There are many reasons why you might be waking up too early. They include external factors, such as environmental disturbances like temperature, light, and noise. They also include internal factors, like your circadian rhythm, sleep disorders like sleep apnea, and/or medical issues, like heartburn.
When you wake up early, you reap the benefits of many good habits, leading to an energetic, well-rested, stress-free, punctual, and healthy you. You get a sense of order in life, making you feel happier.
Sacrificing sleep means you may be hit by the many negative effects of sleep deprivation, including moodiness, poor concentration, potential weight gain, anxiety, increased risk of heart disease and higher blood pressure. So if early rising means cutting sleep, don't do it.
Circadian Rhythms and Aging
Some people have a natural tendency to wake early in the morning (early birds or morning larks). Some people are just naturally morning people: they may prefer to fall asleep earlier (such as at 9 p.m.) and wake earlier (by 5 or 6 a.m.).
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.
When it comes to bedtime, he says there's a window of several hours—roughly between 8 PM and 12 AM—during which your brain and body have the opportunity to get all the non-REM and REM shuteye they need to function optimally.
If your school or work schedule requires you to be up between 5:00 and 7:00 a.m., these are the suggested bedtimes: School-age children should go to bed between 8:00 and 9:00 p.m. Teens should try to go to bed between 9:00 and 10:00 p.m. Adults should try to go to sleep between 10:00 and 11:00 p.m.
Folks who stay up late and struggle to wake in the morning have a 10 percent higher risk of dying sooner than so-called "morning larks" who are early to bed and early to rise, said lead researcher Kristin Knutson.
But just because the early bird gets the worm doesn't mean that the night owl is left empty handed (empty beaked?). Studies show that night owls and those who wake up later actually are smarter and more creative than their early rising counterparts.
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 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.
In general, though, people should aim to fall asleep a few hours after dark and wake up within the first hours of sunlight in the morning, where possible. General guidelines indicate that the average adult needs about 7–9 hours of sleep each night.
"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.
There are many reasons why you might be waking up too early. They include external factors, such as environmental disturbances like temperature, light, and noise. They also include internal factors, like your circadian rhythm, sleep disorders like sleep apnea, and/or medical issues, like heartburn.
Growth hormone is produced by the pituitary gland throughout the day. But for children, the strongest hormone release occurs right after the onset of deep sleep. In other words, children who sleep early increase height thanks to the body's production of growth hormone.
A structured morning routine cultivates success. Harvard Biologist Christoph Randler discovered that early risers are more proactive. They're also more likely to anticipate problems and minimize them efficiently, which leads to more success especially in the business world.
Often, people claim that the most successful people wake up early, and there are plenty of examples that support this, such as Jeff Bezos, Howard Schultz, Martha Stewart, Tim Cook, and Bob Iger, all millionaires who wake up before 5 a.m. (We wonder what mattresses they sleep on?)
Staying Up Late
Intelligent people are more likely to have different sleep cycles (or circadian rhythms) than people with a lower IQ. In fact, research indicates that there's a strong correlation between intelligence and bedtime. That is the higher your IQ, the later you'll stay up.
Our biology influences what times of the day we are most productive. The overwhelming majority of all people are not built to consistently wake up at 5 AM. Unless you are a Lion, built for waking up early, don't force yourself. You may be able to do it for a short time, but it is not sustainable.
In adolescence, there's a tendency to shift more toward the owl chronotype (no surprise there), but after adolescence, lark-like morningness tends to become more common with increasing age. As for who is happier, many studies have indeed shown an association between being a morning person and greater happiness.
Findings based on millions of deaths suggest that shorter, smaller bodies have lower death rates and fewer diet-related chronic diseases, especially past middle age. Shorter people also appear to have longer average lifespans.
This puts the male citizens of the US in 52nd place in this ranking. On average, US women are 5.7 years older, reaching an age of 80.2. The world average age of death is a few years lower at 70.6 years for men and 75.1 years for women. Within the European Union, these are 77.8 and 83.3 years respectively.
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.
“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.”