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Waking up at 5.30am

Challenge number 2 in my year long healthy habit challenge is to wake up at 5.30am every morning, including weekends! I decided to add this to the mix because I hear so often that it is good for me and below are the reasons I thought mattered to me most.

Benefits to waking up early
  1. Time to plan for the day - if I don't plan I just don't end up getting things done. 
  2. Self development - successful people wake up earlier. Early bird gets the worm.
  3. Exercise - its hard to go to the gym after a long day of work. Waking up early gives me time to do this.
  4. Morning routine - I like to take my time getting ready in the morning, have breakfast, clean my house etc
  5. Quiet time - waking up before the sun rises give you a psychological advantage over everyone else.
How did it go?

Youtube-benefits to waking up early

The first 10 days went well, I managed to wake up early without a struggle. It did allow me to get myself ready nice and slow before work, my house is clean before I leave for the day, I had a chance to film some videos and I can plan my day much better.

However...

After the first week I was so tired after work I would probably manage half an hour of TV before bed.
  I did start to notice my appetite for sugar and sweet treats went through the roof. Day 11-14 I was in London with my sisters and had late nights with eating and drinking lots which kind of messed it up for me. I really needed the sleep so didn't stress too much over screwing up the challenge for a few days and just started it right back up when I got back. My skin blew up with spots, mainly on my chin which is very unusual for me.



Unusual spotty chin for me


I think this is what frightened me the most. I just started looking unhealthy. I know my terrible diet contributed to the bad skin but I am also sure feeling so tired and wearing make-up didn't help.

Going forward?

I can definitely see the benefits to waking up early but think for me, as long as I am getting enough sleep (8hours) I will be happy, which means on a Sunday waking up at 8am for me is absolutely fine!

I will be more relaxed on weekends



Next challenge?

The launching of my next habit is going to be a bit different this time. Instead of me just picking what it is going to be. I have written down a number of suggestions for healthy habits and split them into 2
categories 1) lifestyle 2) dietary 
I plan to blindly pick the next one and will alternate which category I am doing each time to mix it up a bit.

If you have any other suggestions of habits you might like to adopt, please comment below as I am open to trying anything out.

Below are the videos relating to waking up at 5.30am every morning





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