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How waking up early can improve your lifestyle
Even though I find it hard to get up early, I try my best to do so every day. Based on my own experience, I've realized that getting up late usually leads to a bad day simply because you feel you've wasted valuable time and are not motivated to do anything else. Getting up early, on the other hand, makes you feel in control of your day, leading you to manage everything a lot better. There are many other benefits as well.
Research has shown that waking up just an hour earlier every day can lower depression risk by 23%. Findings also revealed that the benefits increase with each hour of waking up earlier. The early hours are usually quiet and peaceful, giving you time for activities like meditation, exercise, and journaling (or simply some me-time). These activities can help you clear your mind, reduce stress, and create a positive mindset for the day. This mindset also helps you stay focused on your tasks for the day and increases productivity levels. You become less likely to put off tasks and can get momentum by finishing some of your smaller chores in the morning. This decreases procrastination tendencies. Normally people who wake up early get exposed to more natural sunlight which increases their serotonin levels. Their body slowly aligns with the natural light patterns and they start going to bed earlier too.
It takes time for our bodies to adjust to a new routine so if you're used to waking up late and want to start waking up early, be gentle with yourself and don't push too hard. Here are some tips that can make the process easier:
- Avoid screens before going to sleep.
- Place your phone/alarm clock across your room so that you have to get out of bed to switch it off.
- Don't burden yourself with too many tasks in the morning.
- Keep something you really like doing (and enjoy more than sleeping) as the first thing you do when you're up.