8 Advantages of Waking Up Early

Dread the sounds of birds chirping and alarms ringing? If you have trouble waking up early, morning can seem like a mortal enemy…but there are positives. It may not seem that way from the warm side of a duvet, but let’s try to see the glass as half full. We’ll help you to get motivated by the thought of springing out of bed. Well, we’ll do our best with this article. Here are some of the great things about greeting the break of dawn.

More time to get things done

There’s no way around it: the later you get up, the more rushed you’ll be in the morning. This means things are done hastily and poorly, which leaves you stressed and grumpy. Do you really enjoy starting your day in frantic panic? Think about it logically. Are those extra 10 minutes in bed going to make a huge amount of difference to your mental preparedness? On the other hand, waking up early – even by just a few minutes – gives you a bit of breathing room. You can do what you need to do without hyperventilating and making stupid mistakes, setting the pace for a more relaxed day.

Give yourself a bit of attention

If you’re someone who doesn’t sleep well, you know how it can adversely affect the appearance of your skin. An hour less rest here and there does accumulate and can have a deleterious effect, causing wrinkles and sagging. You’ll lose precious moisture and suppleness, too. Still, the earlier you rise in the morning, the more time you’ll have to pamper your skin. Give it a quick massage with a serum or cream to revitalise and invigorate yourself. What’s the answer, then? How do you make up for the sleep you lose? It’s simple, really: go to bed earlier at night!

The peace and solitude of waking up early

Have you got a busy day ahead? Morning is such a good time to get things done without distractions. You won’t hear the noise of the school run, people having loud conversations, crying babies or any of the other things that can contribute to frazzled nerves. In fact, if you wake early enough, you can even treat yourself to a few blissful moments of reading. It’s probably better for comprehension, too, as you’ll be fully rested and your mind will be ready to absorb information.

Get a proper breakfast

You may spend mornings negotiating with yourself. It can seem like bartering with the devil when you find yourself slapping the snooze button for the third time. You justify it by saying that you don’t need breakfast. You can grab a coffee on the way to work and you’re sure that there’s a smashed cereal bar at the bottom of your bag that shouldn’t be more than six months past its best before date. Just snap out of it! Get yourself out from under the pillows. Waking up and – this is key – dragging your body out of bed just 15 minutes earlier means that you’ll have time for proper fuel. Get the calories, fat, fibre and minerals that your brain deserves.

Move, move, move

Exercise is beneficial whenever you find the time to do it. Yes, this is true. Evidence suggests, however, that morning exercise can improve your metabolism and sharpen mental abilities. It’s also good to start the day with some moderate exercise because this is when your body is rested and ready for a bit of exertion.

You can clearly see the benefits of waking up early, but that’s the easy bit. How do you make a healthy habit of it? Read on for some practical guidance about how to master the art of the early riser.

Slow changes add up

Bad habits don’t happen overnight. The same can be said of cultivating healthier ones. Start incrementally. You’ll soon notice the positive results. In regard to sleeping patterns, just make a concerted effort to go to bed and to wake up 10 minutes earlier than you’re used to. Make this a ritual and, before you know it, you’ll be greeting the sunrise more often than not – and you’ll have time to get things done!

Keep that alarm clock out of easy reach

We all know how it goes. Sometimes, we’re not even aware of hitting the snooze button and then we wake up in a blind panic – slapped in the face by the reality that we’ve overslept by an hour. Now, the whole day’s schedule is thrown off and the experience will be akin to running on a hamster wheel: always trying to catch up. Here’s a simple solution: leave the alarm clock far enough away from your bed that you have to get up to switch it off. Sometimes, it’s the very act of standing up that motivates you to get on with your day.

Pause for positive thought

You knew this was coming, as we mentioned it from the start: see the glass as half full rather than half empty. Waking up shouldn’t be such a burden. Indeed, it doesn’t have to be. Remember all of the things you’re more likely to achieve and accomplish if you give yourself extra time in the morning. Use the quiet part of the day to write a page of your novel – or to read one. Do a quick sketch in your notebook or record the melody that you dreamt about. Waking up early can be such a gift: the invaluable gift of time. Carpe diem!