5 Proven Benefits of Waking Up Early

If you’ve finally motivated yourself to wake up early every day, congratulations! You have taken the first step towards a much better life. Although it might seem challenging at first (most good things usually do), it will behoove you to keep doing it. After all, the list of benefits of waking up early is an endless one.

Once you overcome the mental barrier and make it a habit, you will begin to notice the benefits compound over time. This should be motivation enough to push yourself to be an early riser. So, with that in mind, let’s talk about the 5 proven benefits that you’ll enjoy as an early riser.

1 | Improved Health

This is the first and most obvious benefit. There is a reason why the old saying, “early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise” has stuck around for so long. Waking up early does improve your health in a number of ways.

Early risers usually have a consistent sleep schedule. This keeps them synced with their circadian rhythms, which in turn leads to better health and a stronger immune system. Late sleepers, on the other hand, have an increased risk of several health conditions. Also, when you wake up early, it is more likely that you will work out and eat a healthier breakfast. If you wake up late, you are likely to skip these altogether.

2 | Increased Productivity

When you wake up early, you logically have more time in your hands. You can use this time to complete a lot of the minor (or major) tasks that you’d otherwise not be able to get to. In fact, a study showed that early risers are less likely to procrastinate than late risers.

You could also look at it another way. When you have the discipline to get up before everyone else, you essentially have a winner’s mindset. And if there is one thing that winners do, it’s taking action. They get things done.

3 | Increased Cognitive Performance

Most people might have this misconception that the more sleep they get, the better they will perform. But there is a limit to everything and sleep certainly has its limits too. If you oversleep, your brain will actually become foggy and you’ll experience decreased cognitive performance.

On the other hand, if you wake up early, you will have better brain function. According to Christopher Randler, a biologist at the Germany’s University of Education believes that early rising gives your brain a boost in performance. This leads to better critical thinking, creativity, problem-solving skills, and so on.

4 | Reduced Stress, Increased Happiness

This is another obvious benefit of being an early riser that doesn’t even need any proving. When you wake up early, you have more time to do your morning chores. You are not in a hurry and so, naturally, this reduces stress. You can start off your day feeling much more relaxed. You can enjoy the peace and quiet of the early morning.

Also, a study conducted by Dr. Joerg Huber of Roehampton University discovered that early risers tend to be healthier and happier than those who stay in bed longer.

5 | Increased Confidence

This one has to do with the mindset that is developed when you start waking up early every single day. It makes you feel better about yourself because your brain perceives that it is doing the right thing. 

Also, as an early riser, it’s more likely that you have a morning routine that includes working out, meditation, reading books, or any other healthy habit. All of these things further make you feel that your life is headed in the right direction as you strive to be a better version of yourself every single day. This instills confidence.

To Wrap Up

Being an early riser is more of a necessity in the modern-day world that demands high performance from everybody. To make sure that you can continue to lead a healthy and happy life, and make progress in the pursuit of your dreams, you need to start from the basics. And it can’t get any more basic than waking up early.

Of course, in order to wake up early you need to be making the most of your sleep. To learn some easy and fast tricks to optimize your sleep, check out my book notes on Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker, PhD.

Follow me on LinkedIn and Instagram to stay up-to-date with other life-hacks that I only share on those platforms. While you’re at it, check out my Amazon bestseller Spark Your Inner Genius!