# How waking up every day at 4.30am can change your life



## Frank1 (Aug 28, 2015)

I watched yesterday this TED video on youtube, titled: How waking up every day at 4.30am can change your life | Filipe Castro Matos.

This morning I followed the inspiration of the video by standing up at 5 am. I consider upgrading to 4.30 am as suggested in the video but want to give my sleeping rhythm some time to catch up. I took care of a lot of things this morning before 7 am. It feels elevating and energising. The day feels very long and good so far. The coffee at 5.16 am thsi morning tasted very good







I am looking forward to tomorrow morning. Who is in and stands up at 4.30/5 am as well, at least for 21 days?


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## YerbaMate170 (Jun 15, 2015)

I will watch this tonight, but I'm impatient - what time does he/she recommend you sleep, in order to wake up so early? (in other words how many hours of sleep do you get?)


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

I get up at 6 to the gym/run/yoga before work and love the feeling of getting out and doing stuff while everyone else is in bed - being ahead of the curve a bit - but half 4 is ridiculous.


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## DoubleShot (Apr 23, 2014)

4:30am...pffft! I was awake at 3:30am this morning. After seeing there wasn't much activity on the forum...went back to sleep!


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## fluffles (Sep 4, 2012)

I'm sure everyone else with young kids is wondering why on earth anyone would get up at 4.30 *voluntarily* !


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## YerbaMate170 (Jun 15, 2015)

Ok I'm about 3/4 way through... I thought this would be a health-based video on how it helps to wake up at 4:30 but instead he suggests trying to shift your sleep pattern so you still sleep regular hours, just go to bed earlier.


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## destiny (Jun 4, 2015)

Not quite sure how this would work out with all the stuff I usually need to sort out with just one baby.. I'd need to be eating my dinner ~7pm and going to bed at 9... I'll have a watch it first and decide really to think of this..


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## h1udd (Sep 1, 2015)

I set my alarm for 4:30 ... Drink a 400mg caffine preworkout ... Fall asleep, wake up at 5am like a gazelle on steroids and hit the gym

it sounds painful, but having kids, I love "my" time from 4:30 to 6:30 ... It's all about me, then the kid and wife get up ... That is when the pain starts


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## YerbaMate170 (Jun 15, 2015)

h1udd said:


> I set my alarm for 4:30 ... Drink a 400mg caffine preworkout ... Fall asleep, wake up at 5am like a gazelle on steroids and hit the gym
> 
> it sounds painful, but having kids, I love "my" time from 4:30 to 6:30 ... It's all about me, then the kid and wife get up ... That is when the pain starts


400mg?! How much caffeine do you get through coffee the rest of the day?


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## h1udd (Sep 1, 2015)

The 400mg is only Mon / Wed / Fri .... the other days I suffer.

But to answer the question, about 50g of coffee in the form of filter + a 14g morning latte, and a couple of espresso in the evening, on average ... the drinks change a bit but on average 90g a day of coffee ? ... so not much


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## h1udd (Sep 1, 2015)

And maybe a coke or two


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

Cutting about the streets when there's no one else about is magic. Downside is at weekends you can be bored by 10am though, it's a long day when you're up at that time.


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

Nah, bed - > work -> chores ->fun.

Im a night owl and always will be


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## Dylan (Dec 5, 2011)

This is a pretty regular wake up time for me, then I go to work.


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

I often wake up around that time, goto the bathroom then straight back to bed........never done me any harm. I used to rise every day at 5am to go to the fruit market.....please do not try and tell me the average person gets anything out of this daft routine. it probably suits the odd person, but so does hanging from the ceiling by your testicles


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## Blackstone (Aug 5, 2012)

fluffles said:


> I'm sure everyone else with young kids is wondering why on earth anyone would get up at 4.30 *voluntarily* !


with a new born (5 days old) i definitely concur


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## PreCoffeeCantankerousness (Dec 14, 2014)

I think it depends on the person. Some people work best in the morning, others mid-day, others in the evening.

I've always worked on the basis of finding out when I work best and scheduling the most important tasks around that time.

Trying to shoehorn everyone into a specific routine which goes against your own body clock is a recipe for failure. I changed jobs and for 2 years I was up at 4:30 and on the motorway for 5am. The trouble was I wasn't getting home till 8pm and not winding down and able to sleep until after midnight.

You can do it for a while but it catches up to you - usually carrying a baseball bat with nails in!


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## 7493 (May 29, 2014)

Pre kids (26+ years ago) I was a complete night owl. My job at the time contributed to this. Nowadays I wake at 04:00 with monotonous regularity and then sleep fitfully until six, when the radio comes on. Promptly fall asleep again until my other half arrives with a cup of tea, then either wake up or snooze depending on how tired I am. Basically, kids altered my sleep patterns and I haven't changed them back. This is fine when OH is working but a pain when she isn't because she can sleep for Britain when she doesn't have to get up for school. So I spend some considerable time every week in a zombie like state between 06:30 and 10:00!


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## Frank1 (Aug 28, 2015)

It's one week later since I have started to stand up 2 hours earlier than before which is in my case 5am. Yes, I have not upgraded to 4.30 am. But I enjoy the benefits of standing up at 5am so much that I consider to do that regularly from now on. Even on the weekend I stood up at 5 am and I like it at lot that the day felt so long because of that.


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## h1udd (Sep 1, 2015)

today was easy day at the gym ... 5am an I was dead lifting reps of 100kg ..... swearing at apple for not producing a "small" IOS device for offline streaming spotify.

is it too difficult for any company to produce a small device capable of using the offline streaming service of someone like spotify or deezer ? ..... clearly not, so if you want that, you need to try and lug around a sodding billion inch smartphone ... grrrrr ... ah well next week I'll go back to the shuffle and just listen to my own purchase music. pffft.

The real upside of getting up at 5am, is by the time everyone else is up, your coffee machine is up to temperature naturally without having to draw a litre of water through the group head to speed it up


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## bronc (Dec 10, 2012)

Huh, I was watching this and sometime well into the clip I noticed that it is TEDx*AUBG*. AUBG stands for American University in Bulgaria which is where I did my bachelor's. I was quite surprised to find this posted at my favorite forum


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## Rhys (Dec 21, 2014)

I'm awake at 5.30, or earlier every morning. usually on the road at 6.45 before the traffic builds up at 7am. In the summertime I wake up with the sun (never used to close my curtains due to always having fields out back. Now have to close them due to houses opposite. Winter is worst when it's pitch black when I get up, and the same when I get home. Never see my chickens as they're all in bed. I'm not a morning person at the best of times..


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## DoubleShot (Apr 23, 2014)

Sounds like you're being forced into being a morning person!


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

Woke up feeling horrendous. Not enjoying my first, inadvertent foray into this


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## DoubleShot (Apr 23, 2014)

Couldn't sleep so been up since 3am. Made a coffee then watching a tv show, as one does!


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

Watched an episode of Narcos and fell asleep on the couch. That's what you're supposed to be after waking up at 430, right?


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## DoubleShot (Apr 23, 2014)

Narcos was good man, I'd have watched at least a few eps before hitting the couch again, lol! Think I finished the season inside two days?


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## coockiechase (Sep 26, 2015)

sounds worse than my army days. lol


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

i wonder if sleep depravation contributes to stuttering , stammering and speech hesitancy ? I found it a difficult watch


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## YerbaMate170 (Jun 15, 2015)

garydyke1 said:


> i wonder if sleep depravation contributes to stuttering , stammering and speech hesitancy ? I found it a difficult watch


I think one of the problems with these series of talks is that often someone may have a good idea but not be particularly gifted at giving speeches.


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

I'd like to do a talk on waking at 10.30 everyday and how it changes your life. Lie in everyday , yeah baby! No rush hour traffic either


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## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

Feeling smug


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

The Systemic Kid said:


> Feeling smug


Thats not my life by the way , but Ive done it once in a previous job


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

Sounds like a dream not to have to tackle rush hour.


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## mremanxx (Dec 30, 2014)

I get up at this time.........take it from it's shite

Fall asleep by about 7 o'clock at night

Might just be me getting old though.


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## risky (May 11, 2015)

I wake up at 5 and start work at 7. Finish work at 3:30. This is Monday to Thursday. Don't work Fridays. If I could start work earlier and finish earlier I would, I like how much free time it gives you in the afternoon/evening. Not that I do anything useful with the time right enough!


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

risky said:


> I wake up at 5 and start work at 7. Finish work at 3:30. This is Monday to Thursday. Don't work Fridays. If I could start work earlier and finish earlier I would, I like how much free time it gives you in the afternoon/evening. Not that I do anything useful with the time right enough!


When the Olympics were on in London my work said we could do whatever hours we wanted to avoid the crowds on the tube. I did 5am-12pm most days. Getting up at 4.30 sucked but being home at 12.30 with your feet up on the couch having a snooze was worth it.


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

I have alarm clock fear. If I know my alarm is set for an earlier time than usual I feel anxious all evening & cant sleep for ages and feel crap the next day , even if I got 6-7 hours sleep

Whereas if I know my alarm is later in the morning , ill go to bed way later, get less sleep (even 5 hours) but really enjoy my evening and feel great the next morning.

Horses for courses.

#nightowl


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/shortcuts/2015/sep/09/why-you-should-start-work-at-10am-unless-youre-in-your-50s


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## dsc (Jun 7, 2013)

The issue I have with getting up early and getting home early from work is falling a sleep when I haven't got much to do. This means I need to occupy myself to stay busy constantly or I doze off. Naps in between don't really work as I can never do very shorts ones, it's either not napping or doing 2hr long ones which really cocks up my day routine. I'd seriously much rather get up at 10:00 and stay up for longer than get up early, I just cannot function normally at 5am.

T.


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## PeterF (Aug 25, 2014)

After 41 years of getting up at 7am, enduring the rush hour traffic and long hours at work, I recently retired. Now I wake up gradually, naturally at 8:30am. My wife & I have a leisurely brew in bed & talk about the day ahead. Then we pootle downstairs for breakfast and another shot. I can tell you "it's absolute bliss"!


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## AL1968 (May 3, 2015)

I agree, retired 7 years ago age 53! Don't miss hitting the road at 6.15am and walking back through my front door at 7.15PM in the evening after a daily 150 mile commute. The one thing I love is the daily walk for the paper a leisurely breakfast with a couple of cups of coffee whilst deciding how my day will unfold. No meetings no appointments no life controlled by an electronic diary, absolute bliss!!


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## atebillion (Feb 20, 2015)

I can't see how getting up at 4:40 can be productive in the long run. Not watched the video mind as i'm at work but can't imagine it's that good for you...


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## Mouse (Feb 28, 2014)

I haven't watched the video, but our 1 yr old has recently taken to getting up at 4am each morning...

It might be the fact that it's 4am as opposed to 4:30am.. (Maybe that extra 30 mins makes all the difference??!) But nothing about this recent experience is elevating and energising..

#needmoresleep


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Frank1 said:


> I watched yesterday this TED video on youtube, titled: How waking up every day at 4.30am can change your life | Filipe Castro Matos.
> 
> This morning I followed the inspiration of the video by standing up at 5 am. I consider upgrading to 4.30 am as suggested in the video but want to give my sleeping rhythm some time to catch up. I took care of a lot of things this morning before 7 am. It feels elevating and energising. The day feels very long and good so far. The coffee at 5.16 am thsi morning tasted very good
> 
> ...


I reckon only sneaky bastards get up so early...they do this so they can get one over on those of us who sleep in to a respectable time. People like you love to get up early and feel your getting loads of stuff done before us, getting to the front of every queue, beating all the traffic in to work. You're smugness in finding out all the information before we have even woken up is then compounded by how incredibly smug you feel pointing this all out to the rest of us, when we have barely had enough time to produce some flatulence whilst we have our first Pee of the day. In addition you smug bastards usually have the chance to do a 5 mile run shower and have a full english, again before we have even thrown the alarm clock across the room.

And then....and then....you have the bloody cheek to moan about everyone making too much noise "having fun" in the evening, simply because you need to go to bed at 9pm.

Of course the one thing I love and all of you hate is when the clocks go back, because then I get an extra hour in bed...but for you, it's purgatory as your now getting up at 3:30pm, with the feeling it was hardly worth going to bed.


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Oh I should add an exemption for Posties and Milkmen, morning radio presenters etc.., those poor bastards have no choice!


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## h1udd (Sep 1, 2015)

It's freaking cold in the gym this time in the morning ..... Right now this barbell feels like freaking ice ... Do I buy a garrage heater ? .... Or more cups


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## Andy__C (Nov 4, 2015)

I used to get up at 4.30 for both hitting the gym (garage gym like you h1udd.... great investment) and also to go fishing.... Earlier sometimes to beat the sunrise.

Then we had a baby. He's now 18months old and hates sleep. I take every minute in bed I can get.


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## Dallah (Jan 31, 2015)

PeterF said:


> After 41 years of getting up at 7am, enduring the rush hour traffic and long hours at work, I recently retired. Now I wake up gradually, naturally at 8:30am. My wife & I have a leisurely brew in bed & talk about the day ahead. Then we pootle downstairs for breakfast and another shot. I can tell you "it's absolute bliss"!


I hate you


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## MeetPierre (Feb 3, 2016)

Yikes, the morning is always bad for me. I think it would be even worse if it showed up at 4:30am, thats still dark out side!! Although, I do think I would get alot done, but my quality of life might be a little low.


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