We hear a lot about early risers and how much they get done. There seems to be some mystique to those who rise before the sun. Studies and casual observation suggest they are thinner, healthier, happier and probably have better sex than the rest of us.
But if you’re not a morning person will forcing yourself to become one really help you live a healthier, happier life?
I’m a rise with the sun kind of person. I’m usually up by 7 am and I wake naturally without an alarm clock. This is new for me, I used to start work at 7 am and had to set my alarm for 6 am to make sure I got to the Pilates studio before my clients. My 7 am clients are wonderful (those early birds!) and it was a difficult shift for me to let them go but our family schedule changed and I had to. It has been such a gift to wake naturally and I’m hoping I can do this for the rest of my life because it feels. that. good.
So the idea of forcing myself up at 5:30 am for meditation doesn’t sound like a good idea to me … now there’s a way to figure out if it’s a good idea for you. I found this cool calculator at Cet.Org. It’s a 19 question quiz that points you in the direction of mornings or evenings.
The idea is to work with your DNA. Let night owls thrive as night owls and let morning doves coo at the sun. Here’s the link. Take the AutoMEQ test.
Let me know what category you came out as. As for me, I came out as a “moderate” morning person. My circadian rhythm prefers 7 am to 5:30 am and that’s fine by me. I’ve written about why morning workouts are better for you if you’d like to compare your time of day with the benefits of working out whenever you first wake up.
Cheers,
Lisa
