10 Reasons to Wake Up Earlier

I have worked some sort of strange shifts in my time. I've done 13-14 hour shifts with few breaks, varied shifts, split shifts, and late shifts that usually allowed me to have a bit of a lie in each morning... It's always nice getting the whole bed when the other half gets up.

Previously, I have usually just woke up when I absolutely HAD to, no earlier because I do love my sleep. But, things change...

A couple of years ago, I was preparing to move to a new job, which has a standard work week of Mon-Fri, 9- 5.30. I began to reset my body clock by waking up a little earlier each day for a couple of weeks. In doing so, I made a whole new discovery- that I should really have been doing it all along!

Now don't get me wrong- I am not suggesting that you start starving yourself of sleep, as this will have a negative effect. However, adults really don't need more than 7-8 hours of sleep per night, so anything over this is counterproductive.

What I am suggesting is that if, like me, you enjoyed a cheeky couple of extra hours, you should really consider giving these up.

Here's why:

Seriously, you actually fit more activity into your day, and therefore you get more out of life.

You can get chores out of the way in hours that you would generally be sleeping, so it means that the time that you usually spend doing chores can be spent focusing on you, enjoying a hobby, learning something new or on other things.

This creates more of a work life balance by allowing you to focus some time on productivity rather than sleeping.

You know the feeling you get when you've overslept or jet lagged? A kind of tired, fuzzy headedness? ... almost a drunk feeling? Well, you don't get that anymore! It's great! Overall, you are more focused and able to take on whatever the day has to throw at you!

It is so much easier to do tasks before work, rather than after.

After work, you want to wind down and relax, whereas when you are up earlier you can get things done quickly and efficiently.

Obviously, it is easier to fit more in if you start a bit later in the morning, but even if you have an early shift, there is still plenty of time to get a couple of extra activities in before you leave for work!

I know. I laughed too. When my partner told me that my body would readjust, I thought he was mad. But, it actually adjusts really quickly in my experience. To the point where, when I allow myself a lie in, my body actually automatically wakes me at 7am!

Human beings are creatures of habit. Habits are formed by repeating the same thing regularly, so to make yourself a morning person, you need to regularly get up early, then you will become a morning person! Particularly during the Summer months with the bright mornings.

Studies suggest that oversleeping can be linked with diabetes etc, So by getting up earlier, you could be improving your health.

Similarly, you could fit in a fitness regime to the time you would otherwise spend sleeping. There are some people who swear by a morning Yoga session, or a jog before their morning shower. It gets the body into "go" mode and is an invigorating start to the day. How many times have you put off going for a run or to the gym because you didn't have enough time? Not anymore...

As you have more time to get ready and prepare for the day, you find that getting from A to B is much easier when you get up earlier. You get to leave a little earlier to catch the train or bus... you can have breakfast before you run out the door. You can even catch a bit of morning TV before you leave for work. The rush of the morning seems to disappear, which makes for a much more pleasant start to your day!

Much like number 7, even having a spare 5 minutes before starting your shift really can make a difference to your working day. Take a bit of time to have a coffee, read the news, write a to-do list. Prepare yourself to get into the working day all by going in a little bit early. This definitely improves your productivity, and you don't feel as though you are chasing your tail all day.

This is especially true if you work shift patterns that are due to change. I felt so groggy whenever I had to change shifts every so often. there is a reason for that.

As mentioned in point number 4, the human body is a creature of habit. If you choose to have a stable waking up time, you will find that a stable bedtime will follow quite easily. You won't feel as tired when you get up, or as awake when you try to get to sleep. This is great for those who find it hard to adjust.

With this in mind, it is also important to ensure that you maintain your early mornings even on days off/ weekends. If you don't, you risk falling into an irregular pattern, and possibly not get as much good quality sleep.

Obviously this does not apply if you are going from nightshift to earlies- that will still completely wreck your sleeping pattern. Sorry.

I would recommend that if you are going to try to get up early, that you give it a good couple of months before deciding whether or not it is for you. Try to start in the Summer months, as the body will naturally react better to bright mornings than attempting to drag yourself out of bed when it's still pitch black at 8am.

If you do try it for a couple of months and decide that getting up earlier is absolutely just not for you, you can always change back. What is a couple of months in comparison to your lifespan?