In the past I have written about the importance of having a great morning and night time routine. A routine helps us to form good habits, allows us to be more consistent and as a result we can be more effective in what we do. Every parenting expert talks about the importance of a routine to help children be the best they can be so why do we lose focus with the importance of routine as we get older. For me a consistent routine really is the key to many positive outcomes but there is something that is even more important and can make even greater differences to your daily energy and productivity. I myself do it and I encourage many others to do it to as I know the huge benefits it can bring. So what am I talking about? NOT hitting the snooze button of course.
Bad for your Health
Are you guilty of hitting the snooze button in the morning? Once, twice maybe more? According to Professor Matthew Walker, author of ‘Why We Sleep’ and teacher at the University of California’s Centre for ‘Human Sleep Science’ hitting the snooze button is not good for your health as ‘it repeatedly inflicts “cardiovascular assault” on the body and abuses your nervous system’! Now that doesn’t sound great does it! In addition to it not being good for your health, it is also not great for your energy levels and your daily productivity. By hitting the snooze button you are choosing to start a new sleep cycle, however, because that sleep cycle will be interrupted again and again depending on the number of times you decide to hit the snooze button, you will never finish that cycle and so regardless of the great night’s sleep you had before your initial alarm sounded you will end up feeling groggy and tired as a result of choosing to snooze!
Why not just set your alarm for the time that you want to get up, get a great night’s sleep and then wake up and get up feeling more energetic. When you do this what you find after a short while is that you actually start waking up just a minute or two before your alarm because your body is getting into a regular sleep pattern. This is much healthier.
It is tough to start with but once you give it a go and you start reaping the benefits you will never look back. I am not saying that you need to bound out of bed the minute the alarm sounds (although Mel Robbins makes this sound very easy with her 5 second rule) but certainly make the decision to open your eyes, sit up in bed and contemplate the day ahead. You will be pleased you did.
Give it a try!
Generally speaking (and I say this based on evidence from the Mindset workshops I have delivered) people who snooze are serial offenders. They have always done it and they do not think it affects their every day and that is because they haven’t tried life without hitting the snooze button. Those people who chose to accept the challenge of not snoozing start reaping the benefits almost immediately. They feel more energetic and they feel more inclined to get on and get things done, making them much more productive.
Having a consistent morning and night time routine is key but starting your every day without hitting the snooze button can really set you up for greater success. What are you waiting for?