The morning commute
We have forgotten how to sleep.
To remember, we simply need to put our bodies back in charge again.
All you have to do is this:
Do not set an alarm. Not ever.
Sleep is the most useful activity any of us performs each day. Your body will tell you when to wake up. It is essential to get rid of the alarm clock.
You might be late to work a few times. Go to bed much earlier.
Don't complain to me that you work too many hours. If you are an employee, get a different job. Your new sleep pattern will make you much more effective. You will probably earn more money than you used to.
If you work for yourself, or are retired, just go with it and let your body adjust naturally to the new routine.
I've not set an alarm for eight years. Sometimes I stay up late and oversleep. That serves me right. It's a really stupid idea.
Go to bed early - 10pm or even earlier
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Early to bed and early to rise
Makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.
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Benjamin Franklin
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It is well to be up before daybreak, for such habits contribute to health, wealth, and wisdom.
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Aristotle
An hour of sleep before midnight is worth two hours after midnight.
An hour of work before midday is worth two hours after midday.
It is obvious, therefore, that we should go to bed early and wake up early - preferably at twilight, just before dawn.
We need 7 or 8 hours of sleep. If you want to get up at 6am, which is the absolute latest you should aim for, you need to be in bed by 10pm.
What's that? Owls vs larks? Natural circadian rhythm? Give me a break. Owls and larks are different species. How many non-nocturnal animals, living in a natural, healthy state, do you know that have trouble waking up in the morning? Ever seen a blackbird that can't be bothered to get up in the morning?
Neither have I.
Healthy...
Sleep is very important for health. However important you think it is, you're wrong. It's much more important than that.
Research suggests that a natural sleep pattern is to go to bed at about 8pm, wake up for two or three hours in the middle of the night for conscious rest, and then get up just before dawn.
You cannot possibly be healthy or happy if you do not sleep well and enough.
Wealthy...
Getting up early is the single biggest factor for success for many people. If nothing else, you can get an extra hour of very high-quality work in before anybody else is even awake.
It's very difficult to do better than somebody else who wakes up earlier than you.
When you go to bed early and wake up early, you steal an hour of extra work in the morning from time that you would otherwise have spent watching TV or drinking. Those are very low-leverage activites. So don't do them. Save your beer money and your time and invest these valuable resources in something that matters to you.
...And wise
The quiet of the early morning is the best time to settle your mind and decide what is important to you today.
Wisdom is not available to you if you are constantly rushing to catch up with your day.
Don't worry if you wake up in the night
Trust your body. Don't fall into the trap of not sleeping, then panicking that you are not sleeping, then being unable to sleep because you are panicking. You will wake up when you have had the right amount of sleep.
Quit Smoking
If you smoke, this is the single most important task.
Buy a larger, more expensive bed
A good night's sleep is worth about £100 to most people - more if you have an especially responsible or well-paid job. What can you afford to spend on a better, larger mattress?
If you have trouble sleeping, quit complaining until you have done this. Don't buy anything not essential for survival until you have bought a better bed and mattress.
Open the window
You need air. The closer you get to sleeping outside, the better. A stuffy bedroom is a disaster and you should never complain about headaches, poor concentration or lethargy.
Consider sleeping alone
Not for ever. You argue when you're tired, right? So getting some quality sleep will improve your relationship. Surely you can at least discuss this? It's so obvious.
Walk to work
Give yourself time in the morning and evening to compose yourself and have time alone with your thoughts. Don't listen to music. Walking to work every morning will change your life radically for the better.
Give up watching TV
It's a total waste of time. You are neither relaxing properly, nor preparing yourself for sleep, nor learning anything.
If there's stuff you really MUST watch for work - for example, the news - then record it and watch it later. That allows you to fast-forward through the boring bits and only watch what you have to.
Have a purpose in life
If you have something interesting to do, that you feel is important and useful, you will, I assure you, have no problem getting up in the morning.