Throughout this past year, I’ve seen a lot of articles and YouTube videos about really early morning routines. A lot of them have been of beauty bloggers, or news anchors, but each time I saw one of these posts I just thought, ‘wow, that would never be me.’ But then, I joined the rowing team at my college. Waking up at 5:00am for 6:00am practices everyday was something difficult to say the least, but I’ve come to enjoy it and I want to share some of the ways it has impacted my well being.
The sunrise!!
The sun tends to rise around 6:00 am each day, so getting out of bed at 5:00 leaves me plenty of time to watch the golden sunrise. Research has been done that proves a positive connection between early-morning natural light exposure and one’s mental health. Whether it’s making your breakfast and the sun is peeping through the window, or you’re out on the water rowing, I have found waking up and watching the beautiful sunrise puts me in a peaceful mindset for the rest of the day.
Intentionally sleeping
Because of my unconventional wake-up time, it has forced me to get everything I need to get done in a day done by 10:00 pm at the latest. Getting at least 7 hours of sleep is very important for college-aged people and I feel as though now that I have a strict morning schedule, I put more thought into my sleep. Before, I would go to bed at midnight, at the earliest, and wake-up whenever I wanted. However, now that I have less free time, I have a more consistent sleep schedule, which is very important.
Scheduling
Due to this tight sleep schedule, I start to get tired around 8:30 pm. I’m not an old lady I swear, but with the exercise and schoolwork I do each day, I can get really exhausted. So, it’s important that I make enough room in my schedule to get my work done. What is nice about college is that you don’t have the same class everyday and it’s easier to spread assignments across multiple days, rather than getting it all done in one night. So, with the proper scheduling, if one day I am feeling more tired than usual, I can take an off day from rigorous studying and relax a little more. Staying engaged on campus throughout the day helps too. If I were to go back to my room, I wouldn’t be able to resist a nap in my bed.
Exercise
Most of the early morning routine posts I have seen online are from people who wake up super early because they want to work out. It can be really hard to motivate yourself to do that, I get it. However, when I wake up that early, I get to see my teammates and we are, literally, all in the same boat. Having other people to hold you accountable and give you support when you’re working out that early really helps. If you’re thinking about giving this early morning routine a try and you’re not on a sports team, I’d suggest signing up for an early workout class, or get a friend to go to the gym with you. Getting a workout done that early in the day helps you feel more energized and physically better throughout the day.
This morning routine is something I have never tackled before, but it was easier to adjust to than I thought it would be. Waking up this early, I feel like my days are more productive which has really benefited my physical and mental health. I give myself a pat on the back for waking up that early and I have really proven to myself what I can make of each day.