Forcing yourself to get up early in the morning is pointless!
|
|||||||||
Shalu Wasu | Jan 21, 2010
A google search on early rising gives 1,500,000 results. Amazon has 6699 books on getting up early. Countless self-development ‘gurus’ have written books and articles that extol the benefits of getting up before your friendly neighbourhood rooster does. They have together compiled a list of 10,349 bullet points on why you should get up early and another 14,349 points on how you can make sure you get up early. These methods vary from the mundane to the creative. (My favourite is where you slip in the alarm clock in the underwear of your spouse at night. You are guaranteed to wake up when the alarm rings – I’ve tried it.)
I must admit I am a bit tired of it all. Why should I get up early in the first place? What have I got to prove?
So here are 10 points about why you should stay up late and still not feel bad when you come across another article by the self-help gurus who preach getting up early in the morning!
Why you should stay up LATE!
1. There is nothing ‘natural’ about getting up early in the morning. It perhaps made sense a few hundred years ago when sunlight was the only source of light and you could only get your work done when the sun was shining – so getting up early was required to maximize working time. This argument does not hold anymore – at least in places that have electricity. (If you are reading this, your house/office has electricity).
2. It is a myth that you ‘save time’ by getting up early. Well, each day has 24 hours and if you sleep for 6 hours, you have 18 hours to do everything else, irrespective of when you sleep and when you get up.
3. If you get up early, you’ll need to sleep early. If you sleep early, you miss out on all the exciting stuff that happens late at night! Most people start winding down around 8pm and are off to bed soon after. Most people have 1-2 hours of leisure time in the evening before they sleep. But this amount of time is not really enough to plan anything meaningful. On the other hand if you know that after finishing dinner at 9pm, you still have another 3-4 hours, it just opens up so many possibilities. You can read a book, watch a movie, work or simply talk.
4. Toiling away late into the night while the rest of the world sleeps is such a beautiful feeling! It is so still and quiet.
5. To just look out of your window or balcony at 3 am is such a moving sight. The whole city is bathed in a warm yellow glow, everyone is peacefully asleep, even your noisy neighbour. I would not miss the feeling for anything.
6. Some of the meals that I have enjoyed the most have been the late night snacks that I had while I was studying at IIMA. We used to get very hungry when we studied till late and either we used to cook up something around 3 in the morning or walk down to the NR (night retreat – a late night in-campus restaurant). If you haven’t had a meal at 3 am, you’ve been missing something.
7. There are few things as surreal as a late night jog through an otherwise crowded place (during the day). It is a wonderful feeling to go for a jog around 1 am and just notice the stillness around you. It is amazingly peaceful and you get great ideas as well!
8. I am at my productive best when I work late. There are no distractions, no noise, no school bus to miss, no newspaper headlines to read. Knowing that there is nothing else between now and sleep time except what I am working on right now is a nice feeling.
9. When you sleep late, you will usually get up late and that can be so effective because you will do the boring/usual/essential stuff very quickly indeed. It is so much fun to get ready in a hurry. You find out just how quickly and efficiently you can shave among other things.
10. It is an amazing end to the day if you have been working late and have been able to do some good work. The feeling of satisfaction and contentment that you get as you lie down and close your eyes is not matched by anything else.
So, stop fretting about what time to get up in the morning. Getting up early seems to work for a lot of people, but it is not for everyone. The only way to find out the hours when you are most productive is to experiment. So try getting up early for a few days and try moving to a different pattern every few days. Stick to the one that feels most natural and productive.
Read another point of view here - Addicted to the snooze button?
|
|||||||||
i could kiss you!
i’ve been dying to read something like this
bravo!
So appropriate.
I think the popular adage,
“Early to bed, early to rise
makes a man healthy wealthy and wise” is passe.
People can exercise, get more work done, meditate all at night.
Getting up extra early should be a preference issue not a rule.
Thank you for bringing it up!
It has been only a month that i have changed my 5-7 years old bad habit of sleeping/rising late…
The only benefit and a very crucial one of getting early is the fresh/pure air of early mornings…. i am loving it ….at least in Delhi it matters.
SO just for this point , i would disagree with you…
Finally some sense being written about this topic!
The most important thing from this article is do what works for you. Late or early – find your natural method.
Stephen
I agree that most productive time of people varies but, I do not think tampering with body clock will prove to be healthy in long run. perhaps we need to know more facts before deciding about it. But,no doubt the heading is appealing. we all face it.
Well thought.
I agree that each person might have a different productive time, but I believe getting up early is more a matter of habit developed over years rather than natural trait. Days bring more positivity in them…how else do we explain the increase in suicides when days become very short in some countries in winters. Rising early definitely has its benefits – though u might tend to disagree with me. A late riser staying in India – if he relocates to US – will still be a late riser, irrespective of the timezone difference.Because that’s his habit. If it were natural, he should suddenly become an early riser !!!
I usually to sleep a little late in night. I agree with some of the points. Even I have stayed in hostel for 4 years of my college & I have some great memories about sleepless exam nights, night tea & snacks.
You can do ur studies & work peacefully in the late night as there is no external disturbance. But even if you get up in early morning, you can have the same advantage.
Nowadays, I have been trying to improve my schedule & I’m sleeping earlier than what I’m used to. And tell u wat? It’s really feels good as I’m able to get proper rest. I’m getting enough time to do excercise and “Pooja”.
Overall getting up early and sleeping a bit early is good for health. But yeah, once in a while you can try nightout kinda thing so that you can push yourself whenever required!
One more point I would like to add:
If each person in our country changes his/her watch time to 1 hour advanced and gets up 1 hour early everyday, we may save a lots of energy every year !! There can be many other advantages if we explore them.
The only thing that i want to mention is that our mind it “MOST FRESH” early in the morning. Its like early morning dew is only there till the sun gets to its peak.
Like u mentioned its not applicable for everyone, most of your ideas are good.
Nice article with new insights. However, there are safety issues when women work late in the night. We have heard of stories of rape, murder etc when ladies travel in the night.
Regards,
Anitha
Starting work early is a useful thing to do. Then you can set everyone else’s agenda before they set yours.
Cheers
Chris
Shalu,
As a ‘trainer & consultant’ I would recommend that you do more homework on the subject. Applying your own personal lifestyle that ‘works for you’ with disregard to much science and other issues misses some major critical points. First, do some research on sleep deprivation done by Stanford University. For those that believe that 6 hours of sleep a night, as a norm, is all they need…….don’t drink that koolaid(aside from real time consequences….there are also a lot of ‘later in life’ medical issues that are starting to be traced to sleep depravation)
Secondly, there is a very big issue to consider,….do you want to be the kind of person, whether it be an employee…a business owner…etc. that is ‘reactive’ to life versus ‘proactive’. Whether you agree with the social norms or not…..if you want to do serious business and take it seriously,…then you want to be available and at work when most business is done….in the morning. I’m 51 years old now,…and have burned the midnight oil way too much in my lifetime. The arguments about being a ‘morning person’ or ‘evening person’ are empty,…reason being that there is a biological mechanism of the human body that is called the circadiun rhythm. The body through disciplined patterns can be trained to adapt to whatever time you want to keep it on. So being a ‘late’ night person is really only a result of a cognitive decision to be a ‘late’ night person.
On another note,….as a ‘broad brushed’ observation here in the USA on those who follow the lifestyle you are recommending,…..they burn out quickly,…are less productive, and less responsible and dependable.
CB
I am sorry but you just dont get the point.
The danger of an article like this is people get some kind of approval for a lifestyle that probably is detrimental to thier health. No offense but the author hasnt done much research into this subject and has instead chosen to write abt what he “feels”.
There is enough scientic evidence about the benefits of waking up very early.Early morning hours,also called as brahmamuhurta from 4-6 AM is the best time you could get in a day.This time can be about 5′O clock early morning before sunrise i.e. Brahmamuhurtha called morning sandhya.This time is when the oxygen content in the atmosphere is maximum which 20% extra to the normal level of 28% in the atmosphere. This particular period helps the body system to receive maximum oxygen from the atmosphere which is abundantly available at this time. The total amount of oxygen required for the body is around 2% of the body weight. Out of 2% of the oxygen of body weight, brain needs 20% to keep the body healthy and agile to perform its duties properly.
A quick Wiki lookup shows how Benjamin Franklin and Aristotle has approved this way of lifestyle. Benjamin Franklin is quoted saying that “The early morning has gold in its mouth.” It would be kinda bit too arrogant to dismiss thier views completely.
If you believe in Vedic texts here are couple lines of wisdom.
“The rising sun removes all the factors which cause death.”
“The rosy rays of the rising sun cure heart disease and paleness.”
Ofcourse, you could dismiss all of these and go with your lifestyle and wake up around 10 AM and have your so called “brunch” thats
probably from a fast food and then go about living your life.
But then it always helps to do some research and ask yourself if you would like to stick inside ur comfort zone(what you want isnt necessarily what you need) or expand your comfort zone to the extent you let good things happen.
Cheers!
It may be true that the early bird gets the worm but it is the second mouse that gets the cheese. Thanks for your refreshing perspective. There is a song by Depeche Mode that your article reminds me of.
I work best at night when my family goes to sleep and it feels great to be validated. But I have to admit that I take it bit too far when I stay up until 5 or 6 a.m. and then start my day at Noon. I will always be a night owl but I need to learn how to shut down my computer by 3 a.m.
I love marketing late at night so when my prospects wake up my information is in their inbox. They are also put the best movies on in the middle of the night on A&E and the Retro channel.
Late nighters are okay but it is important to get a solid 8 hours of sleep so you can effectively manage your business. I plan to do better starting tonight.
Wishing all of you a productive night’s work but a good night’s sleep.
I have lived 3 lives… early to bed up early, late to bed up early, late to bed up later. I’ve found that the most productive time was up late… the reason… time. I have written many articles and a book between the hours of 8:00pm – 3:00am. I like getting up early but I found you only have a 2 – 3 hr time frame to get things done before the flood of life gets in the way. Up late.. you add another 4 to 6 hours.. However, this extra time should not all be used for “office work”. It should be used for self development on things that expand your mind and round out your abilities. Going to school, writing a book, learning a new trade, etc.
One final point, as age wears on your body, I’ve found a couple of days a month you must use the early to bed late to rise program for rejuvenation of the body.
Its human evolution. In the early days of warfare, those who slept in had their heads bashed in by the early risers.
I find that the best is to get up at an early hour. if you have kids then be sure to wake them up and get a whiff of that wonderful bodily perfume that nature has given us parents. Then off to get soe work done while others are also working so that you can actually TALK and MEET and SEE people and not just work and communicate by emails.
Then off for that proverbial nap in the afternoon to rejuvinate the body and refresh the mind. Nothing like it because then you can have a nice long evening of an active ‘getup and out’ or even better solemn quiet creative work to get that special project moving forward by leaps and bounds and not just in between idle meetings and small talk.
Works for me and I hope this helps you.
Thank you everyone, for your comments, insight and criticism.
I only have respect for ancient wisdom that suggests that getting up early is the best. I am sure that people who created these texts were very learned and that there is/was a lot of truth in these.
I wanted to point out that this wisdom was accumulated at a time, where there was no option but to work in the day and rest at night – there was no meaningful source of light, therefore this was the timetable which was perhaps the best suited to the times! It was almost like a self fulfilling prophecy.
• This was the most sensible time table
• Most people followed this time table
• The human body adapted itself to this time table
• Therefore over time, this became the healthiest time table
The basic premise or the starting point that daytime is the only time when work/war/ etc is possible, is no longer true! Therefore is it perhaps time to reconsider?
So true! Thanks for confirming what I have known all along…
OBVIOUSLY YOU DO NOT HAVE KIDS!!!!
YOU WILL SEE!!
I would only like to say that early morning mind is fresh and our efficiency of doing any task is much higher after a sound sleep. But then It varies from person to person.
Good Article.
Thanks
Your article made me feel, for once, I’m a normal person. Thank you! What you just described in your article portrays my life system that I started living it almost 2 years ago and I do enjoy it a lot! People surrounding me just do not like it although it does not affect their. “Why do you sleep during the day and start your life at night?” my friend once asked me. “You know, maybe to avoid people who may annoy me. I feel better when I wake up and know they went to bed. L’enfer c’est les autres, the famous line of Jean-Paul Sartre, is not always incorrect.” I said.
I enjoy working, reading, researching and social networking at night. Looking closely to the moon, to an illuminated serene city and [praying] talking to The Lord in a fresh air at late night is another story to tell!
Thanks for this article. It just suits me. I like it!
Bro. I love you.
Meals at 3am? As a U.S. Marine, I’ve had many meals at 3am, and they were called breakfast!
I think I would like to try this idea out, though, and become an evening person.
Hooray for you, Shalu Wasu. I’ve been a late night person all my life. I’m easily up till 1 or 2 am, but still up and at work by 8 am. Of course, I can roll out of bed and into my studio to work in the time it takes to make a cup of coffee. I still get the 6 hours of sleep I need. This has driven my family to distraction all my life, but I just can’t seem to shake the habit of staying up late. Now I know I’m not alone. Standing out in the night at 1 am, looking at the stars, soaking up the fresh air, enjoying the quiet of the world, there’s nothing like it. I love the mornings, I just like them a little later than most. And I still get my exercise in, at 11 pm for an hour on the treadmill watching those great late night movies.
I agree on the working-at-night thing. Especially if you live in a timezone like Africa/Johannesburg, where 9pm for you is 2pm in the USA (when the Internet seems to be most alive).
The silence, empty contact lists, reduced Twitter/Email activity are all bonuses, too
Now if only I lived in a city where it was actually safe to just walk around at night…
Excellent article, i am kinda struggling to wake up early and in the process wasting time, Coz i end up sleeping early and still waking late,ultimately not utilising my night time which was my strong point !
Thanks for the article,and very mention of IIM-A just inspires me even more
Everything has its consequences, including the time you sleep and the writing about it! It looks like there is some amount of “consensus” on the matter that people have different sleep patterns. An article like this is Shalu’s viewpoint and clearly his preferred lifestyle. He is obviously enjoying it and to some extent “justifying” it. We should leave it at that. No offence and it works for some does not work for some.
Three very important points about sleep that we should keep in mind: 1. try to get deep sleep of at least 3 hours if possible – this is when the recharge really happens. all the other time the mind is just de-fragmenting and de-coding and is partly awake.
2. if you are a social animal and live with a family etc.,then to keep harmony and peace find common acceptable sleep and wake time that suits all. Otherwise the guilt and the negativity that comes out of not “being compatible” is very hard; individualistic self cherishing behaviour is not worth it unless you are in the cave all the time.
3. Whatever time and however long you sleep, if possible, as you wake up, loll around for a while in bed, just 10 minutes and reset the brain frames to a greet the day or night without guilt and a huge load happiness and positive thoughts. It makes an enormous difference
Thats cool! an awareness by bringing the pros of late night to light.
Let these ten points triggers “late night mania”.
Great work shalu…!
Keep working.
I wish i could agree with for the last 6 moths i followed ur policy my attendence in my cllg is terribly short ….hate u….
I Think this answers to questions..Why we should get up early..Please go through this link and question yourself on some of the points the authour of this blog makes
http://www.e-swastya.com/2009/07/5-reasons-why-one-shouold-get-up-early.html