Healthy Living - Rising Early

It is well documented that enough sleep is beneficial to our health. When our body has received its needed supply of sleep we feel energetic and can face our duties and tasks with vigor. The thing is that most people don't get enough sleep and they admire those who can get up at 4, 5, or 6am wishing they could do the same. Wishing that you can be an early riser is not going to help much and it is not going to happen overnight either.

I was using Stumbleupon last week for interesting links to read like I usually do when I came across a post called How to Become an Early Riser by Steve Pavlina. Now some of you who have been around for a while or have clicked on My Morning Routine under the Home Life section on the left sidebar of my blog may know that I am already an early riser but the title caught my interest so I stayed a few minutes and read through the entire thing. It was so helpful in the way he explained it that I learned a few things about how to make it more consistent and not as tiring as it sometimes is.

Here's an excerpt from Part 2 of the article:

Why get up early?

I’d say the main reason is that you’ll have a lot more time to do things that are more interesting than sleeping.

Again, I’ve gained about 10-15 hours per week doing this. That extra time is very noticeable. By 6:30am, I’ve already exercised, showered, had breakfast, and I’m at my desk ready to go to work. I can put in a lot of hours each day of productive work, and I’m usually done with work by 5:00 pm (and that includes personal “work” like email, paying bills, picking up my daughter from preschool, etc). This gives me 5-6 hours of discretionary time every evening for family, leisure activities, Toastmasters, reading, journaling, etc. And best of all, I still have energy during this time. Having time for everything that’s important to me makes me feel very balanced, relaxed, and optimistic.

I recommend that anyone who would like a little more time in their day without having to feel like something the cat dragged in should read the article. We all have so much that we would like to accomplish and it seems like there just isn't enough time. I'm sharing the links to both his articles in the hopes that it will help you to gain some more time and a healthier body. A rested body lends to the overall health of our bodies.

Here are the links to the article:
How To Become an Early Riser Part 1
How To Become an Early Riser Part 2

Happy reading! And here's a bonus for those who grasp things better by listening. It is a sermon entitled Get Up With The Sun by Pastor (Dr) Nathaniel Bronner. Pastor Bronner gives a biblical view on the issue of early rising. He goes into scientific facts and makes a good case for early rising. Listen to the audio and allow your life to be changed for the better.

Here are the links to the audio of Get Up With The Sun:
Get Up With The Sun - Windows Media Audio
Get Up With The Sun - MP3


Pray about what you read and what you hear and allow the Lord to give you a strategy to help you become an early riser and gain better health.

I would love to hear what your reactions are to the audio and the articles. Agree or disagree? Have a better method? Come back over here and let me know.