7 Reasons for Getting Up Early

Have you ever wondered what the reasons for getting up early are? We'll teach you 7 reasons why you should make it a habit.
7 Reasons for Getting Up Early

Last update: 30 December, 2022

“The early bird catches the worm is one of the sayings everyone knows about getting up early. Hated by many, and loved by so many others; Getting up early can be both a habit and an obligation. With the aim of satisfying your curiosity, today we’ve compiled 7 reasons for getting up early.

We already want to warn you that the benefits that you’ll find below are obtained when you include this habit voluntarily. Certainly, and as the experts affirm, when you get up early to work or out of obligation, sequelae such as drowsiness, stress, insufficient sleep, and irritability can appear. In this way, the reasons for getting up early that we’ll talk about below are oriented exclusively to when the act is voluntary.

The best reasons for getting up early

For most people, getting up early isn’t an easy habit to implement. As with other habits in life, it’s something that’s achieved over time and not immediately.

The first days are the most difficult, although after several weeks, getting up early will have become part of your routine. Let’s see the reasons to get up early according to the experts.

1. You improve your sleep patterns

A study published in Nature and Science of Sleep in 2012 found that regular early risers went to bed earlier on those days and slept longer as a consequence.

In effect, when you get up earlier, you get into the habit of going to bed early at night, which in turn translates into an extension of your rest time.

When you don’t have the commitment to get up early, it’s very common for you to extend the time of going to bed for several hours. You can be awake until the wee hours of the morning, which translates into a reduction in the quality and time of your rest. Without a doubt, this is one of the best reasons to get up early that has positive implications for your health.

2. You’re more active and have more energy

Reasons to get up early include productivity
The simple act of getting up early some days of the week allows you to make better use of time for any activity.

An article published in Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment in 2007 evaluated the level of physical activity in children who got up early compared to those who got up late. The results suggest that those who get up early have a higher level of physical activity and more energy throughout the day.

Surely it’s happened to you that sometimes when you get up very late, drowsiness is present throughout the day. When you’ve gone to bed early, you’ve had a quality sleep and you get up early voluntarily, your energy and activity level is higher than when you get up later. A useful benefit for those who need to be active from the beginning to the end of the day.

3. You improve your performance, your attention, and your memory

This is according to a study published in the Indian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology in 2012. Over time, those who get up earlier experience improvements in their verbal memory, their spatial memory, and their performance in activities that demand a higher degree of attention. The benefit isn’t immediate, as it develops over time. After one or two weeks, these patterns are consolidated.

4. You acquire discipline that can affect your success

When we talk about success, it’s essential to refer to discipline at the same time. Discipline refers to patterns, norms, or rules that are constantly accepted and that, over time, lead to certain results.

Researchers agree that getting up early is a way of acquiring discipline, which in the medium or long term, affects success and the reaching of goals.

The moment you assume the discipline of getting up early, it’s much easier for you to assimilate other habits in your day-to-day life. For example, eating healthy, exercising, practicing some activity, studying during certain hours of the day, and other activities.

In general, a positive domino effect is created that translates into the consolidation of actions that are very easy to abandon or to practice only for a certain time.

5. You have more time for yourself

A family enjoying time on the beach.
Organizing better allows you to enjoy more time with your family and even alone.

Perhaps the reason why many people choose to get up early is to have more time. Surely it’s happened to you that the days when you’ve woken up early, you’ve finished a large part of your goals. This allows you to have more time for yourself, which you can use to cultivate activities that relax you, distract you, or nourish you in different ways.

6. You don’t have to deal with traffic

Another obvious reason to get up early is that you don’t have to deal with traffic. Road rage is a very common problem, and one of its main triggers is the stress generated by traffic jams and city traffic.

If you leave home early because you get up early, you significantly reduce the chances of traffic jams, and you don’t have an immediate need to get from point A to point B because you don’t have time.

7. You have the time to exercise

One of the reasons people don’t exercise is that they don’t have the time7 Keys to Manage Your Time Well. Those who work office hours may have difficulty balancing work responsibilities with physical activity.

In this regard, getting up one, two, or three hours earlier gives you the time to exercise without compromising the other responsibilities that you must attend to throughout the day.

There are many reasons to get up early, and getting up early doesn’t have to be associated with daytime sleepiness, irritability, or a lack of energy.

As we already warned you, you receive all these benefits when you decide to do it voluntarily and not by imposition. Try to include this habit as part of your day and you’ll see how your life turns 180 ° in your favor.



  • Ikeda H, Hayashi M. Longitudinal study of self-awakening and sleep/wake habits in adolescents. Nat Sci Sleep. 2012 Sep 3;4:103-9.
  • Kecklund G, Akerstedt T, Lowden A. Morning work: effects of early rising on sleep and alertness. Sleep. 1997 Mar;20(3):215-23.
  • Kohyama J. Early rising children are more active than late risers. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2007 Dec;3(6):959-63.
  • Kohyama J. Good daily habits during the early stages of life determine success throughout life. Sleep Sci. 2016 Jul-Sep;9(3):153-157.
  • Kumaran VS, Raghavendra BR, Manjunath NK. Influence of early rising on performance in tasks requiring attention and memory. Indian J Physiol Pharmacol. 2012 Oct-Dec;56(4):337-44.

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