There is a lot of debate on how much sleep people need. However, according to the National Sleep Foundation’s 2015 report, most adults require between 7-8 hours of sleep per night. People who routinely get less than 6 hours of sleep have been shown to have a higher risk for obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and various other medical conditions. Additionally, chronic sleep deprivation has been linked with emotional problems and decreased productivity at work.
But what about getting too much sleep? Whilst sleeping in every now and again isn’t necessarily bad for your life, it can certainly have an impact on you achieving your dreams and goals.
Sleeping in at the weekend is common practice in life for many people, but what if you was up as early on the weekend as you are on a week day chasing down your dreams? How much more do you think you can achieve in the hours you are awake rather than sleeping or watching Netflix in bed of a morning.
You can easily add 2 or more hours to your day just by waking up earlier, and in that time write a blog post, exercise, do food prep or some research on a side project you want to start but never find the time to. It will be a far more productive day, and with just a few small changes you can make sleeping in at the weekend a thing of the past.
People often find they are generally happier when they are chasing down their goals, so fitting in a couple of hours extra at the weekend is a life hack everyone should be doing! The house will be quieter, the gym will have less people in it, your brain will be clearer to work on that all important project!
Just think how good it will be to have finished those all important tasks on your to do list by the time you would normally be getting out of bed.
Waking up earlier may seem like an impossible task, but it’s really not that hard. In fact, if you set your alarm for just 30 minutes earlier than you usually wake up, you’ll be able to achieve so much more and be closer to your dreams.
So how can you make waking up earlier a habit?
Establishing a consistent daily routine will allow your body to cultivate a sleep wake cycle. It may take a while for your body to adjust to this, but after a while it can be very natural. Try going to bed at the same time every night and getting up at the same time each morning. This will help your body get used to the new schedule. There are mobile apps and alarm clocks that can be programmed to set a bedtime reminder and a gentle wake-up alarm which will help
Try setting the alarm just 15 minutes earlier for a few days, then 30 minutes, 45 then an hour once you are ready. To help with this, go to bed earlier than normal, that way you are not actually reducing your sleep amount.
Plan your day the night before. That way once you wake up in the morning, you will know exactly what you want to achieve and jump out of bed excited to go awesome on your dreams! That should help you avoid hitting the snooze button, else, your dreams are not exciting you enough.
Get out of bed right away. Lingering in your bed after you wake up can make it too easy to go back to sleep.
So now you are awake earlier, what should you do?
This question greatly depends on your goals, and it is a question you can only answer for yourself. To help get your mind working we have come up with some examples that you might find has similarities to your situation.
Bob wants to get fitter. His dream is to race a triathlon and for that he has to increase his fitness a great deal. This all takes time, from proper meal prep to more time in the gym or out training in the fresh air. As his training is increasing, he can not sacrifice on the amount of sleep, so Bob sets a routine to go to bed at 9pm and wake up at 5 30am.
This way, Bob can make sure he is in the gym at 6am, do 1 to 2 hours of training, and still get back home in time to shower and get to his office job.
Bob finds it hard for the first week or 2, but soon gets into a routine and his body soon adjusts. On his rest days, he either does meal prep in the extra time he has or writes a blog about his training for the whole world to see.
Derek on the other hand has no such dream, there is nothing worse than spending time away from his family. He has a busy demanding job and the commute takes over an hour in heavy traffic each way. Derek decides to wake earlier, leave for work earlier, and finish an hour earlier. This way, his commute is in light traffic and only takes 35 minutes now, and he is home earlier to spend time with his family having dinner together, plus is less stressed due to an easier ride home.
Derek keeps up the early start at the weekend, he finds the quiet time he gets ideal to catch up on personal finance and to read the weekend newspapers in peace before the house gets too busy. He even finds time now to clear out some old items he has and sell them online to earn a bit of extra money.
Emma’s dream is to sell her art work on her Instagram account and etsy store. By waking up just 30 minutes earlier each day, she is now able to respond to messages quickly, package up her prints she has sold the previous day or post some recent artwork on her social sites to build her following. Just 30 minutes a day working on her personal dream of selling her own artwork has really paid off, her collection is growing and so are her customers.
In conclusion, waking up early and working on your goals are great habits to have. They can help you be more productive and achieve your goals. Plus, you will be able to start your day off with a positive attitude working towards something you love. If you don’t currently have these habits, start small and work your way up. Be patient and stay focused, and you will be successful.