I challenged myself to start my day at 6am — here's what happened

Maeve Lee decided to reset her body clock to make the most of the early mornings. Here’s what happened when she committed to getting out of bed at 6am every day

Just one good stretch and Maeve Lee is ready to begin her day with the dawn chorus. Picture: Chani Anderson

I HAVE long been a big fan of the snooze button.

As soon as my first (yes, first) alarm went off, I’d immediately hit snooze. This initial alarm was one of many attempts to wake up earlier, set by an overly ambitious version of myself from the night before, someone who longed to call herself an early riser. In reality, it often took four or five alarms, set between five and ten minutes apart, before I got out of bed. Sometimes, I snoozed for up to an hour.

I’ve read a lot about the benefits of making time for yourself in the morning and I previously took on the challenge of squeezing in exercise before going to work. The experiment was a huge success. I was far more energetic and alert throughout the day.

However, my mornings were still somewhat rushed. Then, winter came, and the routine became difficult to keep up as my comfy bed lured me in for “five more minutes” during dark and miserable mornings.

The result? Whirlwind mornings of hurrying around, breakfast on the go and arriving at the office frazzled. Sometimes the chaos seeped into my entire day. My evenings were just as jam-packed as I attempted to squeeze everything in after work until I finally flopped into bed, exhausted.

I had created a bad habit.

In his bestselling book  Atomic Habits, James Clear describes habits as “the compound interest of self-improvement”.

“The same way that money multiplies through compound interest, the effects of your habits multiply as you repeat them,” he writes.

Clear’s book got me thinking. If I could just avoid snoozing for a couple of weeks, maybe I could start waking up earlier and eventually become a morning person.

How it worked

To kick my bad habit, I challenged myself to wake up earlier and to quit the snooze button for good — with gradual, achievable change. These minor changes, I hoped, would be the gateway to becoming a morning person.

A 2019 study from the University of Birmingham and Surrey Monash University in Australia found that “a simple tweak” to the sleeping patterns of ‘night owls’ could lead to “improved performance in the mornings, better eating habits and a decrease in depression and stress”.

The study observed how participants who brought their sleep/wake time forward by two hours experienced a decrease in feelings of stress, depression and daytime sleepiness.

I took the middle road and decided to change my sleep/wake cycle by an hour and rise at 6am every day, aside from the weekend.

I began by tasking myself with waking up at the sound of my first alarm, using author, podcast host and motivational speaker Mel Robbins’ famous five-second rule: counting down from five and getting out of bed when you reach one. This time limit forces you to act on your goal (in this case, getting out of bed) before you have time to talk yourself out of it. The first time I tried it, I gave myself no choice. I had give it a go and so, I did. I counted down and hopped out of bed. Instantly, I felt exhausted but that little voice telling me to get back into bed wasn’t so loud. ‘Sure, I’m up now,’ I told myself. And, as I would soon discover, once you’re up and at ’em, your body quickly adapts. By the time I had brushed my teeth, I was wide wake.

Fresh air, water before coffee and writing down three things I’m grateful for were the other tips I picked up from one of Mel Robbins’ podcast episodes.

Just one good stretch and Maeve Lee is ready to begin her day with the dawn chorus. Picture Chani Anderson

Getting out in the fresh air was a little trickier during the many wet mornings and I found myself opting to take a bit more time making my breakfast instead. My new routine involved waking at my first alarm, making and enjoying a healthy breakfast and taking the time to write down three things I’m grateful for. The water before coffee was surprisingly easy to implement and that first cup in the office each morning was all the more enjoyable.

I soon looked forward to this ritual each day. Taking that time to myself each morning made me feel less frantic and more prepared for the day. I felt a lot more relaxed when starting work each morning and found it easier to focus.

However, it wasn’t just about my morning routine. A nighttime routine and morning routine work hand-in-hand. After all, you can’t have one without the other.

“Your sleep routine, your winddown routine starts from the moment you wake up,” says sleep coach Tom Coleman, who also hosts the ‘Sleep and Health Podcast’.

When working with clients, Coleman starts by examining their routines from the minute they wake up to the moment they go to bed.

He explains that humans are diurnal creatures, meaning we’re active during daylight hours. By waking up earlier, “we’re working with our physiology, assuming that we’re getting sufficient sleep”.

Allowing yourself time in the morning before starting the working day creates space, he says. “You’re starting on the right foot, and you’re not putting yourself under immediate pressure and feeling like you’re falling behind.”

He doubles down on the importance of building healthy habits.

“You always fall back into your habit when times get tough,” he says. “If you can create a small healthy habit that you implement consistently daily and it becomes part of the norm, there’s no friction there anymore. It is who you are. It’s like brushing your teeth at night.”

Winding down and taking time away from devices before bed are among his top tips for ensuring you can wake up earlier. I implemented both of these steps. After a couple of days of getting out of bed earlier, getting into bed a little earlier each night was also much easier. I felt very tired by 10pm, and after two pages of a book, I was out like a light.

Exposure to daylight and a bit of movement are also among Coleman’s cornerstones for the perfect morning routine.

Early to rise 

After morning one, the most difficult challenge by far was resisting the urge to hit the snooze button. I could not quieten the voice in the back of my head urging me to submit myself to “five more minutes”.

Despite my best efforts, the snoozing continued for the next three days as I fed myself excuses like, “But I’m tired” and “But it’s raining.” That was until one particularly rushed morning, when I woke up late, ran out the door, and from there, my entire day was chaos.

That night, I set just one alarm for 6am. When the alarm went off, I counted down from five and jumped out of bed — no time for excuses.

The following day, I did the same. And the next and the next, until I had a full working week of 6am wake up calls under my belt. One morning during week two, I fell back into my snoozing habit after getting to bed a little later than usual. Even while keeping up the rest of my routine — albeit, slightly more rushed — I was noticeably more groggy and tired during the day than when I woke at my first alarm.

On another morning in week three, I told myself I could sleep for an extra ten minutes but to my surprise, I was wide awake at 6am, so got up anyway.

I couldn’t believe it. Had I become a morning person?

Admittedly, going to bed early and taking the time to wind down is a bit of a commitment if you’re used to staying up late or packing your evenings with activities. However, it’s a small price to pay for feeling more alert and energised throughout the day, which I found after three weeks of my new routine.

My new early-to-rise routine is not groundbreaking, but it means I have time to get myself ready and ensure I am well-fed, well-rested, and set for whatever the day may throw at me. Once I arrive at the office, I feel alert and ready to tackle work.

By creating small changes, I have transformed my entire day and as much as it pains the night owl in me to admit it, getting up earlier is worth it.

Top tips for would-be early birds

Introduce the new routine gradually: Start by waking a little earlier and then add to your routine from there. Avoid trying to achieve too much all at once and, as a result, give up.

Get enough sleep: Waking up earlier will be much easier when you have slept for the required seven and a half to eight hours and winding down at least one hour before bed will be a huge help. That means no screens.

Morning light: Getting some morning light can help regulate our circadian rhythm or natural body clock. Exposure to sunlight for 10 to 20 minutes before 9am can be enough to help.

Get up regardless: “If you haven’t had enough sleep, get up anyway,” says Coleman. “You’re not allowed to hit the snooze button — maybe, I’ll give you one go, that’s it. But you get up, you get [morning] light and get a bit of movement in, and you’ve started your morning routine. That is going to inform your sleep.”