Waking up early is probably one of the most important things if you want to witness your own success, no matter in what aspect of your life we are talking about. It’s cornerstone principle to having a healthy lifestyle, but more on to having life with meaning, one that is fulfilled,more productive and over all successful.

If you really take some time and have a look upon some people considered as achievers, you will come to realize that each and every one of them is an early bird, waking up in the morning. They’ve trained their willpower to the point where waking up early is something not only acceptable, but rather preferable.

Seriously, look at those athletes, look at those artists, entrepreneurs, politicians… They all consider waking up early as a fundamental rule in their lifestyle, hence their success.

And it’s really so. Imagine having time each morning when you are least distracted to dedicate on working towards your goal. Or even just get all awake and fresh, ready to hit the day way ahead of others. Ordinary people get up on time, but to really surpass mediocrity you will have to wake up early each and every day.

Benefits of waking up early

Well, let’s first start with health. Our bodies are designed to wake up as early as sunrise, at the very start of the day, so unless you have some strong argument against evolution, then I guess we can not argue what is healthier for your body.

More energy throughout the day, especially in the mornings. And this is also a great reason. Ever felt lethargic after sleeping till noon? Well, if you avoid waking up late, you will experience having more energy latter in that same day. But, obviously, for this to work you will also have to start go earlier to bed than usual.

“Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise”– Benjamin Franklin. (tweet this)

Statistics show that early birds are in general more fit than those who would rather spend hour or two more in bed. And it’s quite understandable due to all the benefits that come along with waking up early. Not to mention that you have more time, some of which can be used for fitness, or just some general physical activity.

Probably the best thing that comes along with waking up early is having more time. And usually as I said that time is the most productive period of your day. Distractions are minimal (since not one of your friends is calling you, or sending you mail, or dropping by at your house etc.). Those early hours are usually some quiet time, where you either charge your batteries and organize the day ahead, or enjoy the productive surrounding and start with your projects right away.

People who get up early also tend to invest more in themselves, since they have the time and energy (as well as optimal surrounding) to do so. So we can see early risers going for a walk in the park, taking the dog out and reading the paper or some book, we can see them jogging, exercising, doing yoga, etc.

The feel of success is present all the time. Well, you probably guess it – waking up early in the morning makes you feel better, knowing that you are doing something that is not only healthier for you, but also something that will in turn improve your life, make you more productive, and as stated many times above, successful.

Knowing these benefits, and knowing you didn’t come across this habit by a mere serendipity, will benefit you even more. Knowing why you are waking up early, gives you even more determination and willpower.

Let’s have a look at some of the famous people that get up early:

1. Disney CEO – Robert Iger

Robert told New York Times that he gets up as early as 4:30 every morning. When asked how he uses the early hours, he said that it’s quiet time doing some reading, going through the paper, exercising, watching news and TV, looking through mail, and listening to some music. He said he is doing many of these at one time. Quiet time, and already multitasking- talking about productivity, were we?

2.Apple CEO – Tim Cook

Apple CEO Tim Cook is known to get up as early as 4:30 in the morning.

And according to some, he may be seen in the gym after sending mails and starting to organize the day. He also prides himself to be the first person in the office, and the last out at night. So I guess the energy thing is getting clearer now.

3. Robin Sharma – Bestselling author and motivational speaker

Not only Robin is an early bird, but he also stresses the point of getting up early in each of his books. And they were sold in millions.

In “the monk who sold his Ferrari” he said that waking up early is the first step towards improvement, and the pursuit for perfection. He came to this conclusion after reading tons of material on health, wellbeing, reading philosophy books, as well as many great people’s autobiographies. After going through all that material, he came to the conclusion that all of those great people that were successful in one way or another were early risers.

But sometimes getting up early in the morning seems hard to achieve. Nevertheless it can be achieved. Here are some tips that may help you a lot.

How to wake up early in the morning?

First of all you must get into the habit of going early to bed. As simple as that. Turn off things that may distract you one hour prior to going to bed, dim the lights, get yourself relaxed and try to isolate from the turmoil schedule. What the body does when it’s getting darker, is starting to produce the hormone melatonin. And this one makes you want to sleep, relaxing your whole body, therefore making it easier for you to fall asleep. And when looking in the TV or the screen of you laptop, the direct exposure to light makes your melatonin levels to stay low, disrupting the sleeping cycle. Never eat or drink water before you go to bed. If we are talking about quality sleep, then make this your habit. Two hours before you go to bed avoid eating, and drink only one glass prior to going to bed. Open the drapes, so the moment there is sun outside your body can get the signal, and start the process of slowly waking up. Avoid exercising, or doing some work at night. Use late afternoons for this if you can. Being tired from the exercise usually seems logical prior to go to bed, but increased cardio function, as well as adrenaline levels rising can make you stay up all night. For god’s sake turn your cell phone off. Really, if you don’t think that sleeping and refilling your own batteries is important to you, or less important than someone calling you for something that can usually wait until the morning- well, then I guess this post is not going to help a lot. Forget coffee too. If you are the coffee drinker, try limiting yourself to consume coffee only as late as noon. Get tired with some exercise earlier that day. But as stated above, avoid exercising late at night. A nice shower taken one hour before you go to bed can make you fall asleep quite easily and get up in the morning all rested and full with energy. Never disrupt the habit. If you stay one night very late and then wake up the same time in the morning by forcing yourself, it will make you more deficient in energy. Or it can also be bad if you oversleep. This will disrupt your schedule as well. At first it will be hard to get hold of the newly acquired habit, but give it some time. Motivate yourself and strive towards something. When I started to prepare for the 5k race in my city, I had the motive to get up early so I can finish up with the daily run, and continue the day without losing time. Find something that moves you forward, and remember it every time you are having a hard time waking up in the morning.

Try these tips, implement as many of them as you can in your lifestyle, and start seeing the changes. Remember, waking up early takes time to turn into habit, so over time it will feel normal. You will have more time for yourself, getting job done, managing the day ahead, and getting fresh and awake.

This will impact your life a great deal. And make no mistake- improvement will be inevitable, no matter in which aspect of life we are talking about. Waking up early is the key to having a healthy lifestyle and success in life.

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