Is the 5am club a good or bad idea?
Getting up very early in the morning to get a head-start on the day has become increasingly popular by success gurus. Telling us how important it is to wake up early go to the gym and beat our competitors.
Are they right or are they right or wrong?
There are a couple of things we need to consider:
- 1. We all have a biological clock that is a direct result of our specific genetic makeup and evolutionary history.
- 2. We all have a unique biological hardwiring that determines our energy levels and productivity throughout the day.
Let me give you an example:
I am an early riser. I wake everyday at 5.35AM exercise meditate and stat my day. I also know that around 3 in the afternoon I will have a massive energy drop and cannot stay awake in meetings during that time. I also go to bed around 10.30 and need to sleep for seven hours or I am really tired the next day.
My wife on the other hand doesn’t usually get out of bed before 9.00AM but doesn’t go to sleep until 2AM. She says she is the most focussed late at night. My wife can also function on 2-4 hours of sleep for a few day.
Unlike what we have been told by the “gurus”, several studies have shown that the time at which an individual wakes up has no influence on our success.
Don’t believe me? look at the list below:
- Elon Musk rises at 7am
- Jeff Bezos starts his day at 7am
- Mark Zuckerberg wakes by 8am.
- Jay-Z wakes at 8am.
- Co-founder of BuzzFeed Jonah Peretti sleeps in until about 8:30am.
- Pharrell Williams starts his day at 9am .
- Aaron Levie, co-founder and CEO of Box, wakes up at 10am.
The important thing is not to do what the “gurus” say but to understand how are we wired, what works the best for us and operate based on that knowledge.
Live a healthy, successful life based on who you are!
