Shaun Cadwalleder
The myth of the early riser
“The early bird catches the worm” may be true if you’re a tit. Even then it’s debatable. I know a few and they’re not successful.
If you rise early and work late you may increase your chances of retiring soon, but probably more because of dementia than success.
For further details about how sleep disruption can contribute to dementia, read here:
I appreciate the theory behind waking early…
- You can benefit from fewer distractions in a morning,
- You’re awake longer so you can work/practice more, and
- You can consciously experience more of life,
but there’s no doubt the balance of this advice has been tainted over time…
Benjamin Franklin once said, “early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.”
What happened to the “early to bed” part?
Rising early to get things done may feel liberating, but to benefit from the advantages of an early morning, you must get ample sleep.
You can’t be at your best without sufficient rest!
The importance of sleep for performance
This afternoon, I lifted weights and read Mastering The 21 Immutable Principles Of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
These actions are stimuli. Stimuli that summoned my body and mind to take action.
It’s not until I completed these actions that my body and mind started to repair, recover and rejuvenate.
Whilst sleeping tonight, those lifting patterns and Jiu-Jitsu facts will be transferred to my subconscious and long-term memory so I’m ready for such stimuli tomorrow. This is how consistent improvement works. Rest, and more specifically, sleep, doesn’t just sharpen the saw, it adds a rotating blade, cutting teeth and an engine.
Don’t limit this development time by waking up early to add more stimuli.
If your fuel tank was low during a cross-country journey, would you make it to your destination by pushing the accelerator more?
Actively embracing sleep encourages growth and facilitates a breakdown-free journey, don’t sacrifice it for early morning rituals.
For further proof of how sleep improves your mental and physical performance, read the following articles:
Rest over reps
Sleep has a positive impact on your performance whilst you’re awake too.
An alert mind leads to a quality of practice that you just can’t get when you’re tired.
There is such a thing as bad practice, and it’s often prevalent when you’re tired.
A high proportion of any practice should be mentally focused because your brain controls your body. Therefore, you need your brain to be alert.
I used to wake up thirty minutes earlier every morning to practice playing guitar, with no real progress.
Although I was getting plenty of reps in, the quality of my practice wasn’t efficient or effective because I was tired.
Now, I wake naturally and practice whenever I want. Because I’ve had all the rest I need, my mind is fresh for the task and I can focus on learning much more energetically.
I’ve managed to learn one song this month which would have taken several if I’d have stuck to my previous strategy.
It’s the quality, not quantity, of reps that count.
Don’t neglect sleep
Of course, everyone operates a little differently, so you will have to find what works for you, but in general, you can’t fight hundreds of thousands of years of evolution by keeping yourself awake. You need sufficient sleep.
And if you think you’re that person who can operate on a couple of hours per day, you’re probably wrong…
“The number of people who can survive on five hours of sleep or less without any impairment, expressed as a percentage of the population, and rounded to a whole number, is zero.”
Follow your natural circadian rhythm and don’t force yourself to be an early riser, you’re not lazy if you like to sleep in.
You don’t need to listen to the bullsh*t advice of those who sleep late and wake early. They aren’t any more successful, they’re just more smug about it when they are.
A few more Z’s could be just what you need, and even more beneficial than those late-night studies or early morning rituals.
Don’t mind me, I’ll be over here sleepingggggggggggggg
“Scientists have discovered a revolutionary new treatment that makes you live longer. It enhances your memory and makes you more creative. It makes you look more attractive. It keeps you slim and lowers food cravings. It protects you from cancer and dementia. It wards off colds and the flu. It lowers your risk of heart attacks and stroke, not to mention diabetes. You’ll even feel happier, less depressed, and less anxious. Are you interested?”
