Waking up early

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A clock at 6:00am Old fashioned clock on wooden table.jpg
A clock at 6:00am

Waking up early is rising before most others and has also been described as a productivity method - rising early and consistently so as to be able to accomplish more during the day. This method has been recommended since antiquity and is now recommended by a number of personal development gurus. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Commentary

Aristotle advised rising early Aristoteles Louvre.jpg
Aristotle advised rising early
Benjamin Franklin wrote a book called Early Rising: A Natural, Social, and Religious Duty Benjamin Franklin by Jean-Baptiste Greuze.jpg
Benjamin Franklin wrote a book called Early Rising: A Natural, Social, and Religious Duty

Within the context of religious observances, spiritual writers have called this practice "the heroic minute", referring to the sacrifice which this entails. [4]

The philosopher Aristotle wrote in his Economics that "Rising before daylight is also to be commended; it is a healthy habit, and gives more time for the management of the household as well as for liberal studies." [5]

Benjamin Franklin, (author of a book, believed to be a clergyman) is quoted to have said: "Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise". It is a saying that is viewed as a commonsensical proverb, which was included in "A Method of Prayer" by Mathew Henry who also listed it as a phrase "long said." [6] Franklin is also quoted as saying: "The early morning has gold in its mouth", a translation of the German proverb "Morgenstund hat Gold im Mund".

"The early bird gets the worm" is a proverb that suggests that getting up early will lead to success during the day. Which brings to mind the immediate counterpoint: "what about the early worm, shouldn't he have stayed in bed?" [7]

James Thurber, in his book Fables for our Time, ended the Fable of the Shrike: [8] "Early to rise and early to bed, makes a Shrike healthy, and wealthy, and dead".

Criticisms

Such recommendations may cast individuals with different natural sleep patterns as lazy or unmotivated when it is a much different matter for a person with a longer or delayed sleep cycle to get up earlier in the morning than for a person with an advanced sleep cycle. In effect, the person accustomed to a later wake time is being asked not to wake up an hour early but 34 hours early, while waking up "normally" may already be an unrecognized challenge imposed by the environment.[ citation needed ]

The bias toward early morning can also adversely affect adolescents in particular. Teenagers tend to require at least 9 full hours of sleep each night, [9] and changes to the endocrine system during puberty shift the natural wake time later in the morning. [10] Enforcing early start times despite this can have negative effects on mood, academic performance, and social skills. [11] [12]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sleep</span> Naturally recurring resting state of mind and body

Sleep is a state of reduced mental and physical activity in which consciousness is altered and certain sensory activity is inhibited. During sleep, there is a marked decrease in muscle activity and interactions with the surrounding environment. While sleep differs from wakefulness in terms of the ability to react to stimuli, it still involves active brain patterns, making it more reactive than a coma or disorders of consciousness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delayed sleep phase disorder</span> Chronic mismatch between a persons normal daily rhythm, compared to other people and societal norms

Delayed sleep phase disorder (DSPD), more often known as delayed sleep phase syndrome and also as delayed sleep–wake phase disorder, is the delaying of a person's circadian rhythm compared to those of societal norms. The disorder affects the timing of biological rhythms including sleep, peak period of alertness, core body temperature, and hormonal cycles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siesta</span> Short nap taken in the early afternoon

A siesta is a short nap taken in the early afternoon, often after the midday meal. Such a period of sleep is a common tradition in some countries, particularly those in warm-weather zones. The "siesta" can refer to the nap itself, or more generally to a period of the day, generally between 2–5 p.m. This period is used for sleep, as well as leisure, mid-day meals, or other activities.

Polyphasic sleep is the practice of sleeping during multiple periods over the course of 24 hours, in contrast to monophasic sleep, which is one period of sleep within 24 hours. Biphasicsleep refers to two periods, while polyphasic usually means more than two. Segmented sleep and divided sleep may refer to polyphasic or biphasic sleep, but may also refer to interrupted sleep, where the sleep has one or several shorter periods of wakefulness, as was the norm for night sleep in pre-industrial societies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morning</span> Period of time from sunrise to noon

Morning is the period from sunrise to noon. It is preceded by the twilight period of dawn. There are no exact times for when morning begins because it can vary according to one's lifestyle and the hours of daylight at each time of year. However, morning strictly ends at noon, which is when afternoon starts.

Somnolence is a state of strong desire for sleep, or sleeping for unusually long periods. It has distinct meanings and causes. It can refer to the usual state preceding falling asleep, the condition of being in a drowsy state due to circadian rhythm disorders, or a symptom of other health problems. It can be accompanied by lethargy, weakness and lack of mental agility.

A false awakening is a vivid and convincing dream about awakening from sleep, while the dreamer in reality continues to sleep. After a false awakening, subjects often dream they are performing their daily morning routine such as showering or eating breakfast. False awakenings, mainly those in which one dreams that they have awoken from a sleep that featured dreams, take on aspects of a double dream or a dream within a dream. A classic example is the double false awakening of the protagonist in Gogol's Portrait (1835).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reveille</span> Bugle call at sunrise

"Reveille", called in French "Le Réveil" is a bugle call, trumpet call, drum, fife-and-drum or pipes call most often associated with the military; it is chiefly used to wake military personnel at sunrise. The name comes from réveille, the French word for "wake up".

Sleep inertia is a physiological state of impaired cognitive and sensory-motor performance that is present immediately after awakening. It persists during the transition of sleep to wakefulness, where an individual will experience feelings of drowsiness, disorientation and a decline in motor dexterity. Impairment from sleep inertia may take several hours to dissipate. In the majority of cases, morning sleep inertia is experienced for 15 to 30 minutes after waking.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Night owl</span> Person who tends to stay awake at night

A night owl, evening person or simply owl, is a person who tends or prefers to be active late at night and into the early morning, and to sleep and wake up later than is considered normal; night owls often work or engage in recreational activities late into the night, and sleep until relatively late in the day.

Circadian rhythm sleep disorders (CRSD), also known as circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorders (CRSWD), are a family of sleep disorders which affect the timing of sleep. CRSDs arise from a persistent pattern of sleep/wake disturbances that can be caused either by dysfunction in one's biological clock system, or by misalignment between one's endogenous oscillator and externally imposed cues. As a result of this mismatch, those affected by circadian rhythm sleep disorders have a tendency to fall asleep at unconventional time points in the day. These occurrences often lead to recurring instances of disturbed rest, where individuals affected by the disorder are unable to go to sleep and awaken at "normal" times for work, school, and other social obligations. Delayed sleep phase disorder, advanced sleep phase disorder, non-24-hour sleep–wake disorder and irregular sleep–wake rhythm disorder represents the four main types of CRSD.

Normal human body temperature is the typical temperature range found in humans. The normal human body temperature range is typically stated as 36.5–37.5 °C (97.7–99.5 °F).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sleep diary</span> Method of recording sleep patterns

A sleep diary is a record of an individual's sleeping and waking times with related information, usually over a period of several weeks. It is self-reported or can be recorded by a caregiver.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sleep deprivation</span> Condition of not having enough sleep

Sleep deprivation, also known as sleep insufficiency or sleeplessness, is the condition of not having adequate duration and/or quality of sleep to support decent alertness, performance, and health. It can be either chronic or acute and may vary widely in severity. All known animals sleep or exhibit some form of sleep behavior, and the importance of sleep is self-evident for humans, as nearly a third of a person's life is spent sleeping.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lark (person)</span> Person who usually gets up early in the morning and goes to bed early in the evening

A lark, early bird, morning person, or an A-person, is a person who usually gets up early in the morning and goes to bed early in the evening. The term relates to the birds known as larks, which are known to sing before dawn. Human "larks" may sleep from around 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., and tend to feel most energetic just after they get up in the morning. They are thus well-suited for working the day shift.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cortisol awakening response</span> Physiological response

The cortisol awakening response (CAR) is an increase between 38% and 75% in cortisol levels peaking 30–45 minutes after awakening in the morning in some people. This rise is superimposed upon the late-night rise in cortisol which occurs before awakening. While its purpose is uncertain, it may be linked to the hippocampus' preparation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) in order to face anticipated stress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second wind (sleep)</span> Sleep phenomenon

Second wind, a colloquial name for the scientific term wake maintenance zone, is a sleep phenomenon in which a person, after a prolonged period of staying awake, temporarily ceases to feel drowsy, often making it difficult to fall asleep when exhausted. They are the result of circadian rhythms cycling into a phase of wakefulness. For example, many people experience the effects of a second wind in the early morning even after an entire night without sleep because it is the time when they would normally wake up.

<i>The Early Worm Gets the Bird</i> 1940 film

The Early Worm Gets the Bird is a 1940 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon supervised by Tex Avery. The short was released on January 13, 1940. The name is a play on the adage "The early bird gets the worm."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">À l'heure où je me couche</span> 2015 single by Casseurs Flowters

"À l'heure où je me couche" is a song by French hip hop duo Casseurs Flowters and produced by Skread. It was released on 29 October 2015 as the first single from their second studio album Comment c'est loin, which also serves as the soundtrack for their 2015 film of the same name. The song entered the French Singles Chart on 31 October 2015 at number 126, peaking at number 34 and remaining on the chart for 14 weeks.

References

  1. Winfield, Chris (21 January 2018). "The Secrets to Waking Up Early". Archived from the original on September 13, 2020.
  2. "10 Benefits of Rising Early, and How to Do It". Zen Habits. 25 May 2007. Archived from the original on September 13, 2020.
  3. Rubin, Gretchen. "Be Happier: Wake Up Earlier".
  4. Escrivá, Josemaría (1939), "Number 206", The Way
  5. "Aristotle, Economics, Book 1, section 1345a". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
  6. Henry, Matthew (2015). A Method of Prayer. Glasgow: Christian Heritage. p. 253. ISBN   9781857920680.
  7. "The Bird Worm Matrix". September 2010.
  8. Thurber, James (31 Mar 1983). Fables for our time . James Thurbur (illus.) (Rei Ill ed.). HarperCollins. ISBN   978-0-06-090999-4.
  9. "Teen sleep: Why is your teen so tired?". Mayo Clinic.
  10. "Later start times for high school students". University of Minnesota College of Education and Human Development. June 2002. Archived from the original on May 2, 2014.
  11. "School Start Time and Sleep". National Sleep Foundation. 2 February 2021.
  12. O'Callaghan, Tiffany (2010-07-06). "Study: teens benefit from later school start". Time.