Getting up at 5am, doing a workout, then heading to work is not a one-size-fits-all recipe for using time effectively, sleep experts say, noting that not everyone is a morning type.
Countless Instagram and TikTok posts and coaching books have been telling us that early rising leads to a more efficient and successful life.
So, should you also join the so-called “5AM club”?
Sleep experts believe this approach overlooks important factors.
“This whole movement actually rests on the assumption that getting up earlier creates discipline and that discipline automatically leads to success,” says sleep psychologist Günther Amann-Jennson from Frastanz in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg.
He says that the mistake is to put discipline above biology.
He adds that sleep clearly follows biological laws, and everyone has a genetic internal clock that cannot be changed.
Lark or owl?
“In general, research distinguishes between day people and night people,” explains neurologist Dr Birgit Högl of the Medical University of Innsbruck in Austria.
“Larks like getting up in the morning, they have an appetite straight after waking and they are mentally and physically capable in the morning.
“Owls prefer to sleep a bit longer and reach their mental peak in the afternoon.”
Dr Högl says that early rising is not always compatible with everyday life and the recommended sleep duration of seven to nine hours.
If you want to get up at 5am, you would need to go to bed around 9pm, she says.
“For early chronotypes who like going to bed early, that may be an option if the total sleep duration can be maintained, but not for evening types,” she says.
Amann-Jennson estimates that about 20% to 25% of people are pronounced larks (i.e. early birds) and around 20% to 30% are pronounced owls.
The largest share of the population, about half, lies in between and is classed as an intermediate chronotype, i.e. a “dove”.
For many people, the early-riser success formula is therefore unsuitable.
“One should think carefully about what to prioritise.”
Instead of fighting sleep needs, there are other paths to success.
“Those who understand sleep as the basis of health, performance and contentment will naturally find a much better long-term path than via simple success formulas,” says Amann-Jennson.
He says this path does not start with getting up earlier, but with being willing to take one’s own biological and psychological limits seriously.
“I would say that with a limited lifespan and a limited 24-hour day, you should think carefully about what you prioritise,” advises Dr Högl.
To stay healthy in the long term, sufficient sleep belongs alongside a healthy diet, exercise and a social environment.
How to achieve restful sleep
An expensive triple-padded mattress is not decisive for good sleep, according to Amann-Jennson.
Dr Högl cited four prerequisites to consider for a restorative night’s rest:
The bedroom should be as dark as possible.
Blinds, blackout curtains and a sleep mask can all help.
If you want to shorten the time it takes to fall asleep or shift it earlier, you can dim the lights one to two hours before bed.
For a well-rested sleep, your environment should be as quiet as possible.
Even small noise sources that do not wake you can subtly disturb sleep.
The bedroom should not be too warm.
You fall asleep best when your core body temperature drops, which happens when you can give off heat to the environment, usually via hands and feet.
The last meal of the day should be aligned with sleep.
It should not be too late in the evening or too close to bedtime, but it is also not recommended to go to bed with a completely empty stomach.
Sleep deprivation is harmful
According to Dr Högl, insufficient sleep risks impairing working memory, fluency, emotion regulation and decision- making.
Pain sensitivity is also higher.
She says long-term studies show that people who chronically sleep too little have a higher risk of metabolic disorders, diabetes and high blood pressure.
“From a biological perspective, 95% of people have inadequate sleep, from young to old,” says Amann-Jennson.
Sleep deprivation is not only an individual problem, but also a societal one.
For example, schools start too early, and working hours are not compatible with the internal clock for many people.
Sleep deprivation also affects social interactions.
“Tiredness leads people to be less empathetic and much more aggressive.”
We know this, Amann-Jennson says, yet no one seems able to change it. – By Alicia Darleen Windzio/dpa
