How to wake up early at 5 am every day?
I know at some point in our lives, everyone desires to wake up early, be productive, and get things done because it seems there is so much to do, and you have little time to get things done.
At a point in my life, I felt 24 hours wasn’t enough, and to make up for that time, I’d work until 2 to 3 am before going to bed.
So waking up for then was from 9 am to 10 am, and guess what?
I would have a headache, take at least one or two hours to scroll through social media, and the vicious cycle continued (lol).
One day, for the first time after graduating from the University, I went to bed at 10 pm, woke up at 6 am, brushed my teeth, had a cup of water, opened my computer, and began writing.
Before noon, I cleared my to-do list, ate, watched movies, and still had enough time to do other tasks, and this was a game changer.
And from that day, I began waking up early at 6 โ7 am, resuming work at 8 am daily (since I work from home), and adjusting my sleep and wake-up time.
Now, I wake up early at 5 am every day without an alarm and do not feel tired.
Waking up early every day requires discipline and consistency, because, some days, you may fall off the train.
And I know you’re trying so hard to adjust your routine and learn how to wake up early at 5 am and not feel tired.
But every time you try, it seems impossible because you can’t let go of your habits.
I understand, and as a former night owl who hated waking up early, waking up early every day can be difficult.
And that’s why I have put together this unconventional guide on how to wake up early at 5 am every day and not feel tired.
Why you Should Wake up Early at 5 am Everyday
Before we get down to the steps on how to wake up early at 5 am every day.
I want you to readjust your mindset “that waking up early” is a chore.
Waking up early is not a chore because you’re doing it to improve the quality of your life, achieve more goals and be productive.
When you wake up, you create time to achieve more, and you may include a simple 30-1 hour morning self-care routine to your day, which generally improves not only the mind but your mental state.
Every day I spend at least 30 minutes having “me time,” this time I spend alone daily impacts and improves my general well-being.
It helps me start my day with a clear and open headspace and fuels me for productivity.
Also, starting your day early with a clear mind and good energy can help you focus on your work, get more done, make you feel organized, and shows you’re intentional about slaying your goals.
Getting up early helps to;
- Increased your productivity.
- Enhance better and quality sleep time.
- Better manage your time.
- Promotes self-care.
- Enhance your physical health as you have more time to exercise and engage in physical activities.
How to Wake UP Early at 5 am Every Day and Not Be Tired
1 | Understand Your Why and Purpose
Understanding your why and purpose for waking up early at 5 am will help you build consistency, especially on the day days when you don’t feel like leaving the bed.
You need to understand your purpose, and to do this, ask yourself these questions;
- Why should I wake up early?
- What aspects of my life will improve if I start my day at 5 am?
- How will this change my life in the long and short term?
Asking yourself these questions will help you find purpose, and on days when you’re unmotivated, your purpose will be your motivation to wake up early.
I run 2 blogs and a Canva template business all alone. Waking up early at 5 am allows me to write, have a morning self-care routine, journal and carry out all vital tasks during my peak hours tasks before noon.
PS: since switching from being a night owl to a morning person.
Now, I’m more productive between 5 am and 12 pm, and I’m usually tired in the afternoon and feel energetic again from 7 pm.
Meanwhile, your peak hours may be different. So, figure out your peak hour, and you will become more productive.
2 | Plan your Day Ahead
You should plan your day to be productive and get out of bed without excuses.
Planning your day fuels your mind to anticipate achieving these tasks the next day.
Planning my day is a simple hack that changed how I wake up, my attitude to work, and how I achieve my goals.
I plan and set goals, break them into tiny bits, and achieve them throughout the week.
Thus, have a time stamp and plan your day – For example, this is what my typical morning looks like;
- Wake up at 5:00 or a few minutes to 5
- Stay in bed for 5 minutes without doing anything, relax, and breathe.
- Make my bed immediately. So, I’m not tempted to lay on it.
- Have my morning devotion and listen to worship songs 5:10 – 5- 25.
- Brush my teeth, wash my face, and apply skincare products on my face (5-25 – 5:35)
- Have a cup of lemon water.
- Journal for 5 mins (5:35 – 5:40)
- Organize my workspace and get ready to work.
- I start my day with writing for the next 2 hours, and work continues until 12 to 1 pm.
3 | Start With a Small Tiny Change
Making drastic changes to your sleeping routine is one mistake many people make when trying t become a morning person.
Let’s say your wake-up time is at 9 am, and you go to bed at 12 or 1 am.
And one day, you decide to switch up your schedule and set the alarm to get up at 5 am after sleeping at midnight.
What will follow the rest of the day? For me, it will be an awful day with a nagging headache.
So, start by shifting your sleep time instead of making drastic changes.
Instead, try going to bed at 11 pm. You’ll likely wake up at 7 or 8 am and adjust until you start waking up early at 5 am.
Adjusting my sleep time is effective and has changed how I wake up early to start each day’s activity.
4 | Go to Bed Early
Going to bed early is essential to wake up early every day at 5 am and building a healthy morning routine.
Remember that famous saying “Early to bed, to early rise” – this is the truth.
Although, I know going to bed early is the most challenging step when learning how to wake up early at 5 am.
Because your nighttime may be the only time you catch a break and indulge yourself.
You know those moments when you want to catch your breath and scroll through social media, from post to post?
Or if you’re a movie lover like me, you’ll keep saying to yourself, “I’ll stop after this episode,” but never stop.
That’s because screen time, social media, and your phone prevent you from going to bed.
Thus, to go to bed early, keep your phone away at least an hour before bedtime.
Here are simple steps you can practice going to bed early;
- Stop all activities and get to bed 45 minutes to 1 hour before bedtime (usually 9 pm).
- Meditate or keep taking deep breaths in and out while on the bed.
- Turn off the TV, if you have one in your bedroom.
- Avoid coffee at night (I struggle with sleep, so coffee is a no for me).
- Turn off the lights and relax.
Also, ensure you get a comfortable mattress and pillows that support your body posture. When you sleep comfortably, you’ll wake up refreshed.
PS: Lying on my back, stretched out on the bed, helps me relax and fall asleep faster than lying on my side or belly.
Also, I turn off my phone before bed, and after my self-care morning routine the next day, I put on my phone when I’m ready to start working for the day.
5 | Practice Peace of Mind Before Going to Bed
Practicing peace of mind before bed can help you wake up early without feeling grumpy or tired.
I know you’re wondering how practicing peace of mind can help you when learning to wake up early at 5 am.
You are setting yourself up for a restful and rejuvenating night’s rest when you take a few minutes to relax, meditate, journal, affirm, read your favorite book, and practice self-care.
Or do simple things such as taking deep breaths or listening to music before bed.
And how we sleep always also affects our state of mind and body when we wake up.
For instance, when you sleep late at night, you may wake up with a slight headache, feel less productive, etc.
Meanwhile, you’ll wake up feeling better, recharged, and productive throughout the day when you relax before bed.
Whether you decide to relax by journaling, meditating, or listening to soothing music as you read while your favorite candle while your scented candles burn.
Additionally, practicing peace of mind helps calm anxiety and improve your mood and productivity.
6 | Avoid Late night Dinner
Having dinner early is one essential habit you should practice to wake up early and not feel tired.
And avoid eating heavy foods at least 2 hours before bedtime.
Because the time you eat dinner also impacts how you sleep and when you wake up.
Eating heavy meals right before bed can also lead to indigestion and restlessness.
So, avoid eating dinner after 7 pm. This will give your body the time to carry out all necessary processes before you retire to bed.
7 | Create an Effective Night Routine
Do you have a night routine that you follow?
Our bodies thrive on routines; creating an effective night routine is one way to condition your body and mind for bedtime.
For instance, before going to bed daily, I turn off the lights an hour before bedtime or switch to blue lights.
Also, I watch a few episodes of Kdrama (I’m a huge fan) or read after journaling for 5 minutes.
Lately, the moment I turn off the bright lights and put on the TV, my body starts relaxing, and I begin to decompress within a few minutes to an hour, and sleep starts knocking on my door (lol).
Everybody has what works for them; you need to figure out what works for you and create a healthy evening routine that helps you relax and sleep.
Here is a simple evening Routine I follow;
- Have dinner
- Do my dishes and organize my room (helps me have clear headspace when I wake up the following day).
- Shower and apply skincare products
- Journal
- Plan for the next day and lay out all I need for the next day.
- Read (websites or books).
- Turn off the lights.
- Watch movie.
- Pray and sleep off.
All these start at 6.30 in the evening and end at 9-9;30 pm.
8 | lay Out The Things You need the Night Before
Do you know why planning your day is beneficial for waking up early and having a productive day?
Planning gives you a sense of purpose, and you’re starting your day knowing what to do to achieve your goals.
So, think about your goal the next day and set your mood.
When you wake up, start clearing your to-do list without procrastinating.
Let’s say you want to work out or practice yoga in the morning.
Laying out your workout clothe or yoga mat where you can see them immediately after you wake up can fuel you and help you get out of bed.
And that’s why I sweep and tidy my apartment, kitchen, and workspace the night before and keep lemons and my water bottle where I can see them.
Because I thrive in a clean and organized environment, tidying the room helps me have a clear headspace and fuels me to write better in the morning.
9 | Don’t Snooze The Alarm
Honestly, I can’t remember the last time I woke up using an alarm. I wake up every day at 5 am without an alarm, and I love it.
Because I hate alarms, waking up to the loud sound of the alarm going off makes me cranky and, most times, make my head turd.
Hence, I worked on creating a sleeping routine, and my body adjusted to it.
But if using alarms to wake up early is your thing, don’t snooze your alarm. The moment your alarm rings, get out of bed; if you snooze your alarm, you’re likely to sleep for a few minutes to hours.
Keep your alarm far away from your bed, where your hands can’t reach it unless you get out.
10 | Get out of Bed
Getting out of bed after waking up helps me maintain my morning routine and increase my productivity.
I understand that getting out of bed immediately after you wake up can be difficult.
Especially when you can scroll from one page to another on social media or spend hours looking at emails and your data (if you run an online business or a blog).
But, if you want to get the benefits of waking up early at 5 am every day, you should get out of bed immediately after waking up.
If you struggle with getting up you wake up, then try these instead;
- Affirm one positive statement that can help you get out of bed.
- Cout to five and leave the bed on the count of five (I do this whenever I don’t feel like getting out of bed, and it works).
- As soon as you enter the bathroom, brush your teeth (It signals your body that you’ve woken up).
- Make your bed immediately after you wake up, and move away from it to a chair.
11 | Start your Day with Something you Love
Starting your day doing something you love can motivate you to get out of bed early after waking up, no matter how little or insignificant.
It could be simple tasks like practicing skin care, journaling, or enjoying coffee while looking out the window.
Or going for an early morning walk, writing, affirming, running, or listening to music.
Starting your day with something you love fuels you and makes you feel optimistic about achieving your daily tasks and goals.
12 | Create an Effective Morning Routine
Creating an effective morning routine makes waking up early at 5 am every day enjoyable.
Because we know waking up early every day can be challenging. And someday, you will feel like staying in bed or breaking your routine.
With an effective calming morning routine, you can start your day on a positive note, doing something you love.
Also, with a good morning routine, you can set your tone for the day and start your day with positivity, which helps you have a productive day.
PS: One hack to enjoy your morning is by incorporating self-care into your day. It doesn’t have to be something big or time-consuming. Spending a few minutes on yourself can change how you feel when you wake up daily.
13 | Be Consistent
Consistency is the basis for building and maintaining your new waking-up early routine.
Because the body works on routine, you should be consistent and avoid breaking your routine.
Especially if you want to wake up early at 5 am every day without an alarm, then you need to stick to your routine.
That’s why I encourage you to start small and make tiny changes until you start waking up at 5 am every day without an alarm and don’t feel tired.
Additionally, try to stick to your routine, even on weekends because breaking your routine on weekends when you don’t have to rush off to work can lead to falling off your 5 am routine.
14 | Find Accountability Partner
Having an accountability partner helps you become consistent when learning how to wake up early every day at 5 am.
Some time ago, I fell off my routine because I took a long break from work, and when I finally returned to work.
I couldn’t go to bed early, nor did I wake up early.
And before I knew it, I started experiencing insomnia resulting from breaking my routine and watching movies at night.
Until my partner became my accountability partner and would call at night to remind me to go to bed as he goes to bed at 10 or 11 pm at most.
And slowly, I began working my way up early again and returned to my routine.
So, find an accountability partner who can check on you and hold you accountable until you finally build the habit of waking up early every day.
How to Start Waking Up at 5 am Every Day FAQ
Is 5 am Too early to Wake Up?
Whether or not 5 am is too early to wake up depends on you and other factors such as your daily schedule, sleep needs, and preference.
For some people, waking up at 5 am daily is typical and gives them time to achieve their personal and professional goals.
Also, those who wake up early every day go to bed before 10 pm, as it gives them enough time to rest.
But if you have trouble falling asleep at night. Then waking up early may not be for you.
Sort out your sleep schedule before creating a 5 am morning routine.
How to Wake Up Early Without an Alarm
Train your body to wake up early at 5 am every day without an alarm.
And the easiest way to train your body to wake up early is by creating a sleep routine and sticking to it.
First, you need to make small changes, such as; going to bed an hour before your former sleep time and taking note of the time you wake up.
For example, when I sleep at 9 pm, I wake up at 4 am and consider this time too early.
Instead, I go to bed at 10 – 11 pm and wake up at 5 am.
Also, I noticed that I’m most likely to wake up from 6 to 7 in the morning when I sleep at midnight.
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Finally, on How to Wake up Early at 5 am every day and Not Feel Tired
From being a night owl to becoming a morning person, this tiny change in my sleep routine completely changed my life, my health, and how I run my business.
It is beneficial to wake up early, and having a morning routine can help you achieve more goals faster.
Yet, not everyone prefers waking up early, and if you’re unsure about if you should change your routine and become a morning person.
Consider waking up early for a week and comparing how that change affects your life. If you consider it positive, then continue building that routine.
So tell me, do you wake up early, or are you a night owl?
If you wake up early, what’s your morning routine?