The early bird gets the worm
How to get up and flourish, both mentally and physically
It’s January — time for a fresh start, and the time of year that many of us decide to get up earlier.
There are lots of good reasons for this. If you don’t rush through the morning, you’ll start the day more relaxed and centred, and be better able to think clearly. A number of recent studies show powerful benefits for early risers as well, including reduced likelihood of depression, improved cognitive performance, and less chance of suffering from a host of physical health problems.
But it’s not easy to change your sleep schedule, and there are powerful reasons why.
Both heritability studies and genetic mapping show that whether we’re a lark or an owl is partly due to our genetic makeup and partly down to habits — deeply ingrained, long-established habits.
Until recently, it seemed the only effective solution was either to find a lifestyle that respects your natural sleep-wake tendencies or to take medication to address the effects of an external-internal scheduling conflict.
Last summer, however, Andrew Bagshaw, Elise Facer-childs and colleagues at the University of Birmingham devised a simple behavioural program that can change our sleep-wake cycle quickly and dramatically. To test their theory, they recruited 22 extreme night owls (these young adults usually woke after 10 a.m. and didn’t go to bed until about 2.30 a.m.) and invited them to follow a program designed to move their schedule back by about two to three hours.
After two weeks of gathering data on activity levels, sleep patterns and levels of melatonin and cortisol, 12 of the participants were randomly selected to adhere to the following three-week regime.
They had to get up and go to bed two to three hours earlier than they did normally. This meant that most participants could move their sleep back one or two entire sleep cycles. A sleep cycle lasts between 90 and 120 minutes, and if you wake at the end of a full cycle, it’s easier to get up.
They were instructed to have breakfast as soon as possible after waking, lunch at the same time daily, and supper before 7 p.m. No caffeine was allowed after 3 p.m., and no naps after 4 p.m.
If they normally exercised, they were encouraged to continue doing so, but only in the morning.
The 10 remaining participants (controls) were told only to eat lunch at the same time each day.
Results were extremely encouraging. Compared with the controls, those following the program reported significant improvements in mood.
Their reaction time was quicker and grip strength better.
Melatonin and cortisol levels showed these changes were physiological as well psychological.
Even more encouraging, there were no adverse effects on sleep duration or efficiency.
It requires real staying power, but if you want quick results, you too could improve mood, alertness, cognitive ability and physiological functioning — in as little as three weeks.
Worth a try, don’t you think?