“Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise” — Ben Franklin
“Put no trust in the benefits to accrue from early rising, as set forth by the infatuated Franklin …” — Mark Twain
Recently, reader Rob asked
me about my habit of waking at 4:30 a.m. each day, and asked me to
write about the health benefits of rising early, which I thought was an
excellent question.
Unfortunately, there are none, that I know of. However, there are a ton
of other great benefits. Now, let me first say that if you are a night
owl, and that works for you, I think that’s great. There’s no reason to
change, especially if you’re happy with it. But for me, switching from
being a night owl to an early riser (and yes, it is possible) has been a
godsend. It has helped me in so many ways that I’d never go back. Here
are just a few:
1. GREET THE DAY
I love being able to get up, and greet a wonderful new day. I suggest
creating a morning ritual that includes saying thanks for your
blessings. I’m inspired by the Dalai Lama, who said, “Everyday, think as
you wake up, ‘today I am fortunate to have woken up, I am alive, I have
a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use
all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others, to
achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings, I am going to have
kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly
about others, I am going to benefit others as much as I can.'”
2. GREET THE DAY
I used to start my day by jumping out of bed, late as usual, and rushing
to get myself and the kids ready, and rushing to drop them to school
and come in to work late. I would walk into work, looking rumpled and
barely awake, grumpy and behind everyone else. Not a great start to your
day.
Now, I have a renewing morning ritual, I’ve gotten so much done before 8
a.m., my kids are early and so am I, and by the time everyone else gets
in to work, I’ve already gotten a head start. There is no better way to
start off your day than to wake early, in my experience.
3. QUIETUDE
No kids yelling, no babies crying, no soccer balls, no cars, no
television noise. The early morning hours are so peaceful, so quiet.
It’s my favorite time of day. I truly enjoy that time of peace, that
time to myself, when I can think, when I can read, when I can breathe.
4. SUNRISE
People who wake late miss one of the greatest feats of nature, repeated
in full stereovision each and every day — the rise of the sun. I love
how the day slowly gets brighter, when the midnight blue turns to
lighter blue, when the brilliant colors start to seep into the sky, when
nature is painted in incredible colors.
I like doing my early morning run during this time, and I look up at the
sky as I run and say to the world, “What a glorious day!” Really. I
really do that. Corny, I know.
5. BREAKFAST
Rise early and you actually have time for breakfast. I’m told it’s one
of the most important meals of the day. Without breakfast, your body is
running on fumes until you are so hungry at lunchtime that you eat
whatever unhealthy thing you can find — the fattier and sugarier, the
betterier.
But eat breakfast, and you are sated until later. Plus, eating breakfast
while reading my book and drinking my coffee in the quiet of the
morning is eminently more enjoyable than scarfing something down on the
way to work, or at your desk.
6. PRODUCTIVITY
Mornings, for me at least, are the most productive time of day. I like
to do some writing in the morning, when there are no distractions,
before I check my email or blog stats.
I get so much more done by starting on my work in the morning. Then,
when evening rolls around, I have no work that I need to do, and I can
spend it with family.
7. EXCERCISE
There are other times to exercise
besides the early morning, of course, but I’ve found that while
exercising right after work is also very enjoyable, it’s also liable to
be canceled because of other things that come up. Morning exercise is
virtually never canceled.
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