My Dad's best man in my parent's wedding was an old-school nutritionist. When my Dad first met Isaac my Dad was a full time college student working a 40 hour per week job. He needed extra hours in the day! Isaac told my Dad to get up the same time every day and you'll gain extra hours in the day. Isaac explained to my Dad that if the body's internal clock knows what time sleep ends, the internal clock of our body will know how much time is allotted to get in and out of R.E.M.
Briefly, Rapid Eye Movement is the period in our sleep when our system shuts down and replenishes the nervous system. Usually, done in minutes. The remainder of sleep is used to rest the muscles, etc., of our body. Well, for 25 years my father wakes at 4:00am without an alarm clock fully rested. No lie! I cannot do the 4am thing, however, 6:00am works for me. Before you consider this wacky time management tip, consider these points:
- You'll need to do this every day of the year! No breaks.
- Drugs, alcohol, medications, etc., that effect sleep will not work for this tip, as the body needs to go into REM to adequately rest the nervous system.
- Staying up late will also prohibit this tip from working for the same reason cited above.
If you plan on trying this tip, I might suggest you give it a couple weeks to work. And, try a reasonable hour to wake every day, but make it all the days of the week (no sleeping in on the weekend). Good luck!
I'm Cassie and I work for The Lane Real Estate Team (my Mom and Dad) as their virtual assistant. A rather nice arrangement, I might add. I work for them, and they pay my college tuition! Not bad! If you need a great real estate team, or property manager, consider Team Lane for all Southeast Washington real estate needs. :)
It helps to wake up anticipating another exciting day such that you're anxious to get started. Without that the tendency is to roll over and go back to sleep.
I have been getting up at 5am every weekday for the past 8 months. I have felt like I get more done. I think that is in part because no one is around to bug me. However, I do try to sleep in and relax more on the weekends, maybe get up around 7am.
Cassie, This does work however my body clock has gotten all out of whack lately. I can usually "program" myself when to wake up if I am getting the rest my body needs and I am in shape. Lately I am off on both. So I am dedicating myself to get back into shape so that I can get back into a routine.
I sleep well every night, cannot wait to get up very early (I'm embarrassed to tell you how early!) every day, and can tell immediately if I've eaten too much sugar the day before.
Cassie, I have heard this many times but it is hard to put it into practice as I am basically a late bird. Now with your post, I think I should give it a try.
Cassie...
I kind of figured this out on my own ... and patterned myself after Thomas Edison. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the comments everyone.
Huiting Zhuang,
Simply consider trying the practice out at a later hour in the morning!
That is a great tip Cassie. I try to wake up around the same time (6:15) every morning, but I am less consistent with going to bed.
No sleeping in on the weekends?! I will give it a shot and thanks.
I've had a weird sleep pattern all my life. I'm a true catnapper. The longest I ever sleep is about four hours, but cumulative I get about eight hours each day. My system never changes. I spent some time at medical centers in Boston, Houston, and UCLA to try to find out what was wrong with me. No one knew. So I accept it and work it for all it's worth. It is nice being self-employed, though.
Thanks for the restful tips!
I get some of my best work done early in the morning....if I'm on a schedule, i rock...lately, I've gotten off kilter...thanks for the reminder.
I find this works for me only if I can go to bed at the same time every night. When I was working this system it was embarrassing to be falling asleep on a Fri or Sat nite when everyone else was rockin! My natural waking time is 8:15 in the winter. It used to be 9:30!! In the summertime it is all I can do to stay in bed til 5am.
Thanks for a great post!
Nice Cassie. When are you going to follow in Dad's footsteps! ;)
Cassie, you are so right! I am an insomniac and have to re-train myself to sleep, but waking up at the same time is a huge part of it. Even when I am so tired after watching the clock all night, once back on the routine I can sleep well and waking up at the same time everyday helps plan the rest of the day.