Her Campus Logo Her Campus Logo
Computer Window?width=1280&height=854&fit=crop&auto=webp&dpr=4
Computer Window?width=398&height=256&fit=crop&auto=webp&dpr=4
Julia Caesar via Unsplash / Canva
Clemson | Wellness

The Benefits Of Waking Up At 5 AM

Isabella Taylor Student Contributor, Clemson University
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Clemson chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

Isabella Taylor

Now, I’ve always been more of a morning person than a night person, and I’ve never really taken consistent naps before. But 5 AM?? That might be a bit of a stretch. However, I think a lot of good work could come from waking up at a consistent time every morning, potentially as early as 5 AM! 

When I was in high school, I used to go to Hot Yoga with my mom every morning at 6 AM, so we’d really have to wake up at about 5:30 AM. It was brutal for the first couple of days, and even that second week had me feeling exhausted. But once my circadian rhythm clocked in, I truly felt like I was a new person.

According to the Cleveland Clinic:

“Your circadian rhythm is your body’s natural 24-hour clock. It keeps your body operating on a healthy wake-sleep cycle. Your circadian rhythm affects many other systems throughout your body. Most people’s circadian rhythms are automatic, but certain factors like light can have an effect on them.”

That internal clock in your body is heavily affected by the time you decide to wake up, how much sleep you get, and when you decide to go to bed each night. Your consistency is key, and even if you only get five hours of sleep (I do not recommend it!), it might feel better for your body than getting seven hours of sleep at irregular times throughout the day. 

Now, what does waking up at the crack of dawn have to do with this? When I was waking up for Hot Yoga, I really did feel a difference in my body. I felt like I was a new person every time I finished a 45-minute workout. Also, since it was so early in the morning, I had time to shower before school still, and I was nowhere near missing class. 

In college, my schedule is a bit farther back than high school, and there isn’t a 6 AM Hot Yoga class available… so why not try waking up at 5 AM again just to see what I can get accomplished? According to BetterUp, there are multiple benefits to waking up at 5 AM, and that specific time is outlined greatly in Robin Sharma’s philosophy. 

The main points that stuck out to me were the fact that waking up early might bring you to sleep much sooner, since you’ll be tired from waking up so early the day before, and the fact that you can set the tone of your day very positively by calmly waking up, rather than stressfully waking up quickly right before class.

All things considered, I think it might be worthwhile to start waking up earlier in general, and 5 AM seems like a great time for a lot of the reasons I’ve stated above.

Isabella Taylor

Clemson '29

Isabella Taylor is an undergraduate working towards her B.S. in Economics with a Political and Legal Theory Minor at Clemson University. She is a Lyceum Scholar and a member of the CUBS Living Learning Community at Clemson. Isabella's mother owns a lavender farm in Lenoir, NC that Isabella works on seasonally, so the idea of hard work is nothing new to her.

Isabella's late father was a decorated Captain in the US Air Force, and his unfortunate passing in 2012 has given her a strong desire to uplift those around facing similar hardships. She is also the middle of five daughters, all of which have always created a strong female network for her throughout her life. Without her younger sister, Olivia, Isabella wouldn't have made it as far as she has.

Isabella loves reading, especially books by Jane Austen and Sarah J. Maas. She is also an avid writer and lover of creative non-fiction, having developed this affection through reading her mother's many published personal memoirs. If not writing or reading, Isabella can be found studying at the library with friends, preferably with a PSL (Pumpkin Spice Latte) on her desk.