Posted on 10/07/2024 1:57:21 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Some say the early bird catches the worm, while some studies suggest that night owls have better cognitive function (intelligence, reasoning, and memory) compared to early risers.
Personally, I'm not a huge fan of rising early. You'd think that after waking up early all my life — first as a student and then as a mum — I'd be used to it by now. But nope, I firmly belong to the sleep-in brigade. Are you an "Early to bed, early to rise" sort, or a "Stay up late and sleep in" night owl?
If you're not an early bird, check out these pros and cons of getting up early that you may not know about:
Pros: The bright side of early mornings
It's peaceful
I admit it — getting up before anyone else in the house (I'm usually up by 6am to make school lunches) gives you a chance to enjoy some peace and quiet.
Most days, I'm racing from one task to another, so those early hours allow for much-needed, unhurried time for yourself.
And if you time it right, you could even catch a beautiful dawn. Resist the temptation to hit snooze; trust me, you'll thank yourself 10 minutes later for getting out of bed when you did.
Less traffic to deal with
Whether you're driving to work or catching a taxi or public transport, the earlier you get going, the better traffic. This means you'll likely waste less time and energy on your commute.
Get your workout done early
I've always admired those who rise at 4am just to work out. If only I had that level of discipline! But it's true — if you know you won't have any other time in the day for a workout, getting it done first thing is the way to go.
More time to get things done
Ever wish you had more hours in the day? By getting up an hour or two earlier, you can tackle tasks you've been putting off (and avoid wasting your weekend on them). I definitely feel more in control of my life — at least for those couple of hours anyway — when I start chipping away at my to-do list or finally get around to that dreaded paperwork. Win-win!
Cons: The not-so-great side
An early start requires an early bedtime
By Thursday, I'm usually ready to crawl into bed by 9pm. We know it's not healthy to get less than seven hours of sleep, but going to bed so early every night just isn't practical for me.
Getting a full night's sleep is important, and crashing right after dinner isn't sustainable in the long run. Trust me, it's not fun skipping the chance to unwind after a long day.
It's not as easy as it sounds
After reading Robin Sharma's "The 5am Club", I thought I'd give early rising a go too. But as I mentioned, it only works if you can resist the snooze button. There hasn't been a single morning when I've "hopped" out of bed at 5am due to sheer motivation!
Getting up early can be counterproductive
You might recognise this scenario (welcome to my life). Just because you abandoned your bed while it was still dark doesn't mean your body will thank you for it. Ironically, if you're getting less sleep in an effort to be more productive, you'll likely face a huge energy slump after lunch — hello, sleep fog!
Less sleep is unhealthy
You might have thrived on little sleep in your 20s, but as we age, sacrificing sleep can lead to negative effects like moodiness, poor concentration, potential weight gain, and increased risks of heart disease and high blood pressure.
There's no glory in being a performative workaholic who wakes up early just to squeeze in more work! And if you have kids, navigating the day on autopilot without proper rest won't do you any favours either.
Waking up early on weekends, too
You might not set an early alarm for weekends, but your body clock could still wake you up earlier than you'd like, because it's used to doing that Mondays to Fridays. It's frustrating trying to sleep in on weekends when you just want to catch a few extra Zs.
as a former 24/7/365 automotive towing and recovery service manager i ask you how you would feel if everyone shared your attitude and you were left on the side of the road until someone decided to wake up and rescue you...
For about half the year here in southern Arizona, you’d better get any outdoor stuff done within a few hours of sunrise.
My dog’s body clock is 7 AM, so guess what time I’m getting up?
“don’t know what it is yet. I’m thinking it’s Global Warming.”
Lol! Don’t even go there! :D
That’s a good point, people who work the night shift. I don’t know if I could get used to that, but I’m sure people do. 7 AM is the earliest for me, since by 9:30 I’m headed for bed. I love getting up, making coffee, and watching the sun come through the trees in my backyard!
3:30 in the morning I’m bright-eyed and bushy-tailed
EXCEPT for the time I went in having been up for 24 hours straight.....oops....I was failing asleep as I was working
Only later did I find out that you could take a sick day, no Dr. note needed, if you didn’t get proper sleep (which would have helped a lot on some days because it’s too noisy in that daytime thing y’all talk about - I’m still not certain it’s real but there’s a huge orange thing in the sky right now - looks like it’s on fire)
That’s my quiet time. I can read uninterrupted, look at my phone, or do something that I need to concentrate on.
I love my early mornings.
The big tradeoff is that I need to be in bed by 10PM, or I'm just not getting the sleep that I need.
Bed...11 PM
Ya know you can get auto kibble dispensers...
A gradual approach and coaching can keep you from overdoing it to the point of ill health. I encourage you to give it a try after consulting your physician.
Wow .... still working at 80 ... good for you!!
Lucky that I can do it. Very difficult profession.
The early worm gets the bird.
Keep moving!
Start off slow... as in a slow mile...or, ½ mile. (A mall, school track, your neighborhood, if safe, a treadmill if you can afford one.)
Build up, increasing distance and speed/week.
Before you know it, you’ll be up to 3-4 good clip miles.
Don’t forget your Vit D3/K2, Vit C and Vit B12...and, water, lots of water.
God bless!
When I had 2 cats and a dog indoors at night, they dictated the get up time. It was 6 sharp, no matter which one was first to stir.
[after consulting your physician]
Bronco ‘Bama and George W. Bush took care of the in 2008 - now I have to count on God Almighty most of the time
So....let’s get that Rapture going....World War III is my backup plan
I saved as much for retirement as Laz...
Had a small amount - that was wiped out by late 2008 or so or 2009
The second mouse gets the cheese.
“I usually crawl under the covers by 1:00AM. 😉”
Likewise, sleep from 1 am - 9 am, cuz I want to and - being retired - I can :).
I do my best thinking/writing very, very early in the morning after 7-8 hours sleep (the latter a rarity of late).
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