You’re asleep, perhaps amid a very pleasant
dream. Maybe you’re scoring that winning goal at
soccer practice, winning the lottery, or finally gathering the courage to ask out that girl
or guy you’ve long been admiring. Whatever fantasy is playing through your mind,
it is going very well. Then that dreaded alarm goes off. That obnoxious sound signals an abrupt end
to your subconscious imagination, snatching your attention back to the waking world. You feel groggy and it is super tempting to
hit the snooze button and return to that restful state of sleep, even if only for an extra
5 more minutes of bliss. Because let’s face it, many of us would
prefer not to wake up super early in the morning if we can help it, especially if you’ve
got “a case of the Mondays.” Yet being an early morning riser might be
better for you overall. Why? Amongst those who regularly wake up at 5 or
5:30 in the morning, most probably do it out of obligation, not because they actually enjoy
doing it. If, however, you’re one of those people
who are super motivated and like waking up at the crack of dawn to workout, view the
sunrise, or surf some waves on the beach before it gets overly crowded then we applaud you
for your efforts. If you can also do this without the use of
caffeine, than that is even more impressive. There are a lot of obvious advantages to waking
up early such as snagging a spot first in line at your local coffee shop, getting a
head start on work to impress your boss, and defeating that annoying morning rush hour
traffic, just to name a few. Yet, for many of us, sleeping in can feel
oh-so-very tempting and satisfying too. But did you know that there are a lot of psychological
implications associated with whether you wake up early or sleep in regularly? A great body of research suggests that being
a night owl, or staying up late while waking up late, tends to be associated with heightened
negative emotionality. By this, we mean an increase of issues related
to depression, anxiety, mood problems and more. The results of a 2015 study by Simor and colleagues
found that, regardless of age or gender, evening-types, those who prefer evenings to mornings, were
at an increased risk for experiencing mental health problems. This is not to say that mental health disorders
can be blamed exclusively on your “chronotype” – a fancy word for “sleep schedule”
– but that it is often correlated with more problems overall, such as increased stress. Keep in mind, however, that correlation does
not imply causation so an increased level of mental health problems in late night routines
can be attributable to a combination of many other factors, such as a night owl’s typical
pattern of behavior, daily habits, lifestyle or social life when compared to that of a
morning lark or an early bird. Nevertheless, negative psychological outcomes,
for the most part, seem to be very often linked with sleeping in late. Interestingly, your chronotype may even have
an influence on your frequency of experiencing nightmares. According to a 2010 study that analyzed this
connection, findings suggested a strong association between more severe nightmares and evening-fairing,
night owl bedtime routines. Why this seems to be the case is not yet fully
understood although there may be a pathological factor involved related to nightmares generally
being associated with neuroticism and depression, symptoms that are more prevalent in night
owls than in early birds. Those who regularly embark on the late-night
chronotype also tend to experience a heightened frequency of insomnia. This may be due to your circadian rhythm in
that, if your body assumes you can sleep in longer, it doesn’t detect a need to fall
asleep earlier and so you find yourself lying awake later into the night. If you don’t have a regular circadian rhythm
at all and your sleep schedule fluctuates with no definable pattern, this can make it
more difficult to fall asleep by a certain time when you need to. Thus, when the need arises, you may find yourself
tossing and turning restlessly, groaning out of frustration. Perhaps you’re kicking under your sheets,
thinking, “I have to wake up early to buy that last available chinchilla at the pet
store before somebody else does, but I just can’t sleep! When am I going to catch some Zzz’s already?!” You’re watching the clock as each hour ticks
by and you’re still awake. We’ve all been there. If, however, you steadily wake up at the same
time every day with a regular routine, your body might be more willing to work with you,
saying logically, “Ok, considering that we always get up at this time, we’d better
get to sleep now if we’re going to have enough energy to endure the next day!” As a result, falling asleep becomes much easier. In this case, the early bird gets the worm
– or the chinchilla. As a side note, it is worth mentioning that
these adorable, little rodents actually make for great pets, even if they do resemble chubby
squirrels. Since the average waking time in the U.S.
is between 6 and 7:30am, if you manage to wake up at 5 or 5:30am, you will have 1 to
2 hours of peaceful, uninterrupted time. You could go to a place that is usually crowded
and see it while it is empty. Waking up this early is almost like having
the world to yourself. This is the best time to be selfish and indulge
in activities you wouldn’t normally get to try. Ride a horse like a cowboy through the drive-through
at McDonalds, dance through empty streets like nobody’s watching, maybe even try skinny
dipping – okay, that last one may not be advisable if at a public pool or lake where
there may be children nearby on a family fishing excursion, so you should probably think about
using proper judgement over where you choose to do this. Don’t go stripping in your mom’s backyard
pond either, unless you want to risk exposing yourself to an awkward and embarrassing situation. This might be a little hard to explain if
you wind up getting caught. If you’re a dog person, early morning is
also a good time to take your furry friend for a walk on the beach since many places
enforce strict rules and don’t allow pets after a certain time. Do your homework on your local area and learn
about some of your options. More than likely, your canine companion will
really appreciate it. Successful people also tend to wake up early. These include the likes of Benjamin Franklin,
Howard Schultz, Grant Cardone, Richard Branson, Dwayne the Rock Johnson, and Tim Cook just
to name a few. If you want to follow in the footsteps of
any of these individuals, this is one way to do it. Waking up around 5am also cultivates a habit
of discipline, which may flow into other areas of your life. This will also help you build confidence in
your own sense of willpower and control, potentially increasing your self-esteem. After all, if you can get up from your warm
bed while it’s still dark out, especially if it’s rainy and cold outside, then congratulations! You’re tough as nails! Being an early bird also has the potential
to make you less stressed. The reason being that you may feel freer to
go to sleep while knowing that you can figure out a problem or situation when you wake up
early. This way, you’re not keeping yourself up
at night worrying about what you should do the next day. Instead, you’re tackling your issue head
on by dealing with it before the rest of the country rises. So, if you have decided that you want to start
waking up earlier, you might now be wondering, “how the bleep am I going to wake up at
5:30am?” It is one thing to think, “I’m going to
get up early tomorrow and be productive,” when you’re currently wide awake. But it is a completely different thing to
resist giving in to your overwhelming desire to fall back asleep the following morning. It can be tough even if you have a strong
incentive, such as “if I get up now, I can watch one of my steamy guilty pleasures on
the living room TV while my roommates are still asleep. But I also really, REALLY want to go back
to sleep… So, I think I’ll do the latter.” If you’re like a lot of people, forcing
yourself to climb out of your warm, cozy bed can require a lot of motivation. After all, why would you want to get up when
you’re encased in a blanket cocoon of pure bliss? There are two different ways to achieve a
routine of waking up at 5:30am every day. We should warn you that neither of these methods
are pleasant. One way is to just experience one bad night,
simple but really hard. This involves going to bed at the time you
normally do, however late this may be, and then waking up no matter what by 5:30am. When you do this, be sure to eat breakfast
as soon as you get up because your body tends to associate eating with its own, separate,
waking schedule. Be prepared to run on adrenaline for the rest
of the day and don’t give in to the temptation to take a nap. By 9pm you should feel ready to collapse into
bed and then, from there, you should be able to wake up at 5:30am again the next day. The second way to do this is more gradual
and involves progressively setting your alarm 30 minutes earlier each morning until you
reach the 5:30am mark. If you’re a night owl, and that works for
you, then that is great. Not everyone who stays up late and sleeps
in experiences negative effects from it. There’s no reason to change your sleep pattern
if you’re content with your lifestyle and comfortable with your current routine. Everyone is different and what works well
for others may not necessarily work best for you. Our chronotypes mostly remain stable throughout
our lifetime but do have the propensity to change with our age. A site called thesleepdoctor.com, explains
this by stating, “most of us are wolves in young adulthood, many of us become bears
in middle-age, and quite a few of us shift to lions as we get older.” Interpret this however you want but, for the
most part, it is said that our circadian rhythm tends to shift to an earlier sleep cycle as
we grow older. So, you may just end up waking earlier with
time anyway, no added effort required. If you want to try getting up earlier to feel
more productive then that is a great goal. Above all, however, just remember to do what
is comfortable for you and try not to push your body too hard if you don’t have to. Do you prefer waking up early or is sleeping
in just too tempting for you? Let us know in the comments! Also, be sure to check out our other video
I Slept 3 Hours A Day For A Week And This Is What Happened! Thanks for watching, and, as always, don’t
forget to like, share, and subscribe. See you next time!
