Sleeping is part of every human beings daily schedule. No single person can survive without sleeping for more than 4 days. But it has become common knowledge that successful people are early risers. And as with these things, waking up early is also one of the hardest habits to cultivate.

The idea of waking up early and starting the day at/before the sunrise is the desire of many people. But very few people actually can get it converted into a habit. Philosophers and scholars have been advising us that we need to wake up early to be more productive. Here are some reasons that they cite:

“Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise” – Ben Franklin

Why you should wake up early

Get a jumpstart: If you wake up at 5 am, you are beginning your day earlier than most of the world. And as they say, “A good start is half the battle won”. There is no better way to start off your day than to wake up early.

Good time for Exercise: Early morning is an excellent time for exercising. The earlier you wake up, the more calories you can burn over the day and the healthier you will feel. Research has also proven that people who exercise in the mornings tend to be the ones most consistent in their fitness regimes. So the chances are that you’ll stick to the plan for the long term if you choose morning time for exercise.

Perfect time for Meditation: Meditation has many health benefits including inducing emotional balance and reducing stress. If you start your day with meditation you will take that balance throughout the day and improve your life. Doing meditation in the morning is perfect because your brain is relaxed, it is quiet and you get few interruptions so you can really focus on yourself.

Boost productivity: Waking early gives you a high momentum. Starting something early will make your day longer and you can finish your job on time. Thus there will be no problem and pressure in your day to day task.

Sunrise: People who wake up late miss one of the greatest features of nature, The Sunrise. There is no better way to greet the day than watching a Sunrise.

Breakfast: Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and many people skimp on it because they do not have time to eat their breakfast. If you wake up early, you will have time to have your breakfast before you leave. This will supply sufficient energy until the lunch break time arrives, and you’re more likely to have better concentration and productivity throughout the morning.

Personal Development: Early morning is an excellent time for personal development. The silence of the morning is often the time when your mind is at its clearest and most well-suited to solving important problems and making changes.

Faster commute: If you travel to work/school during the non-peak hours of the early morning you can skip the traffic jams, cutting down on the time spent in commuting. Even if you don’t want to start working so early, you can spend that extra time saved on planning, reading, learning a new language or trying new ideas.

More Free Time: Waking up early can give you the much needed time for yourself. Your productivity & sleep will improve by waking up early and you’ll be able to get more done in less time. This will leave you with ample free time for yourself.

Inculcating this habit is a bit of pain. But after a few days, you’ll settle into a pattern of going to bed early and waking up early. Just remember that you ought to sleep 7-8 hours a day.

So there you have it. You now have absolutely no excuses to start tomorrow! Wake up early and shine!