A personal development

What Waking up at 6 am Does for the Mind, Soul, and Body

Why you should be waking at the crack of dawn every morning

Image crafted by myself

Did you know that waking up early can make you more positive and productive? Well, it is true. You may find it annoying that I am even telling this because more than likely you were taught this very same idea growing up.

The famous saying you snooze, you lose actually holds more meaning than you’re aware.

The term means that every time you do hit the snooze button, you are actually missing out on your life rather than just me.eting the cold floor with your bare feet. Hitting the snooze button can damage your sleep cycles long term and hinder your ability to get a good solid 8-hour sleep in. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that sleep fragments will cause you to be drowsy and grumpy throughout the day. The point being: just get it over with.

I used to find it annoying that my dad would deem it necessary to wake up at the break of dawn and then constantly shake me from my slumber. I thought, what’s the point? I used to relish the days I could sleep in until noon or sometimes even 1 pm, but what good did that do for me? Nothing, really.

These days I force myself to wake up at 6:00 AM, at the very least (only on weekdays, though). I feel so much more productive and the days don’t go flashing by in a few hours. Usually, I can get all of my homework that is due that day done within the morning hours. I have time to brew myself coffee for my french press, time to scroll through social media — not a very healthy habit — , and go for a run every day. It is amazing what you can do when you put your mind to it.

Photo by Elena Koycheva on Unsplash

I used to feel so put out and unmotivated when the days flew by, but now I have time to complete all of my projects and then some!

While you may think that becoming a morning person is harder than you think, it is a pretty easy task to incorporate into your everyday routine. Who wouldn’t want a more productive day? If I can wake up at 5:45 every morning, so can you.

Here’s how to be a successful morning person:

1. Go to sleep early the night before. This means staying off your phone a good thirty minutes or more before going to bed — I know, hard right? Maybe read a book or purchase one of those adult coloring books to reach your zen.
2. Don’t think about physically getting out of bed in the morning. The obvious worse part about getting out of bed in the morning is the feeling of the cold air hitting your skin as you leave the warm hug of your sheets. Stop! Don’t think for one minute about that horrible feeling. Instead, picture your steaming cup of joe warming your cold bones. I have found it super helpful to just jump out of bed without even thinking in the mornings, maybe you will too.
3. Do picture the breakfast you are going to make right before closing your eyes the night before. I found that when I thought of the good breakfast I was going to make right before going to bed, I became hungry and then that hunger forces you to get up quicker the next day when your stomach is growling. Who doesn’t like eggs?
4. Drink plenty of water the day before/refresh your body with cold water right after waking up. It is a universal rule that your body needs at least 8 cups of water a day, and drinking cold water is proven to increase your metabolism. So drinking water is a win-win situation; you can’t go wrong with a good couple of glasses of ice-cold water a day.
5. Do some type of physical activity every day to elevate your sleepiness levels. I like doing at least one type of physical activity a day to keep my body healthy. You should also work out once a day to increase your sleeping habits and fall into a deeper slumber. You don’t necessarily have to run a marathon each day, but just one mile or more is better for your body and mind all around.

There you have it. Five good reasons and ways to start waking up earlier and become a better person all around. The next time that super hyper coworker comes into the office bragging about how he or she already accomplished more than you, you can join in the bragging fest too!

Try out your new lifestyle choice and let me know how it goes.