I am an early riser, 4:00 am during the week and many weekends. People are always commenting on my early rise, most of the time it is in the response of “I don’t know how you do it.”

I wasn’t always an early riser, in fact early on into my early morning rises I really struggled, I didn’t function well at all.

These days though, I am loving the early morning starts…most of the time!

Now if we listen to the experts, being successful depends on waking early. It makes you more productive, You’ll be healthier, happier and have loads more energy. You’ll feel like you’re winning the morning and have more control over your life. It must be great, loads of the biggest celebrities and CEOs absolutely swear by it.

The question is, is it actually a benefit to waking early?

The reactive response from my point of view would be yes, without any hesitation. For me waking early means a much more productive day. By the time most people are rolling out of bed at 7:00am, I have already completed 3 hours of highly productive work. By 7:00am I have exercised, read, journaled, and completed a number of coaching sessions. It is my daily process, and for it, I feel like I have won the morning. My morning has been productive, and getting up at 4:00am instead of 7:00am adds an extra 3 hours a day, 15 hours a week, 450 hours a month, and 5400 hours per year. That is a load of extra time for yourself.

When is an early rise not a benefit?

If we look at what needs to be present to be fit & healthy you’ll find these following things: Exercise, Good Nutrition, Sleep, Social Interactions and Mindset.

The key component to benefit from an early rise is an early bedtime the previous night. Without adequate sleep, the early rise may become a problem. Whilst the topic of sleep is another article in itself, without 7-9 hours of sleep a night the benefits of an early rise will be hindered, the early sleep-deprived riser will in fact end up with a hormone imbalance, their judgment and decision making may be impacted, stronger food cravings present, and they’ll feel tired and lethargic during the day.

If you are going to be an early riser then sleep is imperative. An early night is beneficial in itself, most people waste their evening in front of a TV, the hours gained by rising early are hours lost in front of the box for most who are late-night owls.

What do the experts say?

I am a supporter of the early morning, if I sleep in I feel that the day has not been properly utilised. I am an early riser activist. With one major caveat; Only if your early rise isn’t causing you to be sleep deprived. 

And I am not the only one…as previously mentioned many successful celebrities, entrepreneurs, and leaders swear by an early rise, and so do many of the experts.

The most common listed benefits for the early riser from studies are:

Positive Outlook

More Energy

Body System Reboot

More Time to Exercise

Become more Organised

Healthier Eating

More Productive

Helps your Skin Look Healthy

From this list it put’s up a strong case for being an early riser… early risers need to be early settlers in the evening, if the sleep is there then the benefits are immense. Becoming an early riser does take time to adjust, once adjusted though you’ll appreciate the habit, a habit that can lead to many more positive and productive habits in your life.”