A Harvard biologist, Christoph Randler, did some research on this and concluded that early birds are generally more proactive, and this results in higher levels of productivity.
They get up early
Almost without exception, successful people start their day early. Many say they get up between 5 am and 6 am. Rising early is particularly great for those who work from home or have small children, because they can accomplish work tasks without interruption.
The study, published in Nature Communications, suggests that being genetically programmed to rise early may lead to greater well-being and a lower risk of schizophrenia and depression. However, despite much previous speculation, the results did not reveal any strong links to diseases such as diabetes or obesity.
Treasure Your Early Mornings at the Office
The advantage: in the morning, the brain is more productive, and concentration is higher. There are fewer distractions, and one can work with a higher level of focus.
People who wake up early tend to be more conscientious, optimistic, and satisfied with life. Individuals who wake up early also tend to be less stressed due an improved ability to problem solve and having more time to manage their daily tasks.
They tend to warm up hours after the working day has started, and they eventually get into an okay state. The alternative is to wake up earlier and put yourself in the best shape possible before starting your day. It's about making yourself strong first thing in the morning, before going out into the world.
The 4 a.m. productivity shift.
A new report published in the Wall Street Journal says that 4 a.m. may be the most productive time of the day. The reasons behind the increased productivity at such an ungodly hour include: Minimal distractions (like kids or work) before the sun rises. No one is emailing or texting you.
But many high-profile and highly successful entrepreneurs and CEOs do rise at the crack of dawn — or earlier — to get a head start on their busy schedules. The majority of successful business leaders get up no later than 6 a.m., according to a new survey of CEOs from Inc.
But the majority manage to get at least 6 hours, as you can see in the list below detailing the sleep habits of 10 highly successful people: Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX: 6 hours (1am — 7am) Tim Cook, CEO of Apple: 7 hours (9:30pm — 4:30am) Bill Gates, Co-Founder of Microsoft: 7 hours (12am — 7am)
7AM: Wake-up call
After a restful 7 hours, Bill awakes rearing to go.
Turns out the early bird really does get the (verbal) worm. “Once you account for key factors including bedtime and age, we found the opposite to be true, that morning types tend to have superior verbal ability,” says Stuart Fogel, Director of the University of Ottawa Sleep Research Laboratory, in a university release.
Morning people really are happier, study finds. A new study finds that night owls have an increased risk for mental illness and are less happy than morning larks. Morning larks wake in the early hours with smiles on their faces and a can-do attitude that befuddles most night owls.
There is some evidence that early risers are healthier and live longer. Some studies have found that night owls exhibit higher rates of depression, high blood pressure, poor diets and substance abuse. There's also reason to believe that they do, in fact, procrastinate more.
As you move on to your late thirties or early forties, you develop greater contacts, a better reputation and a wider experience in the industry, so you'd be in a better position to figure out what would work best and what wouldn't.
Research shows that 44 percent of wealthy people wake up three hours before going to work, compared with just 3 percent of those who are not wealthy. Just the simple act of getting up early adds an hour a day to their lives.
The talk show host, author and philanthropist reportedly gets eight hours of sleep between the hours of 10pm and 6am, with her last and first thoughts of the day centred upon gratitude. In the morning, rather than check her phone, Winfrey brushes her teeth and cares for her dogs before heading to her home gym.
The thing the job is not known for, however, is a good night's sleep. With various board meetings and no shortage of pressure, rest can be hard to find. CEOs like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk get under six hours of sleep each night.
"Getting up at five in the morning to tackle the top three things you want to accomplish in your day allows you to regain control of your life," Corley says. "It gives you a sense of confidence that you, indeed, direct your life.
Productivity begins even before the start of the workday. High achievers don't sleep in. Nearly 50 percent of the self-made millionaires begin their days at least 3 hours before the start of their workday.
Apple CEO Tim Cook reportedly only sleeps from 10:00 pm to 3:45 am each day.
The hours between 3am and 5am are governed by the lung meridian. Emotionally it is associated with grief and physically with the muscles around your lungs. The hours between 5am and 7am are governed by large intestine.
According to research, the most productive moment of the day is 10:26 am. The trough begins about 7 hours after waking – typically early to mid-afternoon – and lasts for a few hours. The most unproductive moment of the day falls in the trough at 2:55 pm.
Waking up at 5 AM gives you time to yourself, making it an excellent opportunity to plan out your day and identify your goals. Merely waking up at this time will provide you with a significant productivity boost and leave you more motivated to get stuff done.