Waking Up Early: Does It Help?

Many people love to sleep in on the weekends, especially after a long day of work. Waking up early may, however, be more beneficial to you and your health.

The Early Bird Gets the Worm

Waking up early has many benefits for your mental and physical health.

Getting a Head Start

Waking up early increases your chances of productivity each day, as it gives you more time to get things done. You may feel groggy and possibly grumpy, but after a healthy breakfast, your body will start to produce energy, thus helping you wake up and take on the day. There’s less traffic during the early morning hours, and fewer distractions, too.

If you wait until the end of the day to do important things, you are pushing yourself to continue after a long day of work. Fun television shows are on, and dinner is to be made and eaten. By waking up early and doing those important things then, your chances of successful completion increase exponentially.

Solidifying Your Routine

The most important thing you can do for any lifestyle change is to slowly adapt and solidify your routine. The key word here is slowly. If you were to simply start waking up three hours earlier than you normally do, you’d end up shocking your body, which could mean you spend your days exhausted. Instead, a good routine to start waking up early is to rise one morning 15 minutes sooner. After getting used to the new time – a few days or a week – cut back another 15 minutes. Do this until the target wake up time has been reached.

In addition to waking up early, it is also good practice to go to bed a little sooner, too. This in conjunction with rising early will help your body keep up with the amount of sleep it still needs.

Can Waking Up Early Give You A Better Diet

Many people who sleep in end up sleeping through breakfast. It may seem like no big deal, but breakfast isn’t called “the most important meal of the day” for nothing. It gives your body much needed nutrients and energy after it has been inactive for six to eight hours throughout the night.

Not only does eating breakfast up your energy levels, but it also prevents you from overeating at lunchtime. Think about it: your last meal was dinner the night before, probably between 6:30pm and 8:00pm. If you skip breakfast and wait to eat lunch until, say, 11:00am, that’s about 16 hours your body has gone without food, without those important nutrients it needs to give you ample energy throughout the day.

By waking up early and making sure you don’t miss breakfast, you are doing your body good. Eating smaller portions, giving your body nutrients in exchange for energy, and stabilizing your diet has even been shown to help people lose weight.

Rising Early and Weight Loss

It has been proven that it is not only healthier for us to eat three to five smaller meals spread throughout our day, but it also helps us lose weight.

If you sleep in late, it could mean you miss breakfast, which is a very crucial meal. It gives us energy throughout the morning, and means we don’t overeat for lunch and possibly even dinner. Waking up early means we not only have less stress each morning, but also that we are able to eat a filling breakfast before we start our day.

Waking Up Early Has Many Benefits

The benefits of waking up early are felt pretty quickly once the practice becomes a habit. It means a healthier life with decreased stress and extra energy throughout the day. It is important for us to take care of our bodies and minds, and waking up early is a fantastic way to do just that.