How To Wake Up At 5AM Every Day

A Full Guide on How to Establish a Healthy Sleep Schedule

Hey guys and happy Saturday!
Today's topic is going to be about something crucial, something we used to hate as kids, sleep and sleep schedules!

If you're like me and looking forward to increasing productivity, workflow and want to have a better routine and ultimately a better life overall, you've come to the right place.

Sleep is an essential part of every living thing. Yes, this includes both you and me.
As a small kid I always asked my parents if I could stay up longer to watch Star Wars the Clone Wars. Sadly, those times are over now :(

Now even though you don't notice the huge effects of sleep deprivation and loose sleep schedules have, they exist.
Having a good sleep schedule and a wake up routine can drastically improve your life in ways you can't imagine.

Let's go over the benefits:

First of all, why should you wake up at 5am?

Waking up at 5am can have a big positive impact on your day, your productivity and your health. Here's a few benefits that come with waking up early:

- You wake up stress free

Waking up at 5am each day reduces your stress levels. This is due to the fact that you don't have to rush to get ready anymore. You slowly get ready over time.

- Your productivity increases

Working early in the morning makes tasks like reading, writing, working out, or cooking easier to accomplish, as you’re more motivated to dedicate time to them.

- You gain more free time

Finishing work before others wake up frees up your afternoon for loved ones or personal pursuits.

- You dedicate time for your health and exercise

Everyone wants to feel and look great. Waking up in the morning gives you time and motivation to spend on both your mental and physical health.

- "The first hour of the morning is the rudder of the day."

If you wake up feeling free, good and productive, this feeling is going to lead and affect your entire day. The same goes for the negative. If you wake up rushed, stressed and tired, you will carry these feelings with you throughout your day.

All in all, waking up early each day is one of the best thing you can do to improve your life and chase your goals. It increases productivity, health, motivation and happiness overall.

Now that we went over the benefits of waking up daily, we'll go over to how to actually achieve the art of early rising:

1. Set Up Your Evening Routine

- Fix your sleep schedule

In order to wake up early, you of course have to sleep earlier. Waking up at 5am requires you to go to bed around 8-9pm.

- Avoid eating 3+ hours before sleeping

Eating before sleep disrupts your circadian rhythm. Your body keeps you awake in order to digest the food.

- Put your phone away 30 minutes to 1 hour before bed

Getting off your number one distraction tool can help keeping track of time and reduces stress levels before you go to bed.

- Dim the lights

Dimming the lights can help your body feel relaxed and releases melatonin. Your body releases this hormone as a response to darkness to regulate your waking and sleeping cycle.

- Read before sleeping

Reading has been proven to calm you and reduce stress. This helps you fall asleep and improves your sleep quality.

Before we go to sleep now, we should look into sleeping environments:

2. Create a Relaxing Sleep Environment

- Put your alarm across the room

Having your alarm directly beside you makes it too easy to just press on snooze. Putting your alarm across the room it requires you to stand up which wakes up your body and starts your day.

- Keep water by your bedside

If you're like me and you sometimes need to have a little sip, it should be easily accessible. Standing up to get water will inadvertently wake your body and make it harder to fall asleep again.

- Go to bed worry-free

Falling asleep stressed will worsen your sleep quality as well as your wake up mindset. Falling asleep stressed means waking up stressed which will make it harder to go through your day. (reading can help)

Now that we looked at different ways to improve your evening and your sleeping environment, we should take a look at morning routines:

3. Set Up a Morning Routine

“When you arise in the morning think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love ...”
- Marcus Aurelius; Meditations

- Wake up with purpose

Wake up with a task, a purpose. If you wake up feeling lost it will quickly drain your motivation. Write down or set yourself a goal you want to and are going to achieve.

- Start with something you love

Starting with something you love is going to make your entire day better and more relaxed. As said before "The first hour of the morning is the rudder of the day.".

- Do something productive

If you start productive, you're going to stay productive throughout the day. This will not only make you feel great but also help you stay on track toward achieving your goals.

- Leave your room after waking up

Staying in your comfy room is going to make you tired fairly quickly. Make some breakfast, shower and get some fresh air. Your body will adapt to these changes which will ultimately start your day positively.

Okay, so now you know what to do, but how do you stay consistent?

4. Build a System of Habits

- Set a routine and stick to it

Sticking to your routine and being consistent is the most important thing when it comes to changing a habit.

- Change your environment if necessary

Changing the environment may help you build desirable habits such as a better sleep schedule.

- Don’t give up

It won't work all the time. That's the same for everyone. The most important thing is that you don't give up and start again if you miss a day.

- Start small!

A lot of fast change will only make you demotivated. You should rather make tiny changes and wait until you adapt to them. If you normally wake an hour or more after 5am, you should set your alarm 15 minutes earlier each two to three days (or even a week). This will help you stay consistent. Sudden change is disastrous for our physical and mental stability.

Here's some extra tips:

- Get an accountability partner

Change may feel stressful and demotivating. By getting an accountability partner it'll be a lot easier and more motivating to stay consistent.

- Turn your alarm to a song

Setting my alarm to a favorite song helps me wake up with a smile and start the day on a positive note.

My experience:

For me, waking up early has definitely changed my life.
As a student, I used to do my homework in the mornings instead of the evenings as my mind just worked a lot better. It was much easier to stay focused and It made my entire day feel productive.
Besides, I also used to apply some other life changing strategies to help me chase my dreams. Things like affirmations, reading, exercise and journaling made me feel unstoppable.
A small story: I remember back when I took a physics exam and suddenly the person behind me fell asleep and started snoring DURING THE EXAM. It was so funny to me I could barely concentrate on the exam.
However, there are some difficulties. It's hard to stay consistent if you stay at a friends place for multiple days.
The art of starting is definitely the most important thing when it comes to life change and improvement.

I love you,
Raphael

BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS ON THIS TOPIC:

- The Miracle Morning

Hal Elrod
https://amzn.to/48MbEGI

- Atomic Habits

James Clear
(one of the best books I've read on how to build habits)
https://amzn.to/3AF2YoY
(German) https://amzn.to/48PJ6vS

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