For years now, I've operated on a schedule that typically pulls me out of bed anywhere from five to seven in the morning, so it is a rare day when I sleep in. Despite the medically proven health benefits of waking up early in the morning, I'm going to talk about the simple way it makes me feel and explain from there why you should give it a try during your week, if not every day of the week.

When you wake up early in the morning you have more time to accomplish whatever goals you've set for the day. It's simply a logical, practical solution to not having enough time in a day to complete tasks or accomplish all of the things you'd like to. Instead of wishing for more hours in a day, wake up an hour earlier or so and you'll find that you've got more room to breathe when big projects are due or a lot of trip planning or traveling is in store for the day.

But before you can accomplish whatever goals you'd like to in a theoretical day, you've got to actually set personal goals for yourself. I've found that making a checklist of everything I need to or want to get done in a week and editing it day to day really helps in the long run. Sure, some things may still not be finished when I would like them to be, but for the most part it helps me to remember everything and know what is what.

Another benefit of waking up earlier is the ability to train yourself to successfully nap and to actually nap the "right" way. It's bad for your body to nap for long periods of time as it tricks your body into thinking it is going to get genuine sleep minus all of the benefits that come with six to eight hours of sleep or so. Napping for short bursts of twenty to forty minutes or so is a little bit better if you need a quick refresher or pick me up. Now, I'm not saying you have to wake up at four in the morning and then be so tired that you take six naps in one day- that's not how it should be done either.

Life, as it often seems to be, is all about balance. Waking up earlier allows for more time to go on adventures, more time to get your required work out of the way much faster, and a more satisfied and successful feeling at the end of your day. I'm not saying you have to wake up every morning and go work out or go knock out that twenty-two page paper you were assigned four weeks ago and have twelve hours to do. It's all about maximizing your potential time and minimizing wasted time and effort.

The final reason that waking up early is actually a good thing is because it'll make you feel happier over time. As subjective as that might seem considering most of us enjoy our beauty sleep, it is true nonetheless. Not only do you typically feel much more fulfilled and actually get work done with less distractions, but you also feel more alive, awake, and ready to go earlier which leads to spending significantly less time in the doldrums from my experience.