2941: How to Get Up Early (and Why You Should) by Eric Leija on Simple Daily Habits for Healthier Living

[00:00:00] This is Optimal Health Daily, How to Get Up Early and Why You Should by Eric Leija of ericleija.com and I'm Dr. Neal, your very own personal narrator. Hey there, happy Saturday and welcome back to Optimal Health Daily or OHD, where I act as your narrator of popular health and fitness blogs and always with a bit of my commentary at the end.

[00:00:22] Now we have a bunch of shows covering a bunch of different topics. Just search for Optimal Living Daily in any podcast app to find them. But for now, I'm going to keep this intro nice and short, so let's get right to it and start optimizing your life. How to Get Up Early and Why You Should by Eric Leija of ericleija.com

[00:00:48] We all know that one person, the morning person. They're up at dawn, they're smiling, and they seem ready to take on the world. When I was younger, and like most people who regularly slept in, I used to think when I saw these people, someone give me some of that juice. Ironically, even though it wasn't necessarily ingrained in me to be up early, I found, or should I say, developed, some of that juice that gets people up in the morning.

[00:01:16] Nowadays, I have a routine of getting up early with relative ease, getting in some cardio, and getting into the day in a good frame of mind. Here, I'm going to break down the juicy tips and advice I've used to develop the habit of getting up and at the day, without feeling like you're dragging yourself out of bed. Benefits of Being or Becoming a Morning Person First things first, why would anyone want to develop a habit of getting up earlier, especially if they don't necessarily have to?

[00:01:46] Interestingly, getting up early is associated with some pretty impressive benefits, like a healthier overall diet. Whether you're fasting or eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner on a regular schedule, getting up early can contribute tremendously to keeping your diet clean. Even if you skip breakfast, you'll still have more time to prepare the rest of your meals for the day, rather than depending on dining out. This habit alone can save you an unbelievable amount of calories.

[00:02:15] Even dining out at healthy cafes tends to pack in more calories than if you simply cook the dish at home. No chance for excuses, plus improved sleep. We've all been there. The later in the day it gets, the easier it is to say, I'll just do it tomorrow. Things that build up as the day goes on become opportunities to be an excuse to skip your late day workout. Adding your workout to a morning routine means you get up, grind away,

[00:02:44] and have accomplished your goals before anything can get in the way. As for icing on the cake, studies suggest that those who work out in the morning sleep better. This could be because individuals who worked out earlier in the day see a greater decrease in their blood pressure in the evening, which may result in the ability to achieve a deeper sleep. Improved focus and productivity. Cliché as it may seem, the correlation has shown that many of the most successful people

[00:03:13] are typically morning people. Researchers suggest that these early risers have a proactive element to their personality that can lead to a boost in productivity. When you wake early and have the space to focus on your goals for the day ahead, it's natural that you'd be more motivated to accomplish them. Less procrastination Tying in with focus and productivity, studies also show that getting up earlier can reduce the chances that you'll procrastinate.

[00:03:41] Have you ever noticed that one of the hardest things to do is to simply get started? Whether it's working out, cleaning the house, or whatever. But once you're going, it's easy to keep going? Waking up early is like taking the first step of anything. Once you're awake, the rest is easier to tackle. How to become a morning person So let's say I've convinced you to become committed to the idea of getting up earlier.

[00:04:08] How do you take concrete steps toward actually doing it? Here are a few tips to make the conversion to becoming a morning person easier. First, skip the snooze. Put your alarm or phone across the room so you need to get out of bed to turn it off. The extra 9 minutes of sleep the snooze button gives you isn't quality sleep anyway, so just skip it. Now skipping the snooze isn't going to be an easy habit to break,

[00:04:35] but it will be worthwhile to reap all of the morning person benefits. Next, find a natural light. I know, it feels so good to sleep in a dark, cozy room, but we need to go to bed in a place where there is access to light, or you aren't going to want to wake up. Cleveland Clinic sleep medicine specialist Dr. Michelle Dreerup says it best, quote, Our circadian rhythms are responsive to light and dark, end quote.

[00:05:03] Natural, bright light early in the morning primes your brain and hormones for waking up. If natural light isn't an option, try a wake-up light, which can get your morning routine started without you doing a thing. Next, stick with your schedule. Regardless of the day of the week, set your alarm, wake up, and keep your morning routine the same. Again, it's a habit. Hard to form, harder to break. Finally, prepare for tomorrow.

[00:05:32] Knowing that everything is in place and you won't be scrambling around to fill your gym bag or stock your snacks lets you rest easier, thus possibly making it easier to wake up. Further, it allows your morning routine to be just that, a routine. So if anything may come up unexpectedly, you'll have time to handle it. So prep your meals, get the coffee maker ready, know what you're going to wear for the day, and pack your bags. Wake up ready to tackle the day,

[00:06:01] rather than the day tackling you. You just listened to the post titled How to Get Up Early and Why You Should by Eric Lea of ericlea.com and I'll be right back with my commentary. Oikos presents 15 Seconds of Strength. Here we go. Steve's got a trunk full of groceries and no one to help him. Oh, that's tough, Jim. Looks like a five-trip load at least. He grabs the first bag, the second. Bob, it looks like he's trying to do it all one trip.

[00:06:30] He shimmies the door open, steps over the dog. Oh, and he stumbles. Oh, right into the kitchen without missing a beat. Jim, now that's a man who eats his protein-packed oikos. With 15 grams of complete protein in each cup, Oikos Triple Zero can help build strength for every day. Oikos, stronger makes everything better. Dr. Neil here for my commentary. You want to know my sleep schedule when I was in my 20s? Fall asleep at 1 a.m. and wake up at 11 a.m. I was consistent about that.

[00:06:59] No way would I have ever thought that I could, one day, wake up before 11 a.m. I was positive that I would have to find a career that would allow me to stroll into the office around noon and let me work until 8 p.m. Well, that never happened. Instead, immediately after I finished graduate school, the job opportunities that I was presented with were about 60 miles away from where I lived and required that I be at my desk by 8 a.m. sharp.

[00:07:27] That meant I had to get up at 5.40 a.m. every day to make that work. But you know what? I did it. Over time, I became a morning person. I never thought that would happen. And many of the tips Eric shared are the very same that I found helpful. Not only that, but researchers agree. They have found that keeping a regular schedule, exposing yourself to light to signal your body that it's time to wake up and not hitting the snooze button

[00:07:56] are all particularly helpful. What worked best for me, you may ask? Not hitting the snooze and forcing myself to get up when the alarm went off. If you hit the snooze and go back to sleep, you'll probably end up in a deeper sleep and completely miss your morning meetings. All right, that'll do it for me for today. I hope you're having a wonderful weekend if you're listening in real time, and I'll see you back here tomorrow where your optimal life awaits.