Waking up and starting your day early is linked to success and positive well-being.
The key benefit of waking early is that you have a pocket of time first thing in the morning where you have total control over what you do.
Many people struggle to find time and motivation late in the day to work toward their goals because they are exhausted by the working day. Anyone with a family or other responsibilities can feel like their time is not their own, and that they can’t completely focus on any activity because they need to be constantly on call for their children or work. When you wake up early, you are gifting yourself time.
The secret to waking early, and crucially, waking early feeling refreshed and ready to start the day, is to finish eating early the day before. Your body’s sleep pattern is linked closely with digestion; you will struggle to sleep if you are too hungry, but conversely, you won’t fall asleep if you are too full.
When to time your final meal of the day depends on when you plan to wake up in the morning. Everybody’s body is a little different so you may have to experiment to discover the perfect time. A good place to start is to finish eating for the day 12 hours before you’d like to wake up the following morning.
To make sure you’re getting enough nutrition, try to eat most of your calories at breakfast and lunchtime, choosing a lighter meal at the end of the day. No matter what you eat throughout the rest of the day, choose lots of protein, vegetables, and healthy fats for your final meal, avoiding carbohydrates and sugars.
Rising early, digestion, and success are all closely linked. If you want to start waking up early feeling refreshed and ready for the day, try finishing your evening meal a little bit earlier every day until you find a time that works well for you. Depending on how reliable your body clock is, you may still need to set an alarm. But instead of groaning, pressing snooze, and feeling grouchy first thing in the morning, you’ll wake to an early alarm feeling well-rested and alert.
