up early is no easy task. Apart from those few lucky “morning people,” most individuals would probably agree they don’t like having to wake up early. And you might be one of these individuals.
But did you know that there are countless benefits to being an early riser? As it turns out, to wake up early is to do yourself a favor. There are almost no limits to the positive things it can do for your mind and body.
This isn’t just a random statement. Science has backed the act of rising early for years. Even if it makes you groan, give waking up early a try and you might be surprised! Here’s why you should wake up early every morning, according to science.
10 Reasons Why You Should Wake Up Early Every Morning, According To Science
“Wake up early every day so that while others are dreaming, you can make your dreams come true.” – Hal Elrod
1. There’s peace, quiet, and silence
According to this study on NCBI, when you wake up early, you’re up before the rest of the world is. There are no honking horns from traffic. There are no sounds of music or loud voices. You basically have a nice, quiet moment to yourself – something super valuable in our hectic lives.
You have this moment to really hear your thoughts. If you wake up early enough, you have the time to breathe and relax. Let yourself wake up as you read a book or simply sit in silence. Look out the window and admire the world, or use the time to meditate.
Having this moment of quiet solitude isn’t just about chilling out. Silent moments are actually highly beneficial for the brain and body. They help to:
- Increase oxygen levels in the brain
- Reduce blood pressure
- Lessen migraines
- Boost mental health
Just a short amount of quiet can provide numerous positives to your overall health – a perfect reason to wake up early.
2. You get to plan and organize your day
When you don’t wake up early, you’re constantly rushing through the morning. You barely have time to stop and think, much less draw out a daily plan or to-do list.
Being organized is important for productivity and stress management. If you know what you’re going to do for the rest of the day, you’ll be in the right headspace to accomplish these tasks. Without a to-do list, you’re also more likely to forget important things.
By waking up early, you’re setting time aside to write down a list of daily tasks. This will allow you to approach them more easily and keep them in mind, even amidst tiring distractions. Set some daily goals or just take 10 minutes to scribble out a plan for errands. It’ll make you less stressed and more productive.
3. When you wake up early, you have time for breakfast
When you get up late, you don’t have time to cook a nutritious breakfast. Instead, you grab a sandwich, a cereal stuffed with sugar, or, worse still, just settle for a quick drink.
Breakfast is a very important meal and should not be skipped or minimized with unhealthy food. Having a healthy meal first thing in the morning can set a precedent for your wellbeing the rest of the day. It can even stop you from eating junk food!
Here are all the positive effects of a good breakfast, thus why waking up early is important:
- Kick-starts your metabolism so you’re better at burning calories
- Helps you focus
- Provides much-needed energy
- Lowers levels of negative cholesterol
- Reduces risk of heart disease and diabetes
- Reduces chances of being overweight
- Ensures healthy bodily rhythm
- Provides better mood and positive thinking
The benefits of eating nutritiously from the get-go are unparalleled. You’d be surprised just how much eating well first thing in the morning can improve your life!
4. You’ll have better brain function
If you’re feeling foggy throughout the day, you might need to set your alarm earlier. According to a biology professor named Christopher Randler, who works at Heidelberg, Germany’s University of Education, to wake up early is to help your brain function.
People who wake up earlier enjoy better critical thinking and problem-solving skills. They tend to be more creative, funnier, and even engage with work much more easily thanks to a boost in concentration and memory.
This means you’ll perform better at work and maybe even act more outgoing. So if you’ve been gunning for a promotion for a while, setting your alarm to ring earlier might get you where you want to go!
5. Waking up early provides more energy
You might generally feel groggy when you wake up in the morning. All you have to do to change that is to shift your sleep and wake times earlier. It doesn’t sound like it’d work, but it definitely does!
Shifting these schedules earlier helps you to get better sleep, which we’ll talk about later. Here’s what you need to know: entering deep-sleep cycles provides restorative benefits. Going to sleep and waking up earlier can help you to sink into these stages more easily.
Here’s an idea of what happens in deep sleep cycles:
- Increased blood supply in muscles
- Tissue repair
- Bone repair
- Cellular corrections
- Release of growth hormones to build muscle
- Lowered blood pressure
- Relaxation of the body
It’s pretty obvious that these benefits are crucial to daily health. For you to feel refreshed and restored every morning, you need more deep sleep. For better deep sleep, you need to sleep and wake earlier – simple as that.
6. There’s a chance it’ll make you more attractive
Looks aren’t everything. But if that’s something you care about, you could improve your appearance if you sleep and wake up early. The more tired you appear, the less attractive you’ll be perceived, according to a study by the University of Stockholm. And of course, sleeping and waking late make you feel and look more tired.
There’s another factor that could contribute to this, too. Because the first few morning hours are so important, people who wake up early are likely to have lower body mass indices. Of course, people of all sizes can be attractive, but if you’re aiming to bust fat, waking up early may be the way to go.
7. Waking up early has links to good grades
Still a student? Many students burn the midnight oil and sleep in for hours whenever they can spare the time. But reversing this and starting to wake up early can actually be better for your grades! At least, that’s what studies across Europe and America say in regards to students in university.
These studies simply found that those who wake up earlier get consistently higher grades. They also tend to have a higher average GPA. This is likely due to better time management, but it can also be because of how early risers tend to have better concentration and focus.
As aforementioned, those who wake up early tend to have better critical thinking skills – also crucial to college students.
8. You’ll sleep better
People who need to get up early need to better plan their sleep routines. This allows them to have steady, reliable sleeping schedules that they follow to the letter. They often sleep at the same early time daily, then rise at the same time, too.
It seems like a logical conclusion: if you sleep early and wake up early, better sleep is on the horizon. If you keep a good, steady sleep routine that doesn’t change often, you’re teaching your body’s internal clock to operate on specific times.
Once this internal clock is trained to your new routine, it will run in your favor. You’ll be sleepy when you want to be and wide awake when you need to be. You’ll also be able to wake up more naturally and without that groggy feeling. So skip sleeping in on weekends and stick to the same bed and wake times for best results.
9. You’re more productive when you wake up early
A study published in the Journal of General Psychology in 2008 revealed that those who wake up early procrastinate less than those who burn the midnight oil and wake up late. Many morning people tend to be more disciplined and focused, which contributes to this productivity.
Plenty of studies detail how early risers have a tendency to be more agreeable and cooperative. This can allow for more work to be done since you’re a better team player. Those who wake up early also tend to be more persistent than others, so they are more determined to complete tasks.
Here are some of the other ways being an early riser can boost your overall productivity:
- Your brain is recharged and primed for work
- You start your day with less distractions, so you get more done
- You can plan your day easily
- You have more energy for tasks
- You’ll be in a better mood
In short, if you have trouble hitting your daily goals, you might want to consider waking up early.
10. Your mental health and positive thinking will soar
Waking up early does you a lot of benefits, but the largest is probably on mental health. Sleeping too much by not waking up early can even put you at a higher risk for developing depression. The same goes for other mental illnesses and disorders.
A study published in the Cognitive Therapy and Research journal revealed that those who sleep later and wake up earlier are at risk of developing negative thoughts. These can often be overwhelming for those individuals.
If you find yourself lying awake at night with bad thoughts flooding your head, it may be time to readjust your sleeping patterns. Waking up early – and therefore sleeping earlier daily – can provide the relief you need.
Final Thoughts On Why You Should Wake Up Early Every Morning
It isn’t easy to wake up early each and every single morning. But with science proving that it provides so many positive results, it can’t be all bad. As a matter of fact, it may completely transform your everyday life.
While not everyone is able to wake up early, if you can, it’s certainly worth giving a try. With a little effort and some routine changes, you’ll be well on your way to enjoying these incredible, scientifically-proven benefits of waking up early.
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