A couple of friends from work have begun waking up at 5 am. The idea and goal were generated from the 5 am club, which I have not fully read yet. However, the book implies that successful people get up early and have a solid morning routine before going to work. Getting up at 5 am was not much of a stretch. My first alarm usually went off at 5:15 am and then I would snooze from 15 minutes to 30 minutes. But this dedication to getting up at 5 am has given me 45 minutes back into my day. It also forces me to go to bed earlier, which I am not so happy about. However, it is giving me a consistent sleep schedule.
After about a few weeks of doing this, I noticed last week that I was becoming less anxious and less stressed. I generally felt really balanced. My Oura ring has also confirmed that my body has been pretty consistently recovered too. One day last week I was met with a situation at work that caused me a lot of anger/ stress. I noticed that it took me three days to get back to the calm center that I was experiencing. I am actually really grateful for that experience. It helped me see firsthand how stress can influence the body. Hopefully, more experiences like that happen so that I can find better ways to navigate it.
The friend that pushed for the 5 am club also reminded me about the video platform Gaia. She mentioned how there was an episode on chakras that was in the Rewired series. I started watching Rewired from episode one and have gotten through a few. Dr. Joe Dispensa takes us through how the body works from a very scientific point of view and introduces examples of how we are able to influence the body with our thoughts and actions. There is a lot of discussions about how stress can impact the body. So I appreciate that this series has come to me at this time that I am experimenting with my schedule and becoming more balanced.
As for why waking up earlier impacts my mental health in such a positive way, I think it is because I get to have dedicated time that I get to focus on something that I want to do for a full hour, like writing in this blog. I also do other things like go for a run, practice tai chi, drink tea, watch woo woo type stuff, and meditate. It also means that after work I do not need to have my time to decompress and can then spend it being in the moment with Caitlyn.
I’m interested in continuing the practice and seeing where it takes me!
