What does it feel like to get up every day at the exact same (subjectively early) time, to enjoy the bright morning light every day, and only then to think about something else? I wanted to know, and I have been doing it for the last 40 days.

Theoretically, consistent early wake times make sense to allow for even morning light exposure, thus stabilizing the circadian rhythm and mood.

Why?

• Earlier bright light times most effectively promote the circadian rhythm. [Khalsa et al. 2003]

• There is evidence that bright light therapy in the morning combats winter blues / S.A.D. most effectively [Terman et al 2005]

• Night owls who got up earlier consistently reported feeling better, sleeping better, and being more productive. [Facer-Childs et al. 2019].

Disclaimer: My team and I run this website and even have the "Love Mornings" framework, which revolves around healthy, self-determined mornings. Therefore, my starting point was quite solid (wake time between 7:00 and 8:00 AM). However, there were also days when I slept in. Additionally, my morning routine involved daylight, so I didn't really have a morning routine with bright light due to late sunrises in winter before December 2023. So there was still room for improvement!

My Protocol

• wake up every day at 7:10 AM (This is my personal sweet spot between a healthy social life, including occasional late bedtimes, and my desired working hours. As a freelancer, I have the privilege to choose my wake times freely).

• get bright light for 20 min+ (with a mix of daylight lamps, a Luminette light visor, and wall-mounted LED panels. The sun was not yet up)

• try to keep it "Love Mornings" as much as possible (read our book for more info :))

• If I slept too little at night, I could go back to sleep after the morning light session. Otherwise, a 25-minute nap after lunch is also allowed.

My Experience

I woke up at 7:10 AM on Christmas Day, I woke up at 7:10 AM on New Year's Day. On weekends, I got up at 7:10 AM... how did it feel overall?

• Adjustment to the schedule + application of the "Love Mornings" framework, waking up at 7:10 AM soon became easy.

• I have experienced the best winter mood in years. When asked, I often replied "surprisingly good", as I sometimes couldn't help but be surprised. I am fortunate that I don’t tend toward clinical forms of (winter) depression, but January is the worst time of year when it comes to mood - it can bring you down. This year, that was not the case.

• I started to get very tired before my desired bedtime. However, it was sometimes really difficult due to appointments and evening events to go to bed early enough.

• Besides that, my energy level remained surprisingly forgiving of the lack of sleep. Not that I would advocate for that, but on some days, I expected to want to sleep again, but then I didn’t feel like it all day (at least not before noon).

• Going to bed early became a reward. Since my wake time was fixed, self-care meant that I surrendered to my readiness to sleep at night. I probably missed a lot of Netflix series that I could have watched, but I really don't miss them. Everything I really wanted to do, I could do instead on my free weekend mornings.

What’s Next?

Now that I am 40 days in and don’t feel the need to prove anything to anyone, how should I want to adjust my protocol? Actually, I don’t want to adjust it. I feel like it really serves me and my current life situation.

My colleague reports the same. However, this is all anecdotal. This is by no means a thorough, blinded study, and I have quite a strong bias when it comes to healthy morning routines.

Other times or routines may work for you. However, I would like to invite you to familiarize yourself with the science (e.g., read our book), experiment with different things, and dare to question culturally normative behaviors to find something that is healthy and fulfilling for you.