‘I haven't gotten up for nothing at six in the morning for two years’
The first one goes off subtly at six o'clock, the second follows five minutes later. I know that snoozing is bad for you, but I think it's already a huge achievement that I have the energy to look at myself in the bathroom mirror at this hour. For two years now. Only it turns out that all of this is for nothing.
Waking up early is actually the fault of the curfew, because if I had to be home by eight in the evening, I might as well go to bed early. And so, bedtime shifted from eleven to ten and waking up from seven to six. Suddenly, I had oceans of time before the rest of the world woke up and shuffled towards the coffee machine. I exercised, I meditated, I sometimes even walked outside around six with our guest dog. And I always finished an article before the clock struck eight. All very efficient. Although people around me find it a bit scary, because the curfew is (thankfully) over but the alarm at six remained.
‘Yes, but Aad gets up at six,’ they say. Just in case you’re wondering: my inner circle calls me Aad. I always feel a bit uncomfortable then, because suddenly you’re a morning person while I used to think that night owls were more sociable. But at the same time, I’m also strangely proud, because look at me starting my day fresh and (not always that) fruity. And I’m not alone, because waking up early seems to be the new trend.
When I leisurely read the newsletter from De Havermelkelite this weekend (subscribe, it’s great), there it was suddenly: ‘Waking up early is the new status symbol.’ Oeff! Does it not work then? Is it just a self-care trend that I’ve unknowingly drowned in? For two years? It just depends, says personality researcher Gordon Flett. If you wake up early so that the yoga class fits into your schedule, then there’s nothing wrong with that. If you do it because of the idea that your overall well-being will improve, then it can be quite disappointing. Quite logical, because all you’re doing is adding an hour to your day and sticking to that routine. It’s not sexy, it’s not enlightening, it’s just very simple. As long as you don’t think you’re automatically becoming the next Barack Obama in the making, then you’re pretty safe, experts say.
By the way, don’t think that I wake up even one minute before my alarm. I feel the discomfort in every fiber of my body when I read that someone gets up at five, but six o’clock is also just an hour of no emails, no messages from other people, and no types nagging at you right away. Sometimes I use it particularly effectively by squeezing in a meditation and going for an early walk, other times I waste my time drinking coffee and scrolling through the news online from bed. I consider it an hour gained in both situations. But don’t let me drive you crazy, because I still have to go to bed by half past ten, otherwise I’m unbearable. And not to forget: I don’t have little kids who throw themselves at me while I’m sitting in a lotus position on the floor.
