I’ve recently started getting up earlier as I leave the “baby’s first year” fog. Here are some tips for changing your body clock for a more efficient morning.
My body clock has been set to about 6:30 for a really long time. For years Mazen woke up around 7, and I woke up just before him. At night, I head upstairs around 9:00 and lights out at 10:00, leaving a little time for reading first. For a long time I’ve wanted to be one of those humans who wakes up at 5:00am and has a few glorious hours to herself before the kids wake up. But I just didn’t have enough drive. Or rather, sleep was too much of a priority.
Birch Reset My Body Clock
Nothing changes until something changes, right? Birch’s sleep has been a little rocky for the past two months or so. While he goes to bed just fine and sleeps through the night, we’ve been dealing with some early morning wake-ups in the 4-6am time frame. Usually one of us can get him back to sleep. (I’ve been researching early wakes to troubleshoot! Ear infections and colds have also contributed.) Those mornings when I’m up to comfort him in the 5:00 hour have left me wide awake. So instead of going back to sleep, a few times I have just gotten up.
Those quiet morning hours are divine!
Changing Your Body Clock
After a few weeks of getting up early with Birch and going to bed in the 9s instead of the 10s, my body clock began to shift. I’m also emerging from 2 years of pregnancy and new baby fog that had sleep as one of my top priorities. The toll pregnancy takes on your body followed by six months of being up every few hours has (twice) left me totally obsessed with sleep.
While sleep is still a huge priority of mine (it comes before eating well and exercise in my hierarchy of needs), I’m feeling like lately I can get by on a little less. (But let’s be honest – I’m talking 8 hours instead of 9!) Days when I’ve gotten up with Birch at 5:15 or 5:30 and not gone back to sleep haven’t left me dragging or needing a nap. So instead of sleeping 10p-6a I’m heading more towards 9:30p-5:30a.
Thomas LOVES his morning time with coffee, and the days we have gotten up together have been so nice (even though we’re in different rooms and not talking much 😉 ) I’ll also say that my cozy fleece robe and furry slippers make for a nice transition out of bed. Having the gas fireplace on helps too.
A Better Use Of Time
One other thing that I realized:
If we think of our days in chunks of time, the evening chunk is kind of a wash. I’m usually pretty tired after the kids are in bed, and I rarely work during those hours. Therefore, those hours are better spent sleeping, and an early bedtime makes sense. Sleep when you’re tired. In contrast, I wake up focused and energized and if I shift my sleep back and wake up early, those early hours of the day are way more productive than if I were sleeping.
All this to say –
I don’t know how long this will last
but I’m going to make an effort to get up and at ’em and see how it goes! What are your morning tips? How do you start your day?
Similar Posts
- Years ago I wrote this post about getting up at 5 to go to the gym before I left for my job or a full day of classes.
- My friend Teri is a morning person and runner and has some great tips too!
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog says
I need someone to reset my body clock! Sleeping at 4am isn’t great for me… 🙁
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
Susan says
You are lucky to be able to set your own body clock. I am a working mama that prioritizes workouts before my family gets up and we all get ready for work/school/daycare. It’s a mad rush that for me starts at 4:45 and ends with us all out the door by 7:30, but it’s totally worth it. Days I need to rest and do not work out are always harder for me to wakeup and help the kids. Bedtime for me and my husband is between 9-10. As long as I have 6.5 hours of sleep I’m good (after some coffee of course). Weekends I usually sleep in a little, but my body now wakes by 6 at the latest naturally. I actually read a study that says as we get older our body clocks trend towards earlier bedtimes and earlier wakeups naturally. Pretty interesting, as I have noticed that it is much easier to wakeup earlier now than it was 10 years ago.
Andrea says
I’m such a diva when it comes to sleep – I need my 8 or 9 hours!! The more the better for me. I’m not an early bird OR a night owl. I’m most productive during normal work day hours like 9-5 ish. Don’t ever get much done if I wake up super early or stay up super late. I usually sleep from 10 pm – 6 or 7 am.
Debra says
I follow you and AndreaDekker.com…she has started getting up around 4 AM and has some interesting hints, etc. about early rising. I have starting waking up at five, which is very early for me and I love that time in the morning! I find there is time to both relax and be productive before going to work.
Kath Younger says
4am!! I’m going to have to read her tips.
Laurie Gannon says
Recently I started training for a half marathon which requires shorter runs during my work week. I kept trying to do them after work but often just didn’t have the physical, mental, or emotional capacity to “get’r done.”
I started going to bed earlier and as a result got up earlier. My training runs now happen before work and it’s the best! I rarely “struggle bus” my way into my running shoes. I feel better. I sleep better (sleep IS one of my favorite things.)
I’m huge fan of getting up early. Huge fan! HUGE!
Love this post. 🙂
Maddie says
This is so amazing! I’m definitely going to try going to bed half an hour earlier and then getting up half an hour earlier. What a great life hack.
Jessica says
This is so timely for me! I have a 14 month old and I want to get into the groove of working out before he wakes up. Thanks for the tips!
Tracy says
I have three kids; 8 and under. I run two marathons a year and have had my early morning routine since my kids were very little. I spend about 30-40 min drinking coffee, reading the news, catching up on email before I head out running. My littlest is usually just getting up when I get home so I jump in the shower and then work fast to get myself and my kids out the door for school and work. Those early morning hours-usually between 5-6:30 are my “me” time. My husband is not a morning person and prefers to work out after work so this schedule works great for all of us. Also, Coffee and enough sleep are key for me!
Sarah says
These are all great tips and great insights from your readers. It is also probably important to note that there probably is not anything “wrong” with Birch causing those early wakings–some kids are just early risers, and it can be very hard to change that. My kids are now 6 and 4, and they both have always been early risers. When they were babies and toddlers, waking in the 5-5:30 range was pretty normal for them. I would always get really annoyed when people would say–“why don’t you just put them to bed later?” Putting them to bed later never helped–they’d still wake up at the same time. This has caused us to become very early bedtime people in our house, and it works for us for now. The only way my kids are going to get a chance at 11 hours of sleep (which seems to be their sweet spot) is a bedtime of 6:30/7PM. Getting them both to sleep (or even just stay in bed) till 6 AM has been a years-in-the -making job around here. It is just how they are. This is all to say that his early waking sounds familiar and is very normal, though it may have been jarring for you since it sounds like Mazen slept later from the get-go. It is great that you’re adapting and finding a way to make it work for you–because yes–in the beginning, the idea of waking up much earlier than you are used to sounds scary! Thanks for sharing.
Amy says
I have 2 kiddos (3 1/2 and almost 2) who have both been early risers for the first 2 years of life. Both started sleeping later on their own at about the 20-22 month mark. As a result I’ve had almost 4 years of practice getting up at 5 so that I have some time to have coffee and read my Bible before they’re up about 5:30 or 6. Now that they’re both sleeping it (finally!!!!!) until 7:30 or so there’s NO way I’m going back. I LOVE my sleep, but I also LOVE having a solid 2 hours to drink coffee, read my Bible, work out (Peloton!) and showered and get ready for the day before I have to parent.
Kath Younger says
That two hour window sounds awesome!!
Amanda says
So interesting – pre kiddo I would go to sleep 10-10:30 and be up at 4:45 for my 5:30 workout. Now I feel like I’m in bed by 10:00 and need every moment of sleep before getting him out the door and to work. I am still fitting in workouts, but they’re at home and shorter and sleep is crucial. May try to follow your lead and bump everything up at least 30 minutes!
Meghan says
Fun post! Before kids to second child, I thought I needed a lot of sleep. Now I realize that I will always wake up groggy, so it doesn’t matter how much I get! My mantra is “sleep is overrated.” I try to be in bed by 10:30-11:00 and wake up at 5:30 to pack lunches and get myself and the kids ready for the day. I leave for work at 7:00. I am a teacher, but I wake up at 5:30 in the summer too. I used to try to sleep in but realized having just 45 minutes-an hour by myself in the morning was really important. I’m an introvert but my three kids are loud, active extroverts and there are usually extra kids around too. However, when they were little no matter how early I tried to get up, they would sense I was awake and wake up too! It was maddening. Now at 4, 8, and 12, they pretty much always sleep until 6:15 and sometimes will sleep to 7:00.