The Miracle of the Morning

Harley 3469, Salomon Trismosin, Splendor Solis (an alchemical treatise), Germany, 1582

Up until recently, I was a night owl or a wolf in chronotype terms.

During Covid19 I’ve been trying my best to change my daily habits in order to keep myself sane and fight through any lingering depression.

My life previous to lockdown wasn’t too different in structure, I spent a lot of time at home, working out from home, and being relatively solitary aside from socialising in the evenings, travelling and being able to explore beyond my neighbourhood.

However, I’ve picked up a lot of the general anxiety, uncertainty, sadness and anger that’s floating around. I’m sensitive to how other people are feeling, especially those close to me. 

Spending too much time on social media, seeing other people’s lives (especially those with more freedom to move around) has been taking its toll and I’ve been on the verge of breaking down.

I’ve dealt with severe depression in the past so I am relatively equipped and experienced in finding ways of working through it. So long as I can catch it before it gets too bad.

One desire I’ve had for a while and habit I wanted to change was my sleeping schedule.

I’d become used to going to bed late and waking up late - on average sleeping 2 am-10 am. It’s a habit I picked up from working night shifts in my earlier years and I came to enjoy the quiet of the dead of night, being able to find peace when everyone else was in bed.

For the success of my business and my life generally, I wanted to see if adopting the routine of a morning person would aid in this. I picked up a copy of The Miracle Morning and for the last month I’ve been waking up between 6-7 am which is a huge achievement for me, having previously accepted the fact I was a night owl and that was that, never would I ever be a morning person.

I’m working towards waking up at 5 am and then 4 am as I think there was still something to being awake when everyone else is sleeping.

A friend mentioned to me when I told them of the changes I was implementing and they confirmed this - Having the peace and quiet of the early morning from waking, or the dead of night before sleeping will bring the clarity we all seem to be desperately searching for, at least I am.

Morning risers have an advantage as society is built around the classic 9-5 workday. And for those who prefer slightly later working hours, it can sometimes feel like we’re being left behind or it’s harder to fit in and are always playing catch up.

So far as the Miracle Morning has suggested, I’ve been having a greater sense of achievement for each day. Waking up earlier and the act of making decisions to make changes is giving me momentum to work through my goals more efficiently.

There’s a lot more to learn about sleeping and what is best for our individual sleeping types.

A few other books on sleep worth checking out are:
Good Mornings: Morning Rituals for Wellness, Peace and Purpose by Linnea Dunne
Daily Rituals by Mason Currey
Why We Sleep: The New Science of Sleep and Dreams by Matthew Walker
My Morning Routine How Successful People Start Every Day Inspired by Benjamin Spall, Michael Xander
The 5am Club by Robin Sharma

Find your chronotype with: The Power of When by Michael Breus PhD