Thrive and

By Esther Retek

For some of us, the ultimate perk during the summer weeks is the calmer mornings. Whether or not we have a regular schedule, the rigidity of our usual routine gives way to the season’s more lenient pace.

And if we’re lucky to spend our weeks outdoors, these mornings are practically magical. The summer dew on the grass, the cool breeze regardless of the day’s temperature, and the enchanting bird symphony are enough to make morning the ideal part of the day.

What if we could learn to tap into the secret of the early morning hours too? What if we could harness the summer’s early morning splendor and make it a part of our everyday routine, no matter the season? What if we could adopt an early morning routine that could have a profound impact on our productivity, mood, and overall wellbeing?

Let’s open the shades to the world of early risers. Let’s take a look at the purported benefits of waking up with the sun, the experiences of ordinary people who have made the switch, and the tips to consider when contemplating resetting your own alarm clock. Whether you’re a curious skeptic, a hopeful convert, or a committed early bird looking to optimize your mornings, there’s lots to explore.

The Early Bird Does Get the Worm

“Early to bed, early to rise, makes a person healthy, wealthy, and wise,” goes Benjamin Franklin’s famous aphorism. Its rhythm is certainly smooth, but does this statement hold any real meaning?

Yes, is the consensus. The early morning hours are indeed rich with potential that’s unmatched with any other time of day.

Many productive individuals start their day as early as 3:00 a.m. Challenge yourself to think of ten people you admire, and chances are that most of them wake up early. From a ruchniyus perspective, it’s easy for us to understand why. Numerous sources, including the Kaf Chaim, note that the Torah learning and tefillah during early morning hours are exponentially more effective and powerful than during later hours. In Yiddishkeit, where concepts like zerizus and overcoming laziness are extolled, an early start enables us to maximize our days and utilize every moment for its intended purpose.

Now, for some evidence-based backing too. Harvard biologist Christoph Randler performed a study that showed early risers to be more proactive and better problem-solvers. “When it comes to business success, morning people hold the important cards,” he says.

Early mornings connote crisp air, bird ballads, and a world at peace. But this time of day offers so much more than just serenity. “These early morning hours set the tone for my day,” says Ruchy, who’s been waking up at 5:00 a.m. for over two decades. “By the time most people wake up, I’ve already davened, done twenty minutes of exercise, had my coffee, unloaded the dishwasher, thrown in a load of laundry, and even started supper prep. These are my best hours, and I get so much done.”

Indeed, productivity is a significant benefit to early morning hours. According to research, morning people tend to hold higher-level positions because of their productivity. Although some people get their creative flows at night, the motivation and thus productivity is higher in the morning. The feeling of having the entire day to conquer pushes a person, and early morning people tap into those powers.

“My early mornings happened organically. I never resolved to wake up at 5:00, but it somehow evolved. I just realized that every hour in the morning is like two or three in the afternoon. Any work that requires more concentration and effort I leave for my two working hours before 9:00 a.m.,” shares Dovid, a CEO of a large company who wakes up every morning at 5:30 a.m.

We usually associate morning larks with healthier lifestyle habits—and for good reason.

According to a study reported in Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports, night owls had between 60–90 minutes less physical activity throughout the day than their morning counterparts.

With regard to our health—both physical and mental— there seems to be even more evidence piled up. A study from the University of Toronto found that those who woke up before 7:00 a.m. reported being 25 percent happier. One study from the Journal of Psychiatric Research found that early risers were up to 27 percent less likely to develop depression, and Science Daily found that night owls were twice as likely to suffer from depression because their bodies aren’t in sync with the natural daylight. Could this be what Benjamin Franklin meant by “healthy”?

Another study, published in Obesity Society, found that food choices are less calculated for night owls. When working at night, their energy levels can fluctuate wildly. To stay up and running, the body requires more fuel, which often leads to unhealthy snacking or drinking. On the other hand, morning larks are usually motivated to fuel their day with a healthy meal and have the time to prepare a proper breakfast as opposed to grabbing something with little nutrition. “Since I’m up from 5:00, I’m ready to eat a proper breakfast by 7:30. And I do. I eat breakfast with my children in the morning, which makes the whole breakfast meal a beautiful and cherished one,” Ruchy shares proudly.

An older study, published in 1994 by Society for the Study of Addiction, found that those with evening work schedules consumed more alcohol than those with morning work schedules. According to data from the Finnish Twin Cohort of 676 adults, nighttime people are much more likely to smoke, less likely to quit, and more likely to develop nicotine dependence than morning people. While these studies aren’t labeling night owls in any way as “bad,” they do suggest that bad habits tend to develop at night.

In addition to the aforementioned studies, being an early riser tends to work better in modern society, which probably plays a role in increased happiness and decreased stress. In general, society runs on a clock. Stores and businesses operate during daytime hours; most people are expected to clock in around 8:00 or 9:00 a.m. for work. If you are a night owl, you misalign yourself with the “societal clock.” Convinced?

So why is it still so hard for us to avoid the snooze button? Why do we commit yearly to making the change and waking up earlier only to go through another year of hectic mornings?

Wake-Up Call

You’ve probably noticed that most children start the day feeling well-rested and excited. There is something so refreshing and infectious about their morning energy. When did we lose that morning enthusiasm?

Rav Noach Weinberg zt”l discusses this concept in his 48 Ways to Wisdom, under Way #19: Bi-miyut shayna, minimize sleep:

“If life is a bore, you feel more like sleeping. Someone who loves life doesn’t want to go to sleep at night. He just keeps on going until he falls asleep—then jumps out of bed the next morning like a lion. Children are a perfect example. From the moment a baby opens his eyes, he’s up like a shot. ‘Another day…new adventures…so much to discover…so much to experience…waaaah!!! Take me out of my crib!’” As Rav Weinberg explains so eloquently, “Why do adults often crave sleep? Responsibilities weigh us down. We want to crawl into bed and hide under the sheets just to get a breather.”

It’s not the number of hours we sleep that gives us the energy; it’s our passion for life, our eagerness to embrace every day. “The struggle against drowsiness and fatigue is the struggle for meaning,” concludes Rav Weinberg.

How do we combat that? By giving our days a why, especially by giving our early mornings a really strong why—a reason that will be compelling enough to urge us out of bed even if we feel like snoozing the clock. In his bestselling book The Miracle Morning, Hal Elrod presents this as the most important step before adopting a morning routine.

Chana Leeba, mother of a large family who wakes up at 5:30 every morning, also expresses this sentiment. “I was in a hectic stage in my life with four little kids under the age of five, and I decided to attend a short parenting class to get some encouragement and insight. The lecturer was discussing the importance of calm mornings, and that’s when it hit me. My mornings were completely dysfunctional. I went to sleep late, got annoyed with every child who woke up early, and then dragged myself out of bed at the last minute when the fighting reached decibels I simply couldn’t ignore. Of course, with such a morning, the day couldn’t be too smooth. I’d arrive at work exhausted, come home without having done any morning prep, and once again be overwhelmed when the children came home. I remember walking home and resolving to turn my mornings around. I was never the early bird type, but I was desperate to try anything to change my mornings and subsequent days. I so badly wanted my mornings to be better. I saw that as the key to a smooth and calm day. The first few days were terribly hard, but every time I was about to press snooze, I’d see myself as a calm, collected mother and that desire prevailed.” This was her why, and this is what pushed her to go beyond her comfort zone and try early mornings.

If the image of a calm mother isn’t compelling enough for you, perhaps the goal of productivity will do the trick. Maybe it’s the thought of starting your day on an active note as opposed to being passively led into it. What about the thought of davening for a few minutes? Or a few minutes of filling yourself up before you can give to your family?

While Dovid admits it’s productivity that drives him, he adds, “The early morning isn’t just about ticking tasks off your to-do list or gaining a head-start on the day. It’s a magical, golden time where I can find pockets of quiet in a noisy world, a tranquil space for me to be with myself. This is what I truly like about those mornings.”

Although Ruchy admits her love for early morning is partly inherited, she still had to push herself at times to stay committed to this routine. “My mother is my role model in this area. I simply loved my mornings as a child. I would wake up to a calm, collected mother. I never understood all this rush-morning talk. Whenever I feel like changing my schedule, I just think of my mother,” she says.

Morning Makeover

Once you have a why, you’re ready and able to conquer the mornings.

Becoming an early morning person has been a lifelong dream of mine, and writing this article was the perfect impetus to give it a shot. Trust me, making the leap is difficult. Becoming an early morning person isn’t an overnight task, but rather, a process that involves creating and following a consistent routine. If you’d like to join me on this journey, here’s a step-by-step guide that has helped me and many others make the change.

want to daven, exercise, journal, meditate, prepare supper, clean the house? Calculate all that and determine the ideal wake-up time. If you have consistent night obligations (such as working at night, etc.) that prevent you from going to sleep whenever you want, you may want to work backward. Determine the earliest time you can go to sleep and set your morning time according to that.

Understand Your Sleep Needs

Before changing your waking time, it’s crucial to understand your sleep needs. Most adults require seven hours of sleep. Cambridge University studied the sleep patterns of half a million people aged 38–73. Those who got seven hours of sleep had the healthiest brains with the best cognitive performance and mental health, and lower levels of depression and anxiety. However, there are people who need that extra half hour and those who can make do with just six or even less hours of sleep. Avoid making a drastic change all at once. Instead, start by waking up just thirty minutes earlier than usual for one week. Once you’ve adjusted to this new time, move your wake-up time another thirty minutes earlier. Continue this gradual adjustment until you reach your desired wake-up time.

Consistency Is Key

Aim for a consistent bedtime—which can help regulate your body’s clock and aid in falling asleep—and more importantly, for a consistent wake-up time. Your wake-up time needs to be set in stone. In the book, The Early Bird Challenge, the author advises, “Give yourself thirty minutes of wiggle time for your bedtime since getting to bed at the same moment does not always happen. However, don’t you dare touch that wake-up time!” You want to wake up actively and not passively. Ruchy also admits that although she can find herself going to bed a little later than usual, she rarely changes her wake-up time.

Establish a Nighttime Routine

A pre-bed routine signals to your body that it’s time to wind down and go to sleep. For the first few days you can set an alarm an hour before your bedtime to remind you that it’s time to wind down. “For me, my night starts at 9:30. I like to unwind a half hour before getting to bed,” says Dovid.

Create a Morning Ritual

Determine Your Ideal Wake-Up Time

Calculate the time you want before the children wake up, the rush begins, or you need to be at work. Do you

Having a desirable morning ritual makes the prospect of waking up early more enticing. Think of 3–5 things you want to accomplish in those early morning hours and write them down in the order you will do them. Be intentional about your morning. Says The Early Bird Challenge, “A key to being active and not passive is that once you wake up, you should already know what you are going to do so that there is nothing to be idle about.”

Break the Snooze Button

Do that figuratively if you’re using some other device. The snooze button is your enemy. Here’s a little secret: It’s normal to feel groggy and tired when you wake up early. Even those people who preach morning routines don’t jump out of bed, throw off their covers, and run for their morning teas and meditations. When you wake up, especially if you use an alarm, your sleep cycle is interrupted, and you won’t feel great about that. Here’s another piece of advice though. No one ever woke up feeling groggy, hit the snooze button for another eight minutes, and then woke up feeling all refreshed and energized. “By dozing off for those extra minutes, we’re preparing our bodies for another sleep cycle, which is then quickly interrupted—causing us to feel fatigued for the rest of the day that lies ahead,” sleep expert Neil Robinson said in an interview with The Independent.

So how do you get up? Push yourself. Be strong. “A cozy body has difficulty getting up in the morning. Just throwing off the covers can rouse you out of bed,” writes Rav Noach Weinberg.

Tell yourself a mantra of sorts, such as this one, suggested in The Early Bird Challenge: “I am getting out of bed right now. I will not feel better after ten more minutes of sleep. I am strong. I am excited to start the day, etc.”

Sunrise Struggles

Is this early morning philosophy sounding too chirpy (excuse the pun) to your ears? You’re right, early mornings are not a lifestyle everyone can embrace, and even those who do must be flexible with fluctuating schedules throughout the year. In our blessed lives, we have simchos to attend, late-night Yom Tov and Shabbos meals, and babies who keep us awake at night. How do people juggle it all?

“Waking up early every single day can be a challenge at times, but the good thing is that if you are generally consistent about wake-up, you can swing back to routine easily. I try to enjoy simchos and late-night meals by remembering that our goal is not to be rigid, but rather to enjoy every moment and be mindful of those special experiences. Yom Tov season is especially difficult. However, instead of changing my wake-up time, I try to stick to my morning schedule and take one or two power naps during the day. These short naps, twenty minutes at most—I set a timer—give me much-needed energy to continue with the day,” says Tehillah, who’s been making early mornings a priority for the last three years.

Rav Noach Weinberg would also encourage power naps. “The best way to take advantage of sleep’s recuperative powers is by napping. When you find yourself stymied, take a twenty-minute nap. Any longer than that and it’s a struggle to regain momentum.”

Chava Leeba also emphasizes that flexibility is key. “As Yidden, there are so many days and nights that we need to step out of routine. I give myself at least six months after giving birth to get back into my morning schedule. My general rule of thumb is that once my babies wake up just one or two times during the night, I’m ready to get back into routine. With simchos, unless it’s a close relative, I try to go earlier and get home on time. In the beginning, I felt like I was missing out when I left early, but I decided my morning routine was more important to me and my feelings quickly changed.

“Of course, if it’s a close family event, I make the effort to stay as long as I need to. Even though it can be hard, I know it’s the right thing to do, and I do so happily. I like to think of the story that’s told about Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv zt”l and Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt”l when they celebrated the marriage of their children. At one point, Rav Shlomo Zalman noticed Rav Elyashiv putting on his coat, getting ready to leave. Rav Elyashiv explained that he needed to leave in order to get up at his usual 2:00 a.m. wake-up time to start learning. Rav Shlomo Zalman responded that he believed this instance was an exception and asked him to stay until the end of the wedding. Rav Elyashiv obliged and accepted his ruling. Everything needs to be balanced.”

When one spouse is on board and the other isn’t, making early mornings a priority is certainly more challenging— but still doable. “The real struggle is that my husband is a night owl. And though I never tried coaxing him into becoming an early bird, I think that even if he wanted to, it wouldn’t work. That was and is the biggest hurdle to my early mornings, but with lots of years behind us, we’ve figured it out,” says Ruchy.

As with everything, rising early in the morning might be a challenge, but the reward is a day well started because seizing your morning is seizing your day. I’m inviting you to join me on this adventure. Is your alarm clock set?