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Its time to Wake Up!

2022-12-19 - Lifestyle

We all have seen that the elders in our family start their day with sunrise or sometimes, even before that. It allows them more time on their hands during the day to complete activities and makes them feel more energetic and in tune with nature’s cycle.

Wake up to the chirping of birds. Make the nature callings your daily alarm. It is observed that birds wake up at 4:00 am, about one hour before sunrise when they start singing their beautiful ‘chorus of dawn’. They all have their natural alarm clock ticking in their head whereas we humans have lost it somewhere on the long run. The ‘dawn choruses’ which are a particular cacophony heard in the early mornings to announce their presence and awakening, are sure to help us to get up early.

Birds perceive the light in the environments surrounding them and take it to be an indication of daybreak and will start announcing their presence. The ‘dawn choruses’ heard in the mornings are unique as they are often livelier and louder than the songs heard at other times of the day.

According to an Ayurvedic practitioner Dr Dixa Bhavsar “Brahma muhurta is an auspicious period that begins 1 hour 36 minutes before sunrise and ends 48 minutes before it.” Waking up before or with the sunrise provides you with energy, positivity, and all things beneficial for your mental and physical health as it brings balance in one’s constitution. It also regularises a person’s biological clock, aids digestion, absorption, and assimilation, and generates self-esteem, discipline, peace, happiness, and longevity,” as per the post she shared on Instagram. Early waking helps us to achieve the following qualities:

·       Attain wisdom

·       Improve memory and concentration

·       Improve mental health

·       Improve working efficiency

There are many studies proving the mental and physical benefits of waking up early.

Mental Health & Physical Health:

Waking up early tends to give people more time in the morning. They find more time to exercise, eat a proper breakfast, get ready to commute. People who wake up early have higher levels of positive affect and mental health.

Since waking up early gives more time to get things done, exercise can be carried out on daily basis. And why do we need exercise, because it brings several health benefits such as reducing stress, stimulating the production of endorphins that improves mood.

People who wake early have more time to prepare and have a healthy breakfast. Better physical performance is also observed in these early birds, helping them combat many potential life-threatening problems.

As the old saying goes “Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.” 

That is quiet an old proverb but maintains its significance to this day. By making the habit of waking up early, we attain several benefits like:

·       More time for yourself - Getting up early could give you some much-needed time for yourself.

·       More time to exercise - Exercise initiates a surge of those feel-good endorphins that can improve your mood, lower stress, and anxiety, and increase energy levels.

·       More time to get things done - Getting up early gives you a distraction-free chance to take care of things you might not otherwise be able to do.

·       Better sleep – Several research studies indicate that people who wake up early tend to go to bed earlier and enjoy longer, better quality sleep and getting enough sleep comes with plenty of benefits such as improved mood, better concentration, lower chance of obesity and chronic diseases.

·       Healthier skin - Good sleep helps keep your skin healthy because during sleep, your skin cells regenerate, while increased blood flow and collagen help repair environmental and UV damage and also fewer dark circles.

·       Get the time for breakfast - Waking up earlier in the morning gives you extra time to make and enjoy a filling breakfast. And this nutritious meal will make you feel full, with more energy for the day ahead.

·       Helps you concentrate - Waking up earlier gives you time to fully wake up so you’re more focused.

Some tips for waking up earlier:

Follow the tips below to make the transition easier:

-        Set your alarm early

Set your alarm 15 minutes earlier every day for a week, gradually moving the time up to where you want it. To make it easier and avoid waking up tired, try going to bed a bit earlier, too.

-        Motivate yourself

Motivate yourself by making use of the extra time to do something that will make you happy, like writing, reading, walking, or enjoying a morning meditation for which you never have had time for.

-        Reminding yourself of the benefits

Waking up early might be reward enough, as you give more time for yourself and things that you love to do.

-        Do not linger in your room

If you linger, you will be tempted to go back to sleep, which could make you late or leave you feeling super-groggy.

-        Say no to blue light before bed

Avoiding blue light 2 to 3 hours prior to bed by switching screens off early can help to wind down for sleep.

-        Avoid spicy foods late at night

Going to bed overly full or eating spicy foods for dinner can lead to heartburn or indigestion — neither of which are likely to help you get a good night’s sleep.

From now on, thinking of all the positives you are going to achieve waking up early, push yourself out of your cosy bed. Start your day feeling energized and refreshed.

So… allow yourself the ‘me time’ waking up early and have a fun time engaging in activities you love like exploring nature while walking, listening to the sweet chirpings of birds, gaze butterflies as they flutter past you, make time to watch the little sluggish snail crawling along. Refresh and recharge yourself meeting with people and animals.

As per Ayurveda our body is more like a river than a statue, where no part is static or fixed. So, be the river and cascade along with the flow of our mother nature.

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