Don’t worry I’m not a zombie nor a crazy health freak. At least, I’m not anymore. I used to be a health nut restricting my calorie intake and exercising for at least 3 hours a day until I realized how unhealthy my mind became so I started to eat more bread and didn’t force myself to wake up at 4 am to exercise no more. Yes, that really happened. I was 120 lbs at 6 ft. Never put yourself through misery like I did to accomplish nothing and pure shame. But out of all the overly healthy things that I did experiment with as an overly conscious pre-teen, I kept one lasting habit: waking up at 5 am.
20k+ of you reading don’t know me personally. I only know a handful of you, let’s say about 34 I can name off the top of my head and out of all of you, I can almost guarantee no one my age is a morning person and if you are, either A: your parents B: school or C: you are crazy but realistic like me. I’m an ordinary teen. I just don’t follow the typical bad habits our age group performs which most notably include sleeping for 12+ hours or none to finish an assignment that was given 2 months in advance.
I didn’t magically become a morning person one day. Since my parents have always worked in the high stakes corporate finance and tech environment in NYC, smelling the roasted coffee, hearing Squawk Box in the other room and showers running by 5 am was typical to deal with for two decades of my life. After age 5, I got used to it and started to do the same. I felt like I skipped a phase of my life as an only child looking up to my parents. I can’t remember the last time I slept in, didn’t do my own laundry or read the newspaper to name a few adult(ish) tasks. But when I look at others around me, I can’t imagine how miserable they must feel trying to blend in with the crowd and how long it will eventually take for them to realize that their unhealthy lifestyle is just not sustainable.
5 am Club
As my parents have gotten older, they adjusted their schedules, changed positions and were finally able to not only spend loads more time with me and with more vacation days and weekends off, they ended up fixing their sleep schedule, improving their health and becoming happier people, the best thing in the world to see. But as a creature of habit and child, once you start something from an early age, it’s hard to break it. It’s not like it was anything bad, but sometimes it get annoying when I can’t sleep past 5 am. Although this wacky schedule of waking up when most of your world around you is still asleep and you’re just alone in your thoughts seems frightening, it is a beautiful peaceful feeling that you can’t capture elsewhere, including golden hour, my second favorite part of the day, if any were curious.
Getting up at 5 am seems unachievable to most because you look at it from your night owl standpoint.
Yes, going to bed at midnight to 3 am will make you exhausted but getting 7–8 hours can easily be done by going to bed no later than 10 pm to feel refreshed by 5 am. Most of us assume we need 8–9 hours based on science. If you truly are exhausted after 7, then go for 8 but personally I only need roughly 7 and can survive without my cortisol ticking and hunger cues out of control with 6. The last thing you want to do is become stressed over not getting enough sleep. Getting less with no stress is better. Everyone is different. Follow your body and put more emphasis in allocating time in the morning instead of night.
Anyone can become a moring person if they really wanted to. Most just don’t try because they don’t see how efficient and helpful it is in their overall life. Until you discover how much you can get done by the time most get up, you’ll never want to go back.
There are no secret formulas to waking up early. It’s just part of a regimented schedule you must follow in order and with consistently over time. Nothing is achieved overnight and getting quick results doesn’t work, especially when it comes to your body.
Time Usage
So what do I exactly do with my mornings and why can’t I get as much done in the evenings?
There is no doubt that you can exercise in the mornings as well as in the afternoons and receive the same, even more benefit according to science. But there are many things mornings provide you subconsciously that until you’ve actually tried it, the alarm hackers and restless dozers miss out on.
This includes:
- Taking advantage of me and alone time. Where do I get the most creativity? When I’m alone, allocate thinking periods in my life with no distractions staring at the wall. The mornings are the only times when you are alone, almost. Even at night, whether you have kids or emails to catch up on from the day as a procrastinator, you are constantly bombarded with thoughts. Your mind is fresh and so are you. This is your time to seize to reap the benefits that filter throughout your day.
- Thinking and feeling fresh. You have the most energy when you wake up. Ever wonder why you are mostly on your phone after 8 am? That’s when most of the world is awake so prime time is when notifications, emails, texts, news, you name it arrives at your fingertips bombarding you and keeping you off task. You have the best concentration and mental energy in the morning if you rise up a bit before the chaos stirs.
- You will have more energy. I’ve exercised daily in the mornings since sophomore year in HS because it provides me even more stimulus and energy to propel my day forward. I know that if I push a workout to the end of the day, there is a bigger chance I will either forget about it or get distracted by something else. Ironically, if you push yourself in the morning, it is setting goal setting for the rest of your day and using your muscles and mind to sweat is free caffeine for your brain. If you are trying to get anything out of the way, it is the easiest to do in the morning. Don’t make it more challenging for yourself.
Where to Go
Great, we know that we’ve been missing out on our morning all our life so now what? We set our alarm for 7 am as a starter after waking up religiously at 9 am every day in quarantine and forced out of bed at 8 am, the earliest in our regular lives, so now how do we actually sustain this?
First off, acknowledge you will be tired, restless, cranky and practically act like a baby for the next few days. It’s normal. You are adjusting to a new healthier clock helping you boost your metabolism, mindset, weight and goals in the process. You can deal with a little extra annoyance for that. I promise, it doesn’t hurt. It’s all mental.
The main step is as simple as making sure you get to bed earlier. Seriously. Your day starts with the day before. There’s no fancy rules that’s it. Delaying screen time at least an hour before bed would be great as well to increase melatonin and make it easier for you to fall asleep but if that’s asking for too much, just stick with setting the alarm and tucking yourself in earlier.
Once that is established, you will be amazed how fresh you will feel when it is completely dark at 5 am. Ironic but true. The light will mess with your brain assuming it is too early and you aren’t awake, but with a large cup of water to hydrate you and turning on the lights to wake up your eyes, you will be wide awake in no time.
I stayed true to my promise. There are no special gimmicks or 60 day habit forming dairy to follow. Simply ending and starting your day a little bit earlier is all a mental adjustment anyone can embark on, even the laziest of night owls. The amount of projects that you can work on with ease and finish are astounding with the freshest mind in the mornings. take advantage of when you are in beast mode. Don’t surrender to working when everyone else is working. Be unique, drive change and work at your peak hours for peak performance.
The 5 am club is really special. Come join me.