Early mornings are quiet and the world is at a halt, making the time yours. Successful people use these early hours to exercise, catch up on the news, read, and have breakfast.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos says he always shoots for eight hours of shut-eye, because it gives him energy and helps him “think better.” Some experts do argue that humans tend to be more productive in the wee early hours of the morning, simply because there are fewer distractions at those times.
Almost without exception, successful people start their day early. Many say they get up between 5 am and 6 am. Rising early is particularly great for those who work from home or have small children, because they can accomplish work tasks without interruption.
You'll never be late
Wake up at 5am, however, and you'll suddenly have time to get up to date on current affairs, thoroughly wash and groom yourself and make a hearty – not to mention healthy – breakfast. And, with your pace significantly more leisurely, you'll also never be late to work.
Some experts say yes. For starters, getting up earlier can improve confidence, Snowden says, because it can feel like an accomplishment. And there's something to be said for not constantly feeling like you're in a rush, which only elevates stress levels and negatively impacts mental health.
According to a new study, the best time to sleep is from 10pm to 4am. People going to bed before 10 or after 11 are at greater risk for heart disease, compared to the average person. In this timeframe people have a 25-percent lower chance of developing heart disease than those who fall asleep after midnight.
Nearly two-thirds of successful CEOs say they wake up at 6 a.m. or earlier: 'It's just a matter of establishing routine' Tom Huddleston Jr. You don't have to wake up early to be successful just because someone like Apple CEO Tim Cook is up at 3:45 a.m.
They also wake up very early. In my work with famous entrepreneurs, Fortune 500 CEOs and billionaires, I have seen that getting up early has so many benefits that it is no wonder that most of the world's most successful business leaders get up much earlier than the rest of the world.
But the majority manage to get at least 6 hours, as you can see in the list below detailing the sleep habits of 10 highly successful people: Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX: 6 hours (1am — 7am) Tim Cook, CEO of Apple: 7 hours (9:30pm — 4:30am) Bill Gates, Co-Founder of Microsoft: 7 hours (12am — 7am)
7AM: Wake-up call
After a restful 7 hours, Bill awakes rearing to go. This was easy enough, as 7 hours is my personal ideal number of hours for sleep.
"Getting up at five in the morning to tackle the top three things you want to accomplish in your day allows you to regain control of your life," Corley says. "It gives you a sense of confidence that you, indeed, direct your life. It gives you a feeling of power over your life.
Most Geniuses Perfected the Power Nap
That's pretty much true. Since a lot of them tend to believe that it is absolutely imperative to stay ahead, they seem to think that sleeping deprives them of this opportunity. Hence, they'd reduce the time they rest at night in order to have more functional, waking hours.
Up at 3:45 a.m., he uses the early hours for pure, uninterrupted work, before heading to the gym at 5 a.m. Locking in this energy ritual means that, by the time the rest of the world wakes up, Cook's not only a full half-day ahead, but also physically and mentally operating at a more optimal state.
Tip 1: Compensate Your Bedtime for your Early Rising
We need between 8 - 10 hours of sleep a night so if you're getting up between 5 - 6 AM, then you should be heading to sleep around 9 or 10 at night.
If you wake up at 6am, to get 7-9 hours of sleep you should be going to bed between 9pm and 11pm.
Pulling an all-nighter means engaging in an activity during sleep time that makes you catch little or no sleep for up to 24 hours. So if you're usually asleep from 10 pm to 6 am, you'll remain awake during an all-nighter throughout this time frame.
Is getting up early for everyone? No. Whether or not waking up early actually makes you more productive could be in your genes. There's been lots of research about how some people are biologically more likely to feel more alert in the morning, while others are at their best at night.
Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, which helps synchronize your sleep-wake cycle. Limit awake-time in bed. If you don't get back to sleep within 20 minutes after waking up in the middle of the night, get out of bed and do something relaxing until you feel sleepy again.
Psychology Today reported that intelligent people are likely to be nocturnal beings, with those with a higher IQ going bed later on both weeknights and weekends.
Elon Musk says he's upped his sleep to 6 hours per night—and that his old routine hurt his brain.
Those with an IQ of over 125 tended to go to bed around 12:30 a.m. and wake up around 8:00 a.m. on weekdays, and go to bed around 1:45 a.m. and wake up around 11:00 a.m. on weekends. Those of normal intelligence tended to sleep from 12:00 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. on weekdays and from 1:15 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. on weekends.