“Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise” - Ben Franklin, famously

“Put no trust in the benefits to accrue from early rising, as set forth by the infatuated Franklin …” - Mark Twain

Recently, reader Rob asked me about my habit of waking at 4:30 a.m. each day, and asked me to write about the health benefits of rising early, which I thought was an excellent question. Unfortunately, there are none, that I know of.

However, there are a ton of other great benefits.

Now, let me first say that if you are a night owl, and that works for you, I think that’s great. There’s no reason to change, especially if you’re happy with it. But for me, switching from being a night owl to an early riser (and yes, it is possible) has been a godsend. It has helped me in so many ways that I’d never go back. Here are just a few:

Greet the day. I love being able to get up, and greet a wonderful new day. I suggest creating a morning ritual that includes saying thanks for your blessings. I’m inspired by the Dalai Lama, who said, ” Everyday, think as you wake up, ‘today I am fortunate to have woken up, I am alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others, to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings, I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others, I am going to benefit others as much as I can.’ “

Amazing start. I used to start my day by jumping out of bed, late as usual, and rushing to get myself and the kids ready, and rushing to drop them to school and come in to work late. I would walk into work, looking rumpled and barely awake, grumpy and behind everyone else. Not a great start to your day. Now, I have a renewing morning ritual, I’ve gotten so much done before 8 a.m., my kids are early and so am I, and by the time everyone else gets in to work, I’ve already gotten a head start. There is no better way to start off your day than to wake early, in my experience.

Quietude. No kids yelling, no babies crying, no soccer balls, no cars, no television noise. The early morning hours are so peaceful, so quiet. It’s my favorite time of day. I truly enjoy that time of peace, that time to myself, when I can think, when I can read, when I can breathe.

Sunrise. People who wake late miss one of the greatest feats of nature, repeated in full stereovision each and every day — the rise of the sun. I love how the day slowly gets brighter, when the midnight blue turns to lighter blue, when the brilliant colors start to seep into the sky, when nature is painted in incredible colors. I like doing my early morning run during this time, and I look up at the sky as I run and say to the world, “What a glorious day!” Really. I really do that. Corny, I know.

Breakfast. Rise early and you actually have time for breakfast. I’m told it’s one of the most important meals of the day. Without breakfast, your body is running on fumes until you are so hungry at lunchtime that you eat whatever unhealthy thing you can find. The fattier and sugarier, the betterier. But eat breakfast, and you are sated until later. Plus, eating breakfast while reading my book and drinking my coffee in the quiet of the morning is eminently more enjoyable than scarfing something down on the way to work, or at your desk.

Exercise. There are other times to exercise besides the early morning, of course, but I’ve found that while exercising right after work is also very enjoyable, it’s also liable to be canceled because of other things that come up. Morning exercise is virtually never canceled.

Productivity. Mornings, for me at least, are the most productive time of day. I like to do some writing in the morning, when there are no distractions, before I check my email or blog stats. I get so much more done by starting on my work in the morning. Then, when evening rolls around, I have no work that I need to do, and I can spend it with family.

Goal time. Got goals? Well, you should. And there’s no better time to review them and plan for them and do your goal tasks than first thing. You should have one goal that you want to accomplish this week. And every morning, you should decide what one thing you can do today to move yourself further towards that goal. And then, if possible, do that first thing in the morning.

Commute. No one likes rush-hour traffic, except for Big Oil. Commute early, and the traffic is much lighter, and you get to work faster, and thus save yourself more time. Or better yet, commute by bike. (Or even better yet, work from home.)

Appointments. It’s much easier to make those early appointments on time if you get up early. Showing up late for those appointments is a bad signal to the person you’re meeting. Showing up early will impress them. Plus, you get time to prepare.

How to Become an Early Riser

Don’t make drastic changes. Start slowly, by waking just 15-30 minutes earlier than usual. Get used to this for a few days. Then cut back another 15 minutes. Do this gradually until you get to your goal time.

Allow yourself to sleep earlier. You might be used to staying up late, perhaps watching TV or surfing the Internet. But if you continue this habit, while trying to get up earlier, sooner or later one is going to give. And if it is the early rising that gives, then you will crash and sleep late and have to start over. I suggest going to bed earlier, even if you don’t think you’ll sleep, and read while in bed. If you’re really tired, you just might fall asleep much sooner than you think.

Put your alarm clock far from you bed. If it’s right next to your bed, you’ll shut it off or hit snooze. Never hit snooze. If it’s far from your bed, you have to get up out of bed to shut it off. By then, you’re up. Now you just have to stay up.

Go out of the bedroom as soon as you shut off the alarm. Don’t allow yourself to rationalize going back to bed. Just force yourself to go out of the room. My habit is to stumble into the bathroom and go pee. By the time I’ve done that, and flushed the toilet and washed my hands and looked at my ugly mug in the mirror, I’m awake enough to face the day.

Do not rationalize. If you allow your brain to talk you out of getting up early, you’ll never do it. Don’t make getting back in bed an option.

Have a good reason. Set something to do early in the morning that’s important. This reason will motivate you to get up. I like to write in the morning, so that’s my reason. Also, when I’m done with that, I like to read all of your comments!

Make waking up early a reward. Yes, it might seem at first that you’re forcing yourself to do something hard, but if you make it pleasurable, soon you will look forward to waking up early. A good reward is to make a hot cup of coffee or tea and read a book. Other rewards might be a tasty treat for breakfast (smoothies! yum!) or watching the sunrise, or meditating. Find something that’s pleasurable for you, and allow yourself to do it as part of your morning routine.

Take advantage of all that extra time. Don’t wake up an hour or two early just to read your blogs, unless that’s a major goal of yours. Don’t wake up early and waste that extra time. Get a jump start on your day! I like to use that time to get a head start on preparing my kids’ lunches, on planning for the rest of the day (when I set my MITs), on exercising or meditating, and on reading. By the time 6:30 rolls around, I’ve done more than many people do the entire day.

“早床和早期上升，使一个人的健康，富裕和明智” -本富兰克林，著名的

“提出不信任，在利益累积，从年初上升，所列由迷恋富兰克林… … ” -马克吐温

最近，读者抢问我关于我的习惯，唤醒在上午04点30分每一天，并要求我写有关健康的好处上升年初，我还以为是一个很好的问题。不幸的是，有没有，据我所知。

不过，有一吨的其他的巨大好处。

现在，让我先说，如果你是一个夜间的猫头鹰，和工程为您，我认为的伟大。有没有理由改变，特别是如果您满意。但对我来说，开关从一个夜晚猫头鹰，以期早日提升（是的，这是可能的情况下）一直是天赐良机。它帮助我在许多方面，我从来没有想要回去。在这里都只是几个：

迎接天。我爱能够起床，迎接美好的新的一天。我建议建立一个上午的仪式，包括说，感谢您的祝福。我的灵感，达赖喇嘛，谁说： “每天都在想你一觉醒来， '我今天幸运，有惊醒了，我还活着，我有一个宝贵的人类生命，我不打算浪费它。我要利用我所有的精力发展自己，扩大我的心给别人，以达到启示，造福所有的人，我将会有一种思想，对待他人，我不打算在生气或认为严重对他人的，我要造福别人多，我可以“ 。

了不起的开端。我用开始我的天，由跳出床，晚往常一样，和急于取胜，我和孩子们准备就绪，并迫不及待地下降，他们来学校和在工作晚了。我想走进工作，看，皱巴巴的，勉强入睡，老百姓着想的背后，其他所有人。没有一个很好的开始，以您的一天。现在，我有一个自强不息今天上午的仪式中，我已经得到了这么多前所做的上午八时，我的孩子是早，所以我和大家的时间，否则在得到工作，我已经得到了头部的开始。有没有更好的方式来开始您的一天，比年初后，在我的经验。

虚静。没有孩子叫嚷，没有婴儿的哭声，没有足球，没有汽车，没有电视的噪音。清晨是如此的和平，所以安静。这是我最喜爱的时间，天。我真正享有这在和平时期，当时的自己，当我可以想到，当我可以阅读，当我能够呼吸。

日出。人谁后，晚错过的一大壮举的性质，反复在全面立体视觉的每一个日子-崛起的太阳。我爱如何天慢慢得到光明，当午夜蓝轮流较轻的蓝色，当灿烂的颜色开始渗入到天空，当性质，是画在令人难以置信的颜色。我喜欢做我的清晨，运行在这段时间内，我期待在天空，正如我来说，说向世界“ ，什么是光荣的日子” ！真的。我真的这样做。陈词滥调，我知道。

早餐。崛起的早期，你其实有时间吃早餐。我告诉它的一个最重要的吃饭的一天。没有早餐，你的身体上运行的烟雾，直到您是如此饥饿，在午饭时间，你吃什么不健康的东西，您可以找到。该fattier和sugarier ， betterier 。但吃早餐，和你是sated ，直到后来。另外，吃早餐，而读我的书，喝我的咖啡在安静的上午是遥不可及，更愉快，比scarfing下来的东西就在上班的路上，或在您的办公桌。

演习。还有其他时代的行使，除了清晨，当然，但我发现，而行使的权利后，工作也很愉快，它也可能被取消，因为其他的事情来。早操是几乎从来没有取消。

生产力。早上，对我来说，至少是最有生产力的时间，天。我喜欢做一些写作是在早上，当有任何分心，在我检查我的电子邮件或博客的统计信息。我得到了这么多更所做的开始，对我的工作是在早上。然后，当傍晚万卷左右，我没有工作，我需要做的，而且我可以用它与家人。
目标的时间。得到的目标？那么，你应该。而且也没有更好的时间来审查他们的计划，为他们做您的目标任务，比第一件事。你应该有一个目标，您要完成这项工作周。和每天早上，您应该决定什么一件事，你可以做的，今天提出自己进一步实现这一目标。然后，如果可能的话，这样做的第一件事发生在上午。

通勤。没有人会喜欢尖峰时间的交通，除了大石油。通勤年初，交通，是很多打火机，你会得到更快的工作，从而节省自己更多时间。或更好，但通勤骑自行车。 （或什至更好，但在家中工作） 。

任命。它的容易得多，使这些早期任命，时间如果你得到了早期。显示迟到这些任命是一个坏的信号，以人您的会议。显示年初将他们留下深刻的印象。另外，您得到的准备时间。

如何成为一个早期冒口

不作急剧的改变。开始慢慢地，醒来只是15-30分钟，比平时提前。习惯了这几天。然后削减回到另一个15分钟。为此，逐步，直到您找到您的目标时间。

让自己睡觉。你可能被用来在下榻的迟到，或许看电视，或浏览互联网。但如果你继续这种习惯，试图获得了比较，迟早的事，一个是去给。如果它是早期上升，使，那么你会崩溃和睡眠晚，必须重新开始。我建议去床较早，即使你不认为你会睡眠，阅读，而在床上。如果您真的累了，你刚才可能入睡得多迟早比你的想法。

把您的闹钟到目前为止，从你床上。如果它的权利，明年到您的床，您将关闭它关闭或击中小睡。从来没有击中小睡。如果它的远离您的床，你要站起来走出床关闭它关闭。届时，您了。现在，您刚才要留起来。

走出卧室，当您关闭警钟。不要让自己的合理化，回到床上。只是强迫自己走出房间。我的习惯是蹒跚到浴室去和工程师。由时间，我已经这样做，和冲水式厕所和水洗我的手，并期待在我的丑陋的马克杯在镜子里，我很清醒，足以面对天。

不合理化。如果你让你的大脑谈一谈你获得了初，你将永远不会去做。不找回在床上一个选项。

有一个很好的理由。设置一些做早在上午的重要。为此，将激励你站起来。我喜欢写在上午的，所以这就是我的理由。此外，当我做了，我想读您的所有评论！

使唤醒早期奖励。是的，它似乎在：第一，您强迫自己做一些努力，但是如果你使它愉快，很快你会期待着早日醒来。一个很好的奖励，是使一个热点，一杯咖啡或茶，并宣读了一本书。其他奖励可能是一个好吃的对待早餐（ smoothies ！味道好极了！ ）或看日出，或沉思。找到的东西的愉快的为您，并允许自己这样做的一部分，您早上的例行公事。

利用一切额外时间。不醒来，一小时或二月初刚刚读您的博客，除非that'sa的主要目标你。不早起和浪费额外的时间。获得跳转开始您的一天！我想用这个时间来获得头部开始就准备我的孩子们午餐，就规划为其余的天（当我设定mits ） ，对行使或沉思，和对读。由时间6时30万卷左右，我已经做了以上的很多人做整个天。