“Sleep is the best meditation.”
– Dalai Lama
Treat the time you wakeup as the central-axis point of your being.
The point that keeps everything in balance.
The point that sets everything you want to happen in motion.
The point from which all order springs.
Don’t lie in. Don’t hit snooze. Don’t think about it.
Just. Get. Up.
No matter how bad your nights sleep, make sure you wake up at the same time.
Every. Single. Day.
This will be hard at first (if you’re not doing this already), but the longer term benefits are massive – especially for those who have trouble sleeping.
Why?
Because our bodies are biological clocks that love routine. When we wake up at the same time we reinforce our circadian rhythm.
Not only does this prompt us to go to bed at the same time, it allows our bodily functions and cycles to operate at optimum efficiency – keeping us as strong as a mother fucking Ox y’all!
(Add to this regularly scheduled meal times and you’ll really start to notice shit changing for you. In fact, you’ll notice your shit happening at the exact same time every single day, like clockwork.)
Seriously!
Waking up on the dot affects everything. Energy, metabolism, mood…
Conversely, when our lifestyle has been out of sync with our circadian rhythm for a long time, we start to put ourselves at greater risk to all sorts of diseases and mental health issues. (Check out this article for more info.)
And you can take all of this from a pilot who has been disrupting his circadian rhythm for ten years now with one exception: this past year.
Because of COVID I’ve seen a lot less flying through the night and a lot more regular sleep.
How do you feel, you ask?
Strong as a mother fucking Ox y’all! (And also scared for my job, but let’s blow past that…)
Now allow me to let you in on a couple of tips within this tip!
It takes 40 days or so to form a new habit. So stick with it. It will pay off.
Do I have to get up at 5am, you ask?
No, not at all.
The other important thing to understand is that you have a unique chronotype. (Have a look at this article for more info or take this quiz to help you find out which.)
I happen to be a wolf (side note: awesome).
I hate early mornings. I like to take things slow when I do get up – which is later than most I’ll admit.
I meditate, do a little journalling and reading with a leisurely coffee, and then I do some exercise and/or stretching before I crack on with the day.
I’m at my most alert in the evenings. So when everyone else sits down to binge watch Netflix, that’s when I get to work.
Unfortunately for us wolves, society is biased towards bears and lions (early birds). I used to believe I was lazy for the longest time.
It wasn’t until I understood my chronotpye that I really started listening to my body instead of forcing it. This in turn allowed me to formulate a routine that has me firing on all four cylinders.
It’s important to stress that while the early bird may catch the worm, the night owl gets to hunt mice mother fuckers!
So don’t feel bad about setting your schedule to match your chronotype.
We’re all different!
Whether that means you get up at 4am or 11am, the most important thing is that you wake up at the same time.
Every. Single. Day.
You’ll thank me for it eventually.
I promise.
Clear Air Turbulence 
Glad you figured out at an earlier age than I did that not being an early bird doesn’t make you lazy. It’s a very freeing realization!
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Thanks Jane. I use to get a lot of stick from my old man for sleeping in later than. But I always felt so useless when I forced myself to get up early. The science is starting to show we do indeed have different circadian rhythms. Some are early birds and some are night owls. Most sit somewhere in the middle. Wishing you well Jane. And rest easy 😴 🙏
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I need tog eat back to that. I stopped setting an alarm and I wake up later than I’m used to and at various times and then my whole day seems off.
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I know the feeling well! I’ve messed around with different wakeup times over the years. I think when you get up is less important than making sure you stick to the same time/routine everyday. That’s what the body loves. Of course lots of alcohol. Late night binge watching TV. Those sort of things can make getting up when we mean to much more difficult. I suggest an old school alarm clock with a set time to go off everyday. Phone out of the room is a smart move too. Hope this helps 🙏
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Given my own scheduling, I’m crepuscular. I’ll pretty much always see the sun rise and set, but almost never sleep more than five hours at a time and tend to light-switch from “alert” when I awaken to “asleep” when I sit.
I think people often get “routine” as opposed to “self-discipline” confused with each other. Self-discipline is a higher cognitive function, more appropriate to powering through something already started. But it’s not a good way to try to change a lifestyle. Routines are the stuff of lifestyle – thoughtless, habitual behaviors that just sort of “happen”. But setting things into committed routines requires knowing what one wants… which isn’t necessarily such a simple task.
I don’t usually leave links (I don’t write for traffic), but this is about just that idea. (you’ll need to replace the “[DOT]”):
luminousaether.wordpress[DOT]com/2020/08/04/in-defense-of-laziness/
Cheers! (ツ)v
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I love your thoughts. That was great post by the way. You’re an excellent writer. I’d never thought too deeply about the difference between routine and self discipline but I completely agree with your assessment. Once you know what you want having the discipline to set up the routines you want to stick becomes much easier.
Wishing you well, AP2 🙏
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I absolutely agree with this approach. Some people like to sleep in on weekends and I tend to wake up around the same time and it’s so good for your overall focus and consistent energy level every day of the week!
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Thanks Ab. Much of what I’ve read suggested there is no such thing as catching up on sleep. What’s it’s lost it’s lost. I always think sleeping in on the weekend simply makes Monday morning getups that much harder. The body loves routine. Wishing you well Ab 🙏
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Intreresting! I didn’t know, it’s so important! Should try that!
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🙏
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This has really changed my life too. Though I find myself waking up at 8am everyday instead of my target 6am. We need to trust our body’s system more they’re the key to living better quality lives. Eve since I discovered that and started working toward it, my life has been much better.
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Absolutely. We need to listen to our bodies. My bedtime. The best time I like to work. The best time for me to get up – often what is best for one isn’t best for everyone. Glad to hear you’ve found a routine that works for you 🙏
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