Up at 5am 30 day trial!

[Lena Carpenter]

Night sleep 11:45pm-4:45am
Day nap: 2:45-4pm

It's after 10pm right now and I'm definitely feeling sleepy. It's funny during the day I think of these different things that I'm going to share in my post, and then by evening time, I get sleepy and forget. I'll just summarize. Today was a little bit more challenging day, especially with getting moving with my goals, although looking back, at least I did get a few things done. Today definitely wasn't more energetic than yesterday. I'm really curious when that energy is really going to kick in, where I feel totally awake, alive, and ready to go?? It just has to be that way, and I'm thinking another week on this schedule should do it. I take a longer nap, if I feel really tired. Seems to work better than a power nap for me, right around 30 minutes to an hour. Go figure. Biphasic people would say that it's not supposed to work. Also the amount of sleep I'm comfortable with is 5 to 5.5 hours. Again, not exact cycles here. I hope to experiment with some other configurations once I get my basic sleeping pattern down.

[Lena Carpenter]

It's 5am and I'm up, but for the wrong reason. I actually woke up at 2:30 because I had really severe cramps. I had to get out of bed, take a shower, take some arnica, drink chamomile tea, and put a heating pad on my stomach. I even threw up a few times. It's the first day of my period, but I haven't had any kind of painful experience for a few years until today. Seems odd that I would have it now. It's day 10 of my waking up early trial and first day of my cleaning trial. I also implemented daily meditation and yoga, not for the first time, but first time in a few months, probably about a month ago. I wonder if it's some kind of resistance to change. I know that when I got it three years back (for the first time since my teenage years), I was anxious about moving.

Unfortunately this might throw off my wake-up time, yoga, and meditation for a day because I need to get some sleep right now. Hopefully, I'll be right back to it tomorrow.

[Lena Carpenter]

Night Sleep: 12am-2:30am and 5:30-8am
Nap: 1-2p

I don't feel tired, which makes me question my belief that I need a "sensible" amount of sleep every night. I really do think that my tiredness comes from being up at 5-7am, when my body is used to sleeping at that time for most of my life. After getting used to my current schedule for another week, I'll experience with reducing my night sleep a little to 4.5 to 5 hours. I'll keep my nap to about an hour, and maybe experiment with 30 minute naps after that.

[Lena Carpenter]

While I wasn't tired during the day, I was tired around 10pm and definitely very tired when I finally went to sleep. I tried staying up to meditate and get yoga done, but I never did get around to yoga and I basically fell asleep during my meditation.

Today Night sleep: 11:30-5:50am (I overslept on accident)
Nap: 3-4pm

Routine: Went back to my morning routine without any problem today, meditating and doing yoga, as well as studying. Also cleaned up this morning (see my other challenge), which is a new addition to my routine

[tsjechov]

You're doing great and even a new challenge! Good luck for the nex days!
How are the reactions of the people around you on your changes or don't they know it?

[Lena Carpenter]

Unfortunately, yesterday I overslept again, but I went to sleep really late the night before (not by choice).
Night Sleep: 12:30am-5:50am
Nap: 10 minutes in the morning

Today I slept in even longer.
Night Sleep: 11:30-6:30 and then took a "nap" from 7 to 8 am ha ha

Yesterday was such a busy day, and besides maybe dozing off for 5-10 minutes, I didn't get a nap, and I was out all day, thus oversleeping this morning.

Not that I did this on purpose. Being sick messed me up. But if you think about oversleeping on the weekend and you are doing a trial of getting up early, don't! It's very easy to keep getting up once you are in the flow of it, but even after getting messed up for one day, it's a lot harder to get back on track.

Having said that, I fully intend to get up at 5am tomorrow and keep doing it for another two weeks straight! That is the basic foundation for my whole routine, with yoga and meditation going so much better the earlier I get up because I have that time to do it in a relaxed manner. Also, doing my other trial, cleaning, is also much easier if I get it done early morning. My next 30 day trial I will be doing is 30 day to Lucid Dreaming. That sounds like so much fun, but I noticed it's a lot harder to remember dreams, when I wake up tired, which is the case when I'm getting used to the routine. I need those solid two weeks with waking up at 5am every day!

[Lena Carpenter]

Keep in mind, that these benefits might also have to do with daily meditation for the past month (no days skipped there) and daily yoga for a couple of weeks (couple of days skipped). Getting up early is what gives me the time to get those extra thi
ngs completed. I noticed that even at 6 am, my motivation to follow my morning routine is lower than if I'm up at 5 am. I have no clue why! All I can theorize is that it's body chemistry or a special quality of that time of the day, but it so gives a boost to getting yourself motivated to do everything else. Thus my number one benefit so far.

Benefits:
1. More motivation to get going and get things done. More productivity in the morning, EVEN when I am still getting used to the routine.
2. Time for yoga and meditation. This is a big one because any other time of the day I seem to be too busy to get them done. My son likes to go to bed late, so at night it can be a hit or miss with getting them done. Plus, when I have some extra time in the morning, I feel relaxed about getting them done.
3. Better eating habits. Yes, this might seem unrelated at first, and in the early stages, there is a desire to eat more comforting foods to keep yourself up. But now I notice that I'm full faster and eating junk food doesn't feel good. Salty foods seem to be especially unpleasant, especially things like oversalted chips. I decreased my intake of meat by a lot, even though I didn't eat much to begin with.

[Lena Carpenter]

Originally Posted by tsjechov

You're doing great and even a new challenge! Good luck for the nex days!
How are the reactions of the people around you on your changes or don't they know it?

Thanks, tsjechov. I hope to be back on track tomorrow, up at 5!!! I'll have to set the alarm across the room as well cause apparently I've been turning off my cell phone.

As for reactions, they don't care much. A lot of my friends get up early themselves. My husband complained at first that I was irritable, and that's about it. I don't mind telling people that I started getting up early, especially to explain my tiredness, but I don't think there is anything sensational about that (other than to me ). Did you encounter different reactions for yourself?

[Lena Carpenter]

Night sleep: 11:30pm-6am
Nap: 2:50-4:30pm

I woke up feeling completely refreshed at 5 o'clock and then had to stay in bed for a while because my son was crying, and what do you know, went to sleep again! Next time, I'll try to keep my eyes open and stair at something interesting in the room, if I have to stay in bed. I can't wait to actually being up at 5, as I think 6 is a little less productive, not to mention I feel guilty that my 30 day trial is in a bit of a slump. I managed to meditate and do yoga, which are my basics for now, but I couldn't get myself to clean for my other challenge this morning.

[Lena Carpenter]

After waking up at 6 consistently for a few days, I'm finally up at 5 am today and I'm calling it day 15 because I want two solid weeks of getting up this early in a row! In fact, I might extend the trial by another week just to get the full 21 days to make it a habit kind of thing.

I'm so excited about being up at 5, I cannot tell you! I think I'm brimming with energy and enthusiasm. I'm taking advantage of being up early to type in my journal, drink some green tea, and think about my goals for the month of July. I can't wait to make my green mango smoothie for breakfast!

I hope everyone is happily getting up early too! Or happily getting up whenever

Update: Night sleep 12-5am Nap 1:50-3:30pm. While I did take a longer nap, I felt pretty good all day, definitely not so tired, like my first few days on the trial

[Lena Carpenter]

I just had to find something positive in my sleeping pattern. I easily and effortlessly wake up at 6 o'clock now, and then I'm like "did I sleep in again?" That would've been amazing to me a few months ago, when I could sleep until 10. Anyway, these past two days, I didn't wake up until 6 again, and I seem to be a little stuck on that time. I'm not giving up at getting back to 5am though, and every day is a new chance to do it. I've been going to bed later too, 12-12:20am with my naps being about half an hour yesterday and an hour the day before. I absolutely love this way of sleeping. My dreams are more clear and more easily remembered. I still get a great feeling about being up, and am able to complete my yoga and meditation routine 95% of the time. Plus, I sit here and drink green tea (decaf so it doesn't throw me off), and it's the best way to relax

[Lena Carpenter]

Night sleep: 11:30pm-5:30am
Nap: 7:50-8am Dozed off a little after meditation because I was sleepy

It turns out that I never had time to take a regular nap, so that's all the nap there was. I felt really tired between 6 and 8pm, and I was going to lay down for a quick power nap, but I just didn't get around to it.

You might notice that I skipped a couple of days between day 15 and day 16. The reason is quite simple. I don't feel right calling the ones, where I wake up at 6 a part of my trial, but I also don't want to reset it because I've made a lot of progress, despite some setbacks.

Today is Day 17, and despite being really tired last night, I'm up at exactly 5am! I'm drinking sweet green tea, and celebrating my achievement this morning.

Tip Get out of bed, as soon as the alarm goes off. Whenever I lay down for a few minutes, I fall back asleep, even though I think, that I can control it better. This might not be as crucial once you are used to your new sleeping schedule, but when you are still a little tired in the morning, get up and go get yourself a cup of tea (or water or juice or whatever).

[Lena Carpenter]

Night sleep: 11:40pm-5am
Nap: 11-11:30am

I did lay down for half an hour, but my toddler kept coming over to knock on the door, so I don't know how long of it was actual sleep time, maybe 10-15 minutes, but it was a pleasant slumber the rest of the time.

It's 2:15pm and I'm starting to feel a little sleepy again, since this is normally when I would lay down. It's OK. All I have to do is something really fun to keep my attention I am drinking some green tea. It's decaf though, so supposedly it has minimal amount of caffeine. I had a very light lunch an hour ago too, just a small cabbage salad and some steamed veggies. I didn't feel like eating much. I'm sure I will be very hungry by dinner time! I still find it absolutely amazing that with decreased sleep, I feel like eating lighter. It seems counterintuivie, considering a more conventional wisdom on sleep. I think I have a pretty good theory for it though, but it's so unusual, that I'm not sure I want to go into it. I'll just say that I believe that my vibrations/energy are increasing in frequency because of meditation, yoga AND shortened sleeping cycles.

[Lena Carpenter]

Night sleep: 11pm-5am
Nap: 3-4:20pm

11 is pretty early for me. I have to admit, I was ready to fall asleep at 10, but we were watching a really interesting show, and it helped me to stay up. I don't mind going to sleep at 10. It's just that my son doesn't usually go to sleep that early, therefore, it's easier for me to stay up, since he will come knock on my door, not letting me go into deep sleep. I'm really curious about the prospect of going to sleep around 10:30pm and waking up at 4am. Could this be the next step? Who knows, for now, I'd like to finish up with 5am, and get into the habit of waking up at automatically before trying to tackle an earlier time.

Light bulb: I could skip taking long naps for a few days, and then take one long one to catch up! Overall, there needs to be balance and the right amount of sleep to get rested, but sometimes it's OK to have an active period, and then a little more laid back one.

[Lena Carpenter]

Night sleep: 12am-5:30am
Nap: 2-2:30pm

It's going pretty well, although I do feel a little tired, especially before my nap. I also start feeling sleepy early on at night. I think I could have gone to bed at 10pm last night. Maybe I could pay attention to when I'm tired at night a bit more, at least to be in bed by 11. Heat and physical exercise I'm sure play a role. Yesterday I went for a long walk, and some of it up a steep hill, carrying my two-year-old. It was definitely a great work-out! This morning I went to the lake, and besides being in the sun for a couple of hours, I also went for a nice swim. I did skip my morning yoga routine cause I just didn't feel like it, but I'll catch up tonight.

[ua86]

Good Luck Lena.

[UIS4821]

Hey Lena, Seems like your doing great. Is there a reason why your spliting up the sleep times. What I mean is there a reason your taking naps in the middle of day? Is that by design or is because your exhausted?

[Lena Carpenter]

Originally Posted by UIS4821

Hey Lena, Seems like your doing great. Is there a reason why your spliting up the sleep times. What I mean is there a reason your taking naps in the middle of day? Is that by design or is because your exhausted?

It's what I intended to do from the beginning. I do feel somewhat tired close to my nap time, but it could be the habit of taking that nap. I have skipped naps before and did fine. If it's a high activity day, I can get away with one ten minute nap and a bit earlier bed time. I studied some material on sleep a while ago, that suggested that it was more natural for us to sleep shorter period of time. I realize that it goes against the conventional wisdom of the day, but I find it to be true, that I'm more energized and more tuned in to my intuition, sleeping this way. I'm excited how this will work out long term!

[Lena Carpenter]

I slept something like 11:15pm to 7:30am, but I woke up several times, because my child had a fever, and needed to be comforted all night. I thought I was going to get up at 6, but he got upset when I tried and so I just decided to stay, and fell asleep again.

Ah well, I'll just get up at 5am tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to my quiet morning, yoga, meditation, and journal time. I really felt like I missed out this morning.

[Lena Carpenter]

I got up at 5:15am today after 3 days of sleeping in until 7. My son's and mine schedule got a little messed up by him being sick, but now we are back to normal again. Coping with sleepiness was a little harder this morning than when I do it for a solid week, but doable, and I felt so happy to be up early again. I finally figured out why I like getting up early. It makes me feel optimistic!! Also, my yoga and meditation routine relies on being up early, otherwise, it's more difficult, if not impossible, to get them done.

So far this challenge went mostly well, with some unexpected bumps along the way. I really hope to get going for at least a couple more weeks and then decide if I want to keep getting up at 5 or I want to get up even earlier or maybe go back to getting up at 6, since it seemed to flow more smoothly and naturally.

[Lena Carpenter]

I feel like I almost need a new start, since I slept in a couple of times until 8, and then a couple of times until 6. I have been going to bed late, after 12am too, so the amount of sleep stayed fairly consistent, since I also skip a nap, when I wake up super late. So tomorrow, I'll wake up at 5 no matter what, even if I'm a little tired during the day.

I really love my morning routine, BUT since it's fairly slow and I sit on my couch to meditate, it can make me feel a bit sleepy. I always wondered what would happen if I started the day with something a little more active. I might start going for a short walk to get me going a little before doing yoga and meditation, when I come back. I could say run, but since I don't enjoy running, I doubt I'd be motivated to get out of bed.

Anyway, even with slip-ups lately, I'm still pretty excited, and I can't wait to get into the flow of the peaceful morning time. I feel so balanced for the rest of the day, when I start with my routine!

[Kylie]

Hi Lena!

I find that cool water on my face first thing is a lovely refreshing way to wake up. Then I head outside for a walk. It's not strenuous at all, but it's good to get moving (as it's the only exercise I'm getting at the moment).

looking forward to 'teaming up' with you hmm..it's 11.45pm - maybe I should hit the sack

[Lena Carpenter]

I'm up at 6 again. I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, IT IS early, considering I went to bed after 12am last night. On the other hand, I'd like to get back to my trial time at 5am I almost feel like starting this over again, since to get back into the habit I'll need a good solid three weeks! I felt so awake when the alarm went off at 5am, that I was a little overconfident about my ability to stay awake despite remaining in bed for a few minutes.

Other than that, I feel energetic and completely awake this morning. No grogginess. I wonder if it has to do with my diet improvements. It very well may be. Just feels like I'm running on cleaner fuel!

[tsjechov]

hi lena,

hope your son is better now?

For me meditation in the morning never worked as i am more an eveningperson. zzz if i start the day as active as possible, i am active the whole day. which is a great feeling and makes me do tons more.
although running in the morning is out of the q at the moment... maybe one day what i do is walk with the dog in the morning, write in my journal and also making some order in the house. do the active to-do things.

when i meditated? i liked to meditate after my long midday walk at the beach, and made myself a nice can of herbtea and mostly raw healthy lunch. that way it did not make me sleepy.
maybe that works for you too?

well, i just wanted to give you an idea what works for me...
good luck! rise and shine

[Lena Carpenter]

tsjechov, my son is doing quite well, thank you! He is normally a very healthy child.

I took your advice and went grocery shopping this morning instead of doing my meditation routine. I'm putting off meditation until my son takes his nap in the afternoon. Anyway, I really enjoyed being out and about in the morning. It cleared my thoughts just as well and gave me extra motivation to stay awake. I don't want to make too much noise, while I'm up because my son and husband are sleeping, but there is a lot of things I can do quietly. I'll let you know how the new routine goes!

[Lena Carpenter]

Yay, I'm up at 5 once again! I felt moderately sleepy through the morning. I still haven't decided if I should continue from where I left off or start with Day 1. Maybe after my afternoon nap, it'll be more clear!

[Lena Carpenter]

Night sleep: 12am-5am
Nap: 4-6:30pm

This has got to be the longest nap yet! I felt like I overslept. I guess it has to do with the fact that I was really tired at two, and for two hours, I had to keep myself up. I expected my son to take a nap any minute, so I didn't exactly try to wake myself up either. Very unproductive, really, but I know that effectively starting over, first couple of days might be a little wasted.

I didn't want to start all over because I have made progress, and it's not nearly as difficult as it was in the very beginning. Starting with another Day 14, I'm effectively extending this trial for another two weeks. This, in my mind, should be a sufficient amount of time to decide if I want to keep waking up at 5am or if I want to switch to later time.

Other habits: While I don't want to start another official trial, I'd like to clean up for a couple of hours every day day, starting this evening. I will also be doing more active things in the mornings for the next two weeks, such as walking, running, going grocery shopping, or even getting a head start on cleaning and cooking. Yoga and meditation are moved to the afternoon, so I can't sleep for more than 30 minutes to 1 hour, if I want to have some time to do it. We'll see how it goes!

[Lena Carpenter]

Not to sound like I'm making an excuse, but probably more like an observation. I went to bed after 1am, and missed all three of my alarms completely, waking up at 7am. Ha ha. My nap lasted about an hour from 4 to 5pm. If I was doing a trial on sleeping less, it would not be a bad day, 2 hours less than my average from a couple of months ago, that and I didn't feel much tiredness today!

So I'm anticipating another late night because my husband gets home from work at 11:30pm and my son got on a bad schedule of a late long nap. I tried waking him up today, but he just went back to sleep on the floor This can be worked out if I take special effort not to let him sleep over certain amount, but it takes a few days to make adjustments again. I also found it helpful to have lights off early with just a couple of candles going. I'll be trying that as well.

Meanwhile, however, if I want to keep getting up at 5am, I need to drop my belief that I need 6 hours of sleep. I know some of you might find this unwise, however, it is my firm knowledge, that believes can be change and I can still get just as rested on 4 hours of sleep with a two hour nap later in the day. I'll try to go to bed earlier, but if I can't, my sleep will be something like 1am-5am. Wish me luck. Let's see how this goes!! Yay, I'm excited to try something new.

[tsjechov]

Glad to hear about your son.

Good for you your new routine
I'm curious how it goes!
For me, it really helped me get my house clean (but cosy) and do more in a day. As if everyday is a new minicycle in which life starts again... if i start active i am an active person. If i start more chilled, that morningbehaviour marks my day.

Good luck!

[Lena Carpenter]

Night sleep: 12am-4am
Nap: 4-5pm

It just so happened that I woke up at 4am because my son had, what I suspect was, mild food poisoning. He woke up throwing up, and he didn't settle down to go back to sleep until 5am, and I decided that I might as well stay up. Then I had stuff to do. I cleaned up in the morning, read my book, took a shower, and went for a short walk. I think being in the sun really helped! I spent the rest of the day doing stuff and didn't slow down enough to get sleepy until I got home.

Overall, it went pretty well. I felt some sleepiness, but no more than if I woke up at 5am and slept for 6 hours.