It may take you anywhere between 30 to 60 days to get accustomed to the habit of waking up early. Once you get used to your new sleep schedule, you won't even need an alarm to wake you up.
If you get up at 5am without adequate sleep on a regular basis, you may end up depriving yourself consistently of much-needed sleep, which has a serious impact on your health. However, there's no denying that carving extra time out of your day, when everyone else is asleep, still does have a bit of romance to it.
Get enough sleep
For the best chances at waking up early, set a goal for 8 hours of sleep. I want to wake up at 5 a.m., so my sleeping time is 9 p.m. (8 hours before).
10pm is the perfect bedtime. Going to sleep at 10pm enables you to get the recommended 7–8 hours of sleep, and still wake up by 5 or 6am. That means you can get in at least a 30-minute workout in the morning — a common habit among the most successful and productive people — and still be at work by 8 or 9am.
"The overall best is if you can wake up naturally because you're done sleeping," he said. On the other hand, if you're waking up early on just a few hours of sleep, you should probably try and squeeze in some more shuteye.
The survey of 1,086 CEOs of U.S. companies on the 2022 Inc. 5000 list, published on Thursday, found that 64% wake up by 6 a.m., or earlier. Nearly 9 out of 10 of the CEOs surveyed rise no later than 7 a.m.
You'll have more energy. Despite feeling eye-rubbingly lethargic when we get up, the early morning is the time of day when we actually have the highest reserves of energy – thanks to building them up during sleep – and by waking up early you can use that energy more efficiently.
For those who don't know, the 5 AM club is a concept started by Robin Sharma where you wake up at 5 AM do twenty-minutes exercise, twenty-minutes planning and twenty-minutes study.
Difficulty waking up in the morning causes
These include: parasomnias, such as sleepwalking, sleep talking, and night terrors. sleep apnea, which causes periods of stopped breathing during sleep. sleep deficiency, which can involve not getting good quality sleep, or sleep deprivation, which is not getting enough sleep.
How to fix it: Move bedtime up. Even 30 minutes earlier can make a big difference in the morning. If your child's bedtime is usually 8:00pm, move it 7:30pm for a week or two. With time and consistency, their body will adjust and they should start waking later in the morning.
"Most people hit their deepest sleep between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m.," says WebMD sleep expert Michael Breus, PhD, D, ABSM, "so it's very hard to wake up during that time."
Many successful people wake up early so that they are able to use undisturbed time to do stuff for themselves. Waking up early is great for getting organized, strategic thinking, and planning. Additionally, getting to the office first means fewer distractions from colleagues.
Studies show exercise temporarily boosts alertness, in part because of the accompanying rise in body temperature and the boost of blood to the brain. One study found that a mix of caffeine, bright light and face washing with cold water helped jump-start alertness after a short nap.
Mel Robbins explains the rule as, “The 5 Second Rule is simple. If you have an instinct to act on a goal, you must physically move within 5 seconds or your brain will kill it. The moment you feel an instinct or a desire to act on a goal or a commitment, use the Rule.
“There is no such thing as a “fixed or ideal time” to go to bed which will suit all individuals. It is generally advisable to fall asleep between 10 pm to midnight as for most people this is when the circadian rhythm is at a point that favours falling asleep.”
Going to sleep after midnight was associated with a 25% higher risk of heart disease compared with falling sleep between 10:00 and 10:59 p.m. Going to sleep between 11:00 and 11:59 p.m. was associated with a 12% higher risk of heart disease compared with falling sleep between 10:00 and 10:59 p.m.
Turning in before midnight is good for our health.
Some studies have found that people who go to bed late and have trouble waking up in the morning are more likely to have a shortened lifespan, in addition to a much higher risk of psychological disorders and diabetes.
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov advise that healthy adults need between 7 and 9 hours of sleep per night. Babies, young children, and teens need even more sleep to enable their growth and development. People over 65 should also get 7 to 8 hours per night.