As a child, waking up early in the morning for school was always a struggle for me. School started at 6:45am, and by 6:00am I had to reach the bus stop. Even during my undergraduate studies classes began at 7:00am, so there was a lot of effort to be put into getting to school on time. I took morning hours for granted at the time. When I graduated and started working as a full-time researcher at Whittaker Associates, my sleeping habits changed. I rarely got up before 8:00am.
What I realize now is that during my years in primary school and university, the early part of the day always turned out to be fruitful. I was more attentive in the first half of the day. Recently, I’ve started waking around the same time as during my school days and found benefits to being up early in the morning.
Solving Problems:
Working in the morning tends to be more productive than in other hours of the day for me. There are fewer distractions in the morning. Solving a problem is easier after a round of sleep. A good night’s sleep helps the brain to rest and prepare for work. Researchers found that sleep has profound implications for lots of human tasks. Sleep improves our memory, and enables us to consolidate new information with the knowledge we already have. Sleep also changes the quality of our stored information. We are more likely to adjust our memories slightly so that they fit better with our previous experiences after sleeping. And we are more likely to avoid misleading background information in making decisions and judgments.
Better Health:
Waking up early provides time for getting some exercise in the morning. Physical exercise helps to keep the body active throughout the day. Getting up early in the mornings also reduces stress which helps stabilize a person’s mental health. Studies have shown that “morning people” are often more positive, more optimistic, and more likely to experience satisfaction in their lives than those that sleep well into the day. While several night owls are known for their creativity, they can also pay the price by becoming more likely to succumb to depression and other psychological problems.
Time for Oneself:
The early hours of the day provide an opportunity to self-reflect. Similar to solving problems, we get time to evaluate our path in life. The rest of the day a person can be involved in different activities socially, but the morning, time can be used for oneself to learn from past mistakes and improve.
Waking up early has provided me a head start to work. I found that it has also made me more efficient and helped me solve problems I couldn’t the day before. If you try getting up early like I have been doing for the past couple of weeks, I’m sure you will also find your own benefits of being an early riser!