As the new year fuels ambitions for better health and higher productivity, a popular social media trend advocates for a drastic change: waking up at 5 AM every day. While top CEOs and athletes often praise the practice, leading sleep specialists are issuing a strong warning. Forcing an unnatural early rise, they argue, can be counterproductive and even detrimental to your well-being.
The Dangers of Defying Your Natural Clock
Sleep doctor Michael Breus from Hermosa Beach, California, calls the 5 AM wake-up trend "the second stupidest thing" he's heard recently. He clarifies that the first is taping your mouth shut at night. Breus emphasizes that night owls who attempt to become 5 AM risers are setting themselves up for failure, likely lasting only a week before feeling defeated and depressed.
This warning is crucial in a largely sleep-deprived society. A recent Gallup poll reveals that 57% of Americans feel they would benefit from more sleep, but stress prevents it. Alarmingly, about 20% of people get five or fewer hours of sleep per night, a significant increase from 14% a decade ago and just 3% back in 1942. Many sacrifice the recommended seven to nine hours of rest to accommodate workouts, personal time, or extra work.
Discover Your Chronotype: Lark, Bear, or Owl?
So, what is the ideal time to wake up? Experts state it depends on your habits, age, and, most importantly, your genetics. Your chronotype is your body's natural predisposition for sleep and wake times.
Russell Foster, a professor of circadian neuroscience at the University of Oxford, advises against treating sleep as an enemy to be conquered. He highlights the severe consequences of sleep deprivation, including heart issues, weakened immunity, depression, and a higher risk of dementia. Foster suggests your wake-up time is too early if you answer yes to these questions: Does waking take a long time? Do you need coffee to sustain energy? Do you sleep much later on weekends?
According to sleep doctors like Breus, the population is broadly divided into three chronotypes:
- Bears (55-65%): Their peak performance window is between 10 AM and 2 PM.
- Larks (15-20%): These early birds naturally wake between 6 AM and 6:30 AM, with a very small subset being true 5 AM people.
- Owls (15-20%): Night people who function best later in the day.
While overriding your chronotype for work or caregiving is sometimes necessary, consistency is vital. Doug Kirsch, a past president of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, warns that varying your wake-up time between weekdays and weekends creates a "social jet lag" effect, disrupting your body's internal clock.
Science-Backed Tips for an Easier Morning
Beyond maintaining consistent sleep hours, experts recommend specific strategies to make waking up less painful:
Seek Morning Sunlight: Exposure to natural light soon after waking signals your brain to suppress melatonin, the sleep hormone, helping you feel alert. It also sets an internal timer for melatonin production about 14 hours later.
Use a Light Gadget: In darker winter months or early hours, consider a dawn simulator alarm clock or a light therapy box that gradually increases light intensity to mimic sunrise.
Limit Caffeine and Alcohol: Both substances disrupt sleep quality. Breus recommends cutting off caffeine by 2 PM and avoiding alcohol for at least three hours before bedtime. Similarly, heavy screen use before sleep should be minimized.
Schedule Workouts for the Morning: Exercise raises your core body temperature, which is excellent for promoting alertness in the morning but counterproductive for falling asleep at night, as your body temperature needs to drop for sleep onset.
The core message from sleep science is clear: productivity and health are best served by working with your body's natural rhythm, not against it. Forcing a 5 AM wake-up call may be a trendy goal, but for most, listening to their internal clock is the smarter path to sustained energy and well-being.
