Waking Up At 5 a.m. Every Day for A Week
Admittedly, this didn’t seem like my greatest idea once I actually started the experiment, but that didn’t keep my alarm from going off at 5 AM, 7 days in a row.
This piece is designed to accompany a video I posted to my YouTube channel (linked down below for anyone who has 11 minutes to spare), but here I’ll focus on some of the key aspects of this experiment as well as some things that I didn’t bring up during the video.
If You’re Going To Wake Up At 5 AM, You Need To Go To Bed Early
In my case, this meant my target bedtime was 9 PM. Typically, I’ll go to bed around 11; I decided not to shift my bedtime before the experiment in an effort to keep it authentic, and that made the first couple days even harder than they needed to be. Some people who try getting up early will sacrifice sleep and just wake up earlier without adjusting when they go to bed; realistically, all you’re doing is increasing your chances of feeling miserable, being constantly tired, and getting sick if you take this approach. As a result, before you set a wake-up time for yourself, it’s probably more appropriate to pick a bedtime that you know will work with your schedule. For example, if you eat dinner at 8:30, you shouldn’t be trying to go to bed at 9. It’s important that you don’t repeatedly deprive yourself of sleep, and if you decide to try something like this, find a time that works for you before setting yourself up for failure.
If You Have Roommates, Your Mileage May Vary
I’ve seen other people try versions of this experiment before, but the majority of them weren’t living in a 6-person college apartment. Your roommates probably won’t be going to bed at 9 and getting up at 5; as a result, there’s three main things to keep in mind.
Your roommates will probably still be making noise in the apartment after you go to bed. This was something I was expecting, and as someone who shares a wall with the living area, I can confirm that our apartment was generally quite lively even after I went to bed. I did have earplugs (though I elected not to use them), but given enough time I would fall asleep and this really wasn’t too much of an issue. That being said, if your roommates have a tendency to scream while playing video games…this may be a challenge for you.
You might have trouble pulling yourself away from socializing when your bedtime is approaching. This wasn’t something I was too worried about ahead of time, but it wasn’t unusual for me to get involved in a conversation at 8:45 while I was getting ready for bed. Knowing that I had to wake up at 5 in the morning, I was able to pull myself away before things carried on for too long, but I can definitely see this being an issue for a lot of people. Especially if you have a tendency to talk to people late in the evening, you might find that you’re spending a lot less time with your roommates by going to bed early. Since I was only doing it for a week, I didn’t really mind, but if I was going to bed at 9 for the rest of the semester, I would probably start to miss it.
You’ll likely be awake much earlier than everyone else in the morning. In my video, I mentioned that this was by design — after all, I was hoping to use this time productively since I wouldn’t have to worry about being interrupted. On the flip side, assuming you want to be considerate, this also means you’ll need to be relatively quiet for the first few hours of the day. Other people who exercise in their dorms can probably relate to the feeling of trying not to make too much noise when doing anything involving jumping. Fortunately, I didn’t get any complaints from my roommates, but if you live with light-sleepers, they might not be terribly excited about your new early-morning routine.
What Did I Get Out Of It?
I ended up being more productive than usual over the course of the experiment, which was one of my primary goals, but I should note that I was also actively making an effort to be productive because of the experiment. It also provided me with a lot more structure, and I started exercising every morning because of it. As someone who likes to get a lot of work done in the morning, having those extra hours early in the day proved to be more useful than staying up late. I have a tendency to lose focus in the evening and waste time, and by going to bed early I was able to cut this out and replace it with productivity in the morning. Of course, everything in this section assumes an ultimate goal of increased productivity, which isn’t true for a lot of people. I was happier in the sense that I was getting more work done, but I didn’t enjoy going to bed at 9 and waking up at 5. This is where it becomes important to strike the right balance of productivity and overall life satisfaction; for most people, operating as efficiently as possible likely doesn’t mean you’re fulfilled and happy, and I can see a lot of people trying this experiment and being absolutely miserable.
What Happens Now?
I’ve taken a few days to reflect since the challenge ended, and I’m still in the process of establishing a permanent routine, but I’ll likely be aiming for waking up between 6 and 6:30. It’s still early enough to give me a lot of the benefits of the 5 AM wakeup, but it also allows me to have a little extra time in the evenings. I do plan to be relatively consistent with my schedule; ultimately, staying up late on weekends and going to bed early during the week puts a lot of unnecessary strain on your body, and I find that I fall asleep much faster when I have a sleep schedule. I may experiment with this more in the future after I’ve graduated, but at that point I’ll be living on my own, and I suspect that the reduction in social interaction will make waking up at 5 AM easier.
If you’ve made it this far, you might as well watch the full video. There’ll be another experiment coming soon…
