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How are you feeling today? What time did you wake up today? These two questions can possibly be linked. You may have heard that waking up early at 5 am can help you become successful.
As well as providing a physical reboot, sleep can lift your mental well-being. There’s no denying that a good night’s sleep is important for physical health. While you’re getting that all-important shut-eye, the body is restoring itself and preparing for the next day.
While the relationship between sleep and mental health is complex, there may be good news for early birds when it comes to their mental health.
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Benefits of Waking Up Early
The key to productivity for many successful people is waking up early. People who accomplish things, from athletes to physicians, advocate getting up early, as it offers them more time to get things done or start the day on the right note.
Getting up early can be challenging, especially for night owls, but there are many benefits of waking up early. Here are five of them:
1) Improves Cognitive Function
People who get up early typically have better concentration, and are more alert and energized throughout the day.
Success and getting up early tend to go hand in hand. According to a 2010 study, morning individuals are more proactive and goal-oriented, have superior problem-solving abilities, perform better in school, eventually enrolling in top-tier universities and securing well-paid jobs.
According to a 2008 survey, college students who identified as "morning people" scored one full grade point more than their late-night counterparts. Poor sleep is associated with impaired cognitive function, including poor memory, difficulty focusing and thinking, and mood changes.
2) Reduces Risk of Depression
Evidence suggests that sleep deprivation may contribute to serious depression. Scientists have even discovered a physical relationship between the parts of the brain that deal with sleep and depression.
Depression appears to rise with puberty, with early sleep issues frequently leading to depression later in life. With the incidence of anxiety and depression shown to be more than twice as high among those suffering from sleep disorders, the importance of sleep is difficult to ignore.
3) Enhances Organization and Productivity
Many people who get up early make the most of their mornings by making plans and setting goals.
Planning is associated with increased productivity, as it gives you more time to try new things or finish work earlier in the day. It reduces forgetting, particularly if you've recorded your daily schedule in writing.
Additionally, mornings tend to be peaceful, which gives you uninterrupted time to finish your work. People are generally also more alert in the morning.
4) Facilitates Morning Workout and Meditation
Early mornings may be the only time for busy people to fit in exercises. It can be challenging to get to the gym after long school or workdays, and you might not feel inspired. After a long day, skipping a workout can be easy, but doing so in the morning is more difficult.
Starting your day off correctly by working out in the morning or finding your best yoga pose when you're feeling most energized is vital for both physical and emotional health. Among many other benefits, exercise lowers the risk of developing heart disease and boosts the mood and blood sugar level while helping lower weight improving and cognitive performance.
5) Keeps You in Tune with Nature
Nature is the best healer for many mental and physical ailments. Most importantly, waking up early keeps us in tune with the world and our surroundings. Waking up early also shows us that the rest of the world is awake, which naturally makes us feel humble and at peace with ourselves.
A simple early-morning hike, walking outside, listening to birds chirp, or seeing the sunrise can do wonders for mental health.
People get up early tend to have happier ideas than ones who stay up late. The first group is found to be happier, and more conscientious and upbeat. Additionally, women who wake up early have a significantly lower risk of mental disorders, such as depression or anxiety.
Takeaway
Waking up early can be a bit scary if you've always been a night owl. It can be distressing and anxiety-provoking when you set the alarm for 5 am but wake up at 10.
One way to avoid that is to set realistic expectations about waking up. Take baby steps to reach your goal, and enjoy the benefits of waking up early.
Janvi Kapur is a counselor with a Master's degree in applied psychology with a specialization in clinical psychology.
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