How to Wake up at 4 Am and Actually Enjoy It

When I was doing my first courses in my Bachelor’s my classmate told me that he woke up at 4 am to study and it feels amazing. So I thought, why not try? I can be a master procrastinator and whenever I sleep in, my productivity takes a nosedive. Also, the day feels awfully short when one rolls out of bed by 11 pm. I decided – tomorrow I’ll wake up at 4 am.

How did I manage to wake up at 4 am?

You may think I was too ambitious and burned my wings like Icarus. But I didn’t. Every exam period I would wake up at 4 am. Sometimes I would have lectures to attend or meet my friend in the afternoon to study together. With all that, I didn’t feel tired or had difficulties waking up that early every day. Here are a few tips you can use if you want to become an early bird.

Early to bed, early to rise

I would always try to get 8 hours of sleep. Like you should. Ideally, I’d start rewinding at 7 pm. I would get back from university, take a bowl of granola (yes, my staple wasn’t ramen noodles, granola and cereal was my life), and watch YouTube or read until 8pm. If you think you could never fall asleep by 8 pm, try waking up at 4. It works like magic.

No snoozing

While snoozing an alarm may not right away take you back to your dream palace when it’s 9 am and the sun is shining, it will be harder to not fall back to sleep at 4 am. Especially, if you’re in Sweden and you get 3 hours of sunshine during winter. Use that momentum when alarm disrupts your beautiful dream and scares the crap out of you and get up.

Earplugs are your friends

You may want to block your neighbour’s TV or any other outside noises that come. In my case, my floormates would always have parties in the middle of the week. Even during an exam period. So I would just my put earplugs in, and goodbye world.

Have your clothes ready

It’s always cozy to stay in bed. If you don’t have your clothes just next to you, you might not be able to make it out of bed. The motivation is not going to be your friend that early in the morning.

Have a tasty breakfast

I always say sleep is the time machine to breakfast. Prepare to have the best meal of the day in the morning. Like oatmeal with chocolate. Or chia pudding. Or bagels.

Why is waking up at 4 am amazing?

And why would put yourself through getting up so early? Hear me out – it’s fun.

There’s not much to do other than being productive

All your friends and family are still asleep and not much is happening on social media, like Instagram or Facebook. Hence, it’s the best time for work. Nobody will text you or knock on your door for another 4 hours and you can totally and fully concentrate on your hustle.

Same benefits as staying up late, but you’re not tired

I used to be a night person, but now I notice even though I feel like working is easier when the world is asleep, I feel tired. If you strongly believe you’re a night owl, try waking up while everyone is still sleeping. You will feel fresh and rested, but can still enjoy the benefits of the night – quiet and maybe even some darkness.

It’s the time for you

It was ideal for me to get up that early because I lived in a dorm. There were at least 9 people on my floor which means if you wake up at ordinary hours, you’ll meet 5 other people in the kitchen and stand in a line to use the bathroom. As I introvert, I like having my coffee first before I start conversing with others. If you’re a little bit the same, you’ll love being awake that early.

The day feels so much longer

By the time people would wake up, I’d already be done with two chapters of a book. It feels really good to accomplish something before 10 am and feel like you have the whole day left. Even though you still have the same amount of hours in a day, it feels like you have more time. No matter how rested I am, my productivity and energy take a hit after 7 pm. So why not just wake up earlier and make your waking hours more productive?

Bottom Line

Getting up that early is amazing, but it may not be for everyone. I was able to do that because at that time I practiced waking up this early, I either lived alone or rented a big apartment where I could get up early without disturbing my roommates. If you live with someone and share a small space, that may require a bit more compromising. But if you have an opportunity to do it, I totally encourage it. Wake up at 4 am and get shit done.