Who really loves waking up early, when sleeping in sounds so much more appealing? Waking up early serves both your mind and body. It`s the start to your day, and will most likely set the tone for the entire day. If you wake up late, you spend the little time you do have rushing to get dressed, eat something, get the kids ready, and get out the door hoping you won’t be late again like yesterday. The more you’re late, the more likely you will continue on that same pattern. Rushing leaves no time for exercise or ME TIME. Rushing out the door will likely be the cause of forgetting something, getting stuck in traffic, being late for work, and having an overall bad day. Being late also increases your odds of getting a speeding ticket or getting in a car accident, making matters worse for you and your budget. All of this and more, can be the result of simply hitting the snooze button. If this sounds like your typical morning or a morning you’ve had more than on one occasion, keep reading.
13 BENEFITS OF WAKING UP EARLY:
1) Improved mood: It makes sense that if you’re not in a rush, you then have more time to start your day. To have more time to do things that make you feel ready and accomplished, leaving a feeling of tranquility and happiness.
2) Reduced depression and anxiety: Extra exposure to sunlight promotes the happy hormone, seratonin leaving less time for depression or anxiety to set in.
3) Opportunity for morning success: Being early allows for more quiet time to complete work with quality and efficiency. Accomplishing simple and important tasks and assignments will leave you feeling satisfied and confident.
4) Adjusts for an earlier sleep time: Consistently waking early, programs your brain to automatically wake and go to sleep at the same each day. Consistency and dedication will allow you to accomplish this healthy habit.
5) Extra ME TIME: Who doesn`t like more ME TIME. Having more time in the morning allows for more time for what’s important to you that you otherwise might not find time for. Whether it’s mindfully sitting on the porch while drinking your favorite tea, going for a mindful morning walk, or reading a good book.
6) Having time for healthy meals: People are more likely to eat healthier, if more time is available to prep and eat meals. Not eating in a rush and actually having time to taste and enjoy your food creates happy mindful moments you deserve.
7) Time for exercise: Consistent exercise is good for your mind and body. It’s a proven stress and anxiety reducer and serotonin stimulant. Morning exercise is more beneficial than evening exercise, since it wakes up your mind and body.
8) Extra time with family: More time in the mornings can leave more mindful time with family before starting the busy day.
9) Time for mindful moments: More time to take in the sights, breathe in the sweet smells, and hear the peaceful sounds each morning brings. Notice things you would normally overlook.
10) Sufficient time to wake up to properly function: Our brain needs a sufficient amount of time to wake up connections in the brain to reach peak wakefulness, which can improve your mental clarity, concentration, alertness, energy levels, and memory. Sleep inertia or sleep-induced brain fog can last minutes to 4 hours, but typically 30 minutes unless you didn’t sleep enough. Sleep inertia is the groggy feeling after waking up.
More about sleep inertia.
Symptoms: You might feel drowsy, disoriented, or have a desire to go back to sleep. You might also have a slower reaction time (so don’t wake and run out the door), and even short-term memory loss.
-Waking early provides more time to naturally wake up instead of relying on several cups of coffee to do the job.
Should I hit the snooze button? Just 1 more minute.
If you go back to sleep when it’s time or close to time to wake up, your brain will get confused and not know when it should prep your body for wakeup. If your alarm is set to wake you in less than 90 minutes, stay up, especially if you’ve had enough sleep already (7-9 hours depending on the person). If you feel awake before your alarm yells, it’s a good sign that your sleep schedule is aligned with your circadian rhythm and it’s time to wake up.
Research has shown that a complete sleep cycle takes around 90 minutes, and interrupting one can lead to sleep inertia. When waking from a short snooze, you usually end up emerging again from a dream within your REM sleep-cycle (deep-sleep), which makes it even harder for you to get up than initially, since you’re more tired than before. So the next time you think about hitting the snooze button, don’t!
11) Stronger immune system: Sleep deficiency is associated with health problems such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes, as well as higher risk of accidents and injuries.
12) Improved skin health: prevents fine lines, wrinkles, and acne.
13) Sets a good example: Your kids are likely to follow in your footsteps. Being consistent with positive behaviors is great for children to learn from and to take to adulthood.
As you have read, there are so many benefits to waking up early. Way more healthy benefits than what sleeping in can provide. All these are healthy, affordable, and easily accessible. Do what makes you happy in the morning. Use your 5 senses to indulge in a great morning. Be mindful. Be happy. Be Healthy.
*See my 10 TIPS FOR WAKING UP EARLY blog post.
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