I’ll be honest, I’m a morning person. If you follow me on social media, you’ll see that I like to get a jump on the day sometimes as early as 4:00 a.m. I’ll admit that it took a little practice to establish this healthy habit. Why did I start? One of the keys to improving overall health, career and personal achievements is to simply get up early. It’s that easy, it’s been proven over and over again, and it’s something that we all can do! Here are my top five reasons why you should wake up early:
Increased Productivity: The most successful people are early risers. These are the people who crush their day and accomplish their most important tasks. Not just in the morning, but throughout the entire day. This is where the rubber meets the road on focus and prioritization. If you could only do three things today, what would they be? If you have a hard time limiting your list to only three tasks, that’s okay. Just make sure to identify the top three tasks and complete them before moving on to the rest of your to-do list. If your daily to-do list is 15 tasks long, I think you’ve lost your focus...and your priorities!
Reduce Stress: How you start your morning can often set the tone for the rest of your day. Ever wake up late and hang on to that feeling of stress throughout the entire day? You’ll be amazed at how positive your attitude will become when you wake up a little before the rest of your household, even if it’s just 15 minutes. Early mornings mean fewer distractions, which allows you to prepare to tackle your day in peace and quiet without the stress of having to multitask in a hurry. Believe me when I say that this will add years to your life.
“Lose an hour in the morning, and you will spend all day looking for it. ”
— Richard Whately
Healthier Diet: Your body has been on a “fast” all night (6 to 8 hours) and you need to break the fast with a good, healthy breakfast. Eating breakfast helps create healthy eating habits by setting the trend for the day. You are less likely to reach for an unhealthy treat during the day if you’ve eaten a healthy breakfast upon waking. It has also been proven that early risers are less dependent on alcohol, nicotine and caffeine which is probably why they are 1.5x less likely to be obese.
Commit to Exercise: Waking up early and getting into the LAB has proven to reduce the chance of missed workouts. There is nothing wrong with an evening workout, however by exercising first thing in the morning you are reducing the number excuses you might have at 5:00 p.m. when you are tired, hungry and have been asked to meet friends for happy hour. By exercising early you’ll also tap in to some other benefits; higher energy throughout the day, bigger performance gains and better sleep at night!
Better Sleep Quality: Research shows that going to bed at the same time each day isn’t the key to a good night’s rest. Rather, it has more to do with what time you wake up. Consistent early risers have stabilized circadian rhythms. The result is an improved quality of sleep that will leave you feeling like a million bucks!
Building the habit of waking up early starts by setting your alarm for an early tomorrow right now. Join me as we take on the enduraLAB 2018 #betterdayproject designed to help you create great habits all year long. Your goal today is to set your alarm for 15 minutes earlier than you normally wake up...and no hitting that snooze button tomorrow!
