Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, and David Cush, former CEO of Virgin America, both get up around 4 am each morning. So do Jennifer Aniston, Kris Jenner, and Michelle Obama.
What’s up with that? It seems to reason that these people are not getting eight hours of sleep (or even the seven hours recommended by American Academy of Sleep Medicine).
Does rising at some crazy early time have something to do with success? Actually, not at all.
In fact, not getting enough sleep is likely to harm your cognitive performance and shorten your life. So be careful who you compare yourself to when it comes to sleep.
Early to bed, early to rise?
If you’re the type that can be out like a light at nine pm, well I’m absolutely jealous. But even that doesn’t necessarily mean you should be waking up at four.
No matter how much sleep you get, if you’re not wired for rising at the hour of the wolf, and most of us aren’t, according to many sleep specialists, messing with that normal rhythm is still detrimental.
While some people need much less sleep than most, they are extremely rare. What’s important is that you get as much sleep as you truly need to be your best, and then make the most of your day.
How to make mornings work for you
If it’s up to you, get up when you’re sufficiently rested. What time you rise does not determine your level of success — what you get done does.
That’s because the only thing that truly matters is what you accomplish while you work. What time you start, and what time you finish is unimportant. What matters is what you achieve.
If it’s not up to you, well … it’s time to adapt. Check out these ideas from Jeff Haden over at Inc. to get your morning started right:
How to Turn Yourself Into a Morning Person, Backed by Science (Inc.)
