Here at Own Your Goals, we talk about the benefits of good quality sleep quite a lot. Along with exercise, a healthy, balanced diet, plenty of water and stress reduction techniques, it’s one of the main pillars of good health and wellbeing. (If you’re struggling to get enough sleep, our tips for the perfect bedtime routine for good sleep can help.) 

But that said, there are also enormous benefits to waking up earlier each day (yes, including weekends!). Setting our alarms an hour earlier gives us a whole 60 minutes extra every day, and that means we can use this time to our advantage. 

After a while, your bodyclock will soon get used to your new waking time, and you’ll find it gets easier to get out of bed before the rest of the household to have that delicious hour all to yourself. You may also adjust by going to bed earlier, but we see absolutely nothing wrong in that after a hard day! 

Here’s why it’s beneficial to wake up earlier:

• The first benefit we have to mention of course, is that there’s more time to exercise! If you struggle to find time to fit exercise in, then early in the morning could work for you. Starting the day strong with exercise will also mean that you’ll be more likely to make healthy choices throughout the morning and beyond. 
• If mornings equal rushing to get everyone ready and out of the door on time, then use your extra hour to prep and plan. Prepping a healthy lunch for yourself is perfect during this time, and for anyone else you need to make lunch for. You could even prepare dinner, this Slow Cooker Kedgeree is ideal. 
• Getting up early and then leaving earlier for work if you commute is great for stress relief - the earlier you leave, the less traffic/other commuters will be around. You’ll get to work early, so if you’re on a flexible working pattern, it’s great. If you’re not, you could spend the time eating a healthy breakfast such as these Berry Overnight Oats and practicing mindfulness for a great ease into the day.