Is it true that if you want to succeed in life, you have to wake up very early, like 5 AM?
It is true that many successful people wake up early…
For example, Apple CEO, Tim Cook, wakes up at 3:45 every morning.
And then we have Dwayne The Rock Johnson, who usually wakes up around 3:30 every morning to train his body.
And Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Group wakes up at 5 to spend time with his family.
So, does that mean that if you want to achieve great success, you should up wake as early as 5 AM?
In this article, we’re going to talk about why waking up early may not be a great idea.
No doubt waking up early has many benefits.
But here’s one thing most people get wrong – They thought that waking up early equals being productive.
The earlier you wake up, the more productive you become. After all, you will have more time when you get up early, right?
Nope. That’s not always the case.
Waking up as early as 5 AM does not guarantee your success.
And it does not mean you will be more productive.
Why?
There are a couple of reasons for this…
1. Make sure you get enough sleep
If you don’t get enough sleep, waking up early will not make you productive.
It is a great idea to wake up at 5 AM, but you must go to bed early.
And this is where most people get it wrong. They want to wake up early, but they don’t
want to go to sleep early.
As a result, they don’t get enough sleep.
And when people lack sleep, their productivity decreases. They can’t focus and they are always tired and sleepy.
If you want to wake up early, you must sacrifice late nights and go to bed early as well.
On average, we all need at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night.
So, if you want to wake up at 5 AM, that means you should go to bed by 9 or 10 in the evening.
Unfortunately, most people are still awake during those hours.
Hence, if you want to wake up early, make sure you get enough sleep and go to bed early.
By the way, you can also improve the quality of your sleep by practicing meditation. You can use a brainwave guidance program such as InnaPeace to help you meditate better, improve your focus, and get more quality sleep at night.
2. It is about getting enough time to kickstart your day
You don’t have to wake up at 5 AM. You just need to get up an hour early to kickstart your day.
If you leave home for work at 8:30 in the morning, you can wake up at 6 and you will still have time to prepare for everything.
The key is to start your day with the right pace and rhythm.
You don’t have to wake up early for the sake of waking up early.
The main point of waking up early is to have enough time for yourself and your body to prepare for what’s coming during the day.
And you really don’t have to force yourself to wake up at 5 and feel tired and sleepy throughout the day.
I’d rather wake up at 6 or even 7, so that I’ll have the energy and motivation to do quality work and perform at my best.
3. Have a clear purpose and plan
You need to have an objective and a clear purpose for getting up early.
You don’t want to wake up at 5 just so you can spend more time on social media or waste time playing games, right?
You want to make the best use of your morning time. Hence, you want to make sure you have an objective.
You want to know what you should do when you wake up that early.
Too bad that many people lack the willpower and discipline to stick to a productive and healthy morning routine.
They’d rather spend time scrolling their phone than exercising or meditating after they wake up.
Therefore, if you want to wake up early, make sure you follow through with a good and productive morning routine.
Read: 10 Best Morning Habits that Will Change Your Life
4. Understand your biological clocks
You have to understand that our bodies are built differently.
Not everyone is programmed to function the best early in the morning. And this time preference varies from person to person because we each have different biological clocks.
There are 4 chronotypes or categories…
- Lions are morning people that tend to rise with the sun.
- Bears are the most common with a normal sleep pattern, in which you sleep at night and are up during the day.
- Dolphins never sleep well at all. In nature, dolphins only let half of their brain sleep at a time.
- And then there are wolves. Wolves stay up late at night working and are most productive during those hours.
Our biology influences what times of the day we are most productive.
And guess what, the majority of people are not built to consistently wake up at 5 AM.
Unless you are a Lion, built for waking up early, don’t force yourself. You may be able to do it for a short time, but it may not be sustainable.
Eventually, you are going to crash.
Read: Everything to Know About Your Circadian Rhythm
Takeaway
These are the reasons why waking up at 5 AM may not be for everyone.
You have to understand one thing – the reason you want to wake up early is so that you will have more time to jumpstart your day with productivity.
But if you cannot achieve that, it is better to have more sleep and choose a better time to wake up.
It is worth taking the time to understand your own internal clock and working out a routine that works for you to make the most out of your day.
I hope by now you have a clear answer about whether you should wake up at 5 AM.
So, if waking up at 5 is serving you, making you healthy and productive, then do so.
But if it is not, then don’t force yourself to do it.
Find out what works best for you. It is your body and your life, you know better.