I have always had sleeping problems related to spontaneous, unhealthy sleeping habits. Until recently, I've struggled to maintain a decent schedule, often becoming overwhelmed at months of failure. After finding a pattern that works for me, I have three of countless many reasons why you should start waking up early to improve your overall wellness, relationships, and productivity.
1. Consistent Sleeping Habits Help You Feel Rested
Consistent habits make it easier to pursue them. Your body handles sleep according to a circadian rhythm--a process regulating itself in 24-hour cycles--and ensures that you feel more rested when it can settle into a regular schedule. There is some debate about whether young adults really need to sleep more than six hours at night, but ensuring that you sleep at regular intervals is crucial to finding the sleeping patterns that work for you. After months of staying up until two in the morning and waking up at 12 pm, I've realized that I'm much better off sleeping at regular intervals. This doesn't mean that I don't make exceptions, I love playing around with biphasic sleep schedules, where you have one core sleep and typically take a siesta throughout the day. Some nights I let myself stay up until midnight. However, this does not leave me drained. I have a pattern, and I still feel rested when I occasionally decide to take a break from it.
2. You'll Learn to Set Boundaries Around Your Needs
According to a 2017 article published in Sci Rep, people typically sleep according to social constraints. School, work, and late-night get-togethers may be conflicting with your biological clock. When I was sleeping spontaneously, I found myself more overwhelmed and had difficulty processing everyday information. I looked at my relationships as social burdens. Now that I carve out boundaries for myself (the Sprague social life hours are 8:00 am to 9:00 pm), I have a few hours in the morning when I wake up at six. I take care of myself first, get a light workout in, and can meet the day fresh with my self-care satisfied.
3. Early Mornings Are Great For Productivity
If you're like me when it comes to productivity, you need to start off the day right or you end up wallowing in despair for the rest of your waking hours. I've lost countless hours that could be spent reading, writing, exercising, or being a good boyfriend. That time isn't spent performing self-care. I waste the day away seeking the path of least resistance: sleep, video games, and YouTube. Now that I've committed to a schedule, I have more time in the day than I ever properly understood. Primarily, I'm just less tired when I start my day with coffee and toast instead of lunch.
Hopefully you'll take this personal account as a jump-start if you struggle to maintain a good schedule. As a writer, student, and boyfriend, there's no way I'm going back to my previous habits after finding the benefits of waking up early.
