By Lucy den Ouden
Picture this: Every day, you are starkly awakened by your blaring, angry alarm.
Instantly, you find yourself starting the day in a bad mood. You think, “I hate mornings! Why can’t I ever get enough sleep? Will I ever be excited to start my day?”
If this sounds like you, just know you are certainly not alone.
With the chaos of the COVID-19 pandemic, so many people have found themselves struggling with getting back into a set schedule and finding their place in a new normal.
Whether you consider yourself a morning person or not, there is no doubt that waking up early (and actually enjoying it) creates a chain of productivity that can add a variety of benefits into your daily routine.
Here are five ways becoming a morning person can benefit you.
1. Betters your mental health
When combined with going to bed early, studies have shown that waking up early can dramatically reduce your risk of developing mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety.
Experts explain how the additional time awake and exposed to sunlight in a morning person’s routine has these drastic effects due to achieving higher levels of vitamin D. Vitamin D is essential for bone, heart, lung, dental, immune, nerve, and muscular health, as well as for optimal mental health.
Those warm sunny rays produce this essential nutrient the body needs to function properly anywhere from preventing a wide range of diseases including schizophrenia, and depression.
By starting your day earlier and making sure to get a good night’s rest, you may “wake up” your mental health and live a happier life!
2. Encourages weight loss
There are many ways in which getting more sleep and waking up early can kickstart your weight loss journey.
Getting more sleep aids in the process of metabolism, which is the body’s way of turning our food into energy.
Studies have shown that sleep deprivation commonly leads to metabolic dysregulation which is associated with increased oxidative stress, glucose intolerance, diabetes, and insulin resistance, essentially resulting in weight gain.
Outside of that, An early morning can make room in your day to prepare a healthy and nourishing breakfast!
Dieticians have repeatedly expressed how people who make time to eat breakfast tend to have lower body mass index or BMI which determines if a person is healthy or not.
Not to mention, the earlier you start your day, the more time you have to squeeze in an early morning workout!
3. Improves memory and attention
Adding to why having time for the most important meal of the day, waking up earlier for breakfast can dramatically improve cognitive performance in both children and adults.
As recorded in a 2008 and 2010 study, both independently published on the link between early morning risers and academic achievement determined that morning people are more proactive and goal-oriented with higher levels of academic performance regarding memory and attention in cognitive function.
4. Adds needed peace and quiet
In addition to the increased productivity that comes alongside getting more sleep and waking up early, there are also a number of additional benefits related to alone time, especially in the peace and quiet that the early morning can bring.
In a world that is centered around technology, we almost never truly experience peace and quiet in a physical and mental sense.
In a 2013 study researchers concluded that constantly being surrounded by noise from cell phones, in particular, can lead to a spike in blood pressure.
Giving yourself a moment alone in a quiet and calm space can make a great difference in your day in terms of mood, energy, and focus.
5. Lets you see the sunrise!
Finally, who wouldn’t want to catch a beautiful natural phenomenon to start their day every morning?
We all know that the sun can recharge you through its powerful rays.
Watching the sunrise while using that time to reflect on and prepare for your day can be extremely beneficial for your morning routine and can be a great motivator for those who are nervous to become morning people.
The sun is composed of ultraviolet light which the body needs for the proper production of melanin, stimulates the body’s metabolism of minerals and supports the glands that regulate internal secretion.
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