The following article will show you 6 reasons not to be an early riser and shows you why it is so important to make your own decision when it comes to the question on when to get up in the morning.
“Early to rise and early to bed makes a male healthy and wealthy and dead.” ~ James Thurber
I have been working for years in an office where the employees had flexible work time, which meant for us that we were allowed to start working during the timeframe from 6 am till 10am. I was basically allowed to start and finish working whenever I wanted to, as long as I was present during the core time and adhered to the fixed compulsory working hours. This was an amazing freedom in terms of time scheduling my former employer granted us, that not every employee is given in the “9 to 5” corporate world. Due to the fact that only a slight percentage of my work consisted of costumer advisory service and phone calls with other companies, it was easily possible to start working at 6 am and finish work between 2 and 3pm. This is why many of my former colleagues became early riser and were used to this lifestyle for many years. During my employment with this company I have made my first experiences on being an early riser, that were often not that great as many promise.
In the following I will show you 6 reasons that speak to the contrary of being an early riser, however first of all, the most important thing to keep in mind:
Make your own experiences! Just as always in life you should make your very own experiences before you decide for being an early riser or whether to get up just as usual or even late. There is no “ultimate” concept or one technique that works best for every human being. Sure, there will always be a technique that some consider for themselves (!) to be most effective, which does not mean that it is effective for you as well! That’s simply not how it is and the attempt to force yourself with self-constraints into one specific concept can be painful and discouraging. Every one of us is an individual and peaks performance and concentration at different times during the day, which is why I highly recommend you to test both techniques for yourself in order to find the one that allows you to be the most effective. After working for months as an early riser I can clearly say that I’m not effective when I get up really early, as I experience my peak of creativity in the evening hours. However, should you be one of the lucky ones that wakes up naturally at 5am or if you have no choice when to get up, due to shift work, you should better not read the following…
6 Reasons NOT to be an early riser
1. Tiredness along the day
When I started to become an early riser I really became tired during the day, as my body and mind weren’t used to go to bed that early and to get up in the morning at 5:00 – 5:30am, depending on the season of the year. However, I’ve noticed that not only I was tired during the working day, but also my colleagues who were used to be early risers for several years. And every one of them tried to cope with that consistent tiredness in different ways, some drank really a lot of coffee, others drank energy drinks or coke and only a few drank no caffeine at all like me. A workmate of mine was an early riser since finishing her apprenticeship and tried to cope with it by taking afternoon naps, as she finished work mostly at 3pm (she didn’t drink caffeine as well). However, she wondered why she found it difficult to fall asleep and suffered from insomnia at some days.
2. Sleep deprivation and reduced quality of sleep
I find it quite difficult to get to bed really early in the evening, and have often trouble to fall asleep, even when I’m really tired. This resulted that in the fact that I was suffering from sleep deprivation and the quality of my sleep had reduced, it felt as if I had to get up as soon as I had fallen asleep. It all comes down on whether you live in synchronization with your biological rhythm or not. If you are a person who tends to get up late you might build up sleep debts during the days when you get up early. Just another reason why so many early riser try to cope with their sleep debts by sleeping long at the weekend.
The time you wake up is negligible, what matters is your sleep consistency. Going to bed and rising in a consistent way helps you to boost productivity and allows you to fulfill your individual sleep requirement.
3. Lack of creativity, effectiveness and concentration
People that decided to become early risers due to social conditioning, “All my colleagues are early riser!”, “Everyone who gets up early reports that it is most effective” often experience a lack of effectiveness in general, as they aren’t listening to their very own biorhythm but are trying to change this rhythm instead. I can only speak for myself, but I’m not creative in the morning at all, I can be concentrated, fit and sane – but not creative. However, my creativeness starts to rise in the late hours and some of my best ideas have arisen very late.
4. Compulsive Lifestyle
Personal development is a fairly broad term and has many different facets, however one thing that it should not support: a compulsive lifestyle. Being a late riser or getting up like anyone else between 6 and 8 am shouldn’t be considered as a weakness or a harmful habit that needs to be addressed immediately. It is simply your own preference that allows you to work during the periods you peak concentration, effectiveness and performance. Forcing yourself into the lifestyle of getting up early with self-constraints does not only feel wrong, is exhausting but also can have adverse effects such as stress. Being a grown up person, you should decide for yourself what works for your personality and in your job/business the best, no matter what friends, parents, “experts” and co-workers tell you.
5. Adverse health effect
Scientists from the University of Westminster found that people who get up early (before 7am) have higher levels of the stress hormone than those who tend to sleep in; even more negative: their stress level remained high all day. The negative effects of stress do not need to be stressed out in this article, however as soon as stress gets chronic it can cause suppressed immunity, migraine and depression. The early risers amongst the people who were participating in the study from the University of Westminster were reporting to have worse moods and even muscle aches.
“Early awakening was associated with greater powers of concentration, being busier and experiencing more hassles throughout the day as well as reporting more anger and less energy at the end of the day”, reported Dr Angela Clow, the leading researcher.
6. You have to get to bed really early
When I was an early riser I had to be in bed ridiculously early, depending on when I planned to get up and how long I wanted to sleep. Whoever decides to get up at 5:00am has also to be in bed really early, in case this person wants to sleep during 7 and 8 hours a day. This would mean that this person has to be in bed from 8 to 9pm, which will reduce your spare time in the evening and affects the time you can spend with your family and friends. The benefits of being an early riser are bought dearly if it results in having a lot of time for oneself in the morning and after work but being unable to spend more time with one’s family and friends.
I’m – by comparison with early risers – a late riser, as I get up between 7-8am. I’m a late riser, not only because I make my own rules and have experienced that I’m more productive when I have fulfilled my sleep requirement, but also because I wouldn’t want to miss the time I spend with my family or friends at the evening – and the great ideas that have arisen out of these conversations.
What kind of riser are you and why? Feel free to leave your comment below!
This article was proudly brought to you by the Personal Development Blog.
Incoming search terms for the article:
- early rise not good (1)
- early rising effects on learning university (1)
- key to being an early riser (1)
- late riser benefits (1)
- negative effects of waking up early (1)
- Why we feel tired throughout day during work after start early jogging i (1)
I’m an early riser ever since… I often wake up before 5am and cannot fall asleep thereafter, so I’m one of the lucky ones that do not have to force themselves to get up in the morning.
Hi Anastasia, thats great for you! As you say that you wake up really early I think you are a “morning person”, so getting up late wouldn’t make sense! This is exactly how it should be done, listening to oneselve and considering what works best.
Getting up late doesn’t always mean your lazy. Getting up early doesn’t also mean you’re a busy person. You just have to know if you are a morning person or not. As long as you can be productive, any time to wake up would be perfect.
I like to get up early around 6 or so and go for a jog. It actually makes me feel more awake and I have a sense of achievement. I do agree on the point you can feel tired later on in the day but a 30 minute nap reinvigorates me, I’d recommend people to try it.
Dubem, the 30 minute nap you address in your comment is an excellent way to revitalize yourself during a long day! Thanks for that suggestion!
Getting up early is one of the ultimate things you can do for yourselves. It’s a great habit. Read Robin Sharma’s The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari. Getting up early is very important. And, I will also like to add, that a person does not require 8 hours of sleep. A person simply needs 6 hours. Really. I, most of the time, get less than 6 hours, and I am brimming with energy. Get a half-an-hour or even an hour nap in the afternoon. But do get up early. Dawn has magic in it.
What you write makes sense! For me, it’s all about balance, so I follow the sleep pattern that feels natural to me at the moment. At the time when I was writing this article, I felt extremely balanced while getting up late, as I had during that time the most creative ideas during the evening or in the night.
But at the moment, I’m in a completely different setting, I go to bed earlier and therefore wake up earlier, with approximately 7-8 hours of sleep. Whatever feels natural.
So, follow with whatever feels natural and balances you!