If I told you that I altered just one thing in my life, and it changed how I felt on a daily basis, would you believe me?
Did you start meditating? Nope.
Did you start eating healthier? No again.
Did you sleep more? No.
To give you some context, I chronically fall into low moods, especially in recent months when things about my career and purpose were more ‘up in the air’.
I’ve come to acknowledge that despite my external circumstances, whether good or bad, I am more prone to getting into depressing phases. Sometimes it’s unbearable.
I thought back to when my life felt a lot more stable, and a lot more in order—and what habits I practiced during that time.
Way back in my third year of college, I practiced a fanatic routine of waking up at 5 AM on the dot, meditating, being in the gym by 7, on the bus to a cafe in between my home and school to study for an hour, and then straight to class. I would go for an hour jog or swim in the middle of the day. And I went on a gross amount of dates during that time and my grades were a couple of points higher than the previous. How did I have the time and energy to do all those things people would ask?
Energy is an interesting concept.
We all have the same 24 hours in a day, yet some tend to have more energy to perform than others.
This week, I intentionally changed the window of time I slept. I like to emphasize I haven’t slept more than the usual 7-8 hours.
But instead of going to bed around 11-12, I slept firmly from 10-6.
And I’m telling you, it changed everything.
I look forward to getting up
This sounds odd, but most of the time—I don’t look forward to getting up nor do I look forward to doing anything that I’ve put upon myself to do. I know, what an optimistic outlook from a personal development blogger right? It’s not all sunshine and rainbows here, ladies and gentlemen.
I go to bed with tired eyes (I have been up since 6 guys! And not taking my usual naps) but with a heart still full of energy. I want to get up the next day and accomplish things.
And this has had a transformative shift on my motivation.
Having a window of productivity in the mornings rock
One of the absolute greatest feelings in the world is when the clock strikes 9 AM, and you’ve already done two things on your to-do list.
Pure satisfaction.
That feeling of accomplishment leads to even greater motivation to keep going.
And plus, you now have additional time to clean up your space (mood booster), make breakfast for your partner (wild!) and maybe even go for a short walk.
When we wake up 10 minutes before our meeting, something just feels extremely off in our bodies.
The feeling of being rushed and stressed sets a bad tone for our day. We’re more prone to getting tired because of this stress.
Having two full hours to yourself before you have to speak to anyone is in itself a wonderful way to start the day.
More Energy, More Focus
My focus has been extremely bad lately, but I noticed this week I was able to get things done a little quicker.
I’ve been more engaged and motivated to get things rolling. And here’s the beautiful thing about focus and engagement.
You’re engaged in a project, so you’re more likely to be focused. You get things done faster and the feeling of accomplishment prompts you to be more motivated again. And the cycle repeats itself.
If you’re always engaged and focused throughout the day, you’ll find that you accomplish more, and hence, you feel better about yourself and life in general.
More Energy Attracts more Connection
We’re all kinetic beings. Every cell in our body is made up of energy, and so are the objects and spaces that exist around us. When we have higher frequencies of energy, we both are more receptive to others’ energy and we have higher attractability.
I noticed this a lot throughout the years. Energy and attraction belong in another feedback loop. When we have higher energy, we attract better connections, and those high-quality connections lead us to have more energy.
I’ll give you a vivid example. When I started posting content more frequently on the Saveur de la Vie Instagram page, I received an outpour of energy not just from strangers, but from my own friends who had seen the posts.
People that I haven’t seen or talked to in years reached out. And the fact that my friends even bothered to read my posts, really created more energy for me to go and continue creating great content, consistently.
This week, I’ve had a lot more helpful conversations at work, including one that totally warmed my heart. Those conversations and meetings led to more energy because things don’t feel as stagnating; I’m stimulated by other people’s energies, ideas, and thoughts.
Is there any science to waking up earlier?
A recent study published in November 2021, which analyzed the sleep patterns and cardiovascular conditions of 88,000 participants resulted in a shocking conclusion.
There was an increased risk of cardiovascular conditions if people slept before 10 pm (24% risk increase) and after 11 pm (12% risk increase). That means that this ‘golden window’ between 10-11 pm was the only period of sleep where there were observed improvements of cardiovascular health.
This study was conducted over six years.
The argument is that our body operates on a natural circadian cycle, and rest is essential for proper brain functioning and health. Apparently, sleeping before or after the time we’re supposed to sleep disrupts that regulation.
It’s not the most sharp explanation, but the results, considering the number of controls in the study are still significant.
Conclusion
Although it’s only been five days, the difference in how I feel is significant enough for me to continue this habit of going to bed early and waking up earlier.
I’m excited to provide an update in the next month to see how I’m doing.
Secret Prose 
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