Why You Should Wake Up At The Same Time Every Day

If you struggle to rise in the morning, you are in very, very good company. It’s a common experience, research shows, to feel groggy and sluggish when you wake up.

Scientists call the drowsiness felt upon awakening “sleep inertia.” Though it often dissipates within minutes, some people find that the sensation lingers for an hour or two and impairs their attention and performance at work.

But there’s good news: It’s possible to wake up feeling more refreshed. One way to make your mornings easier? Start getting up at the same time every day.

“Your body does best in terms of attention and focus when you keep a regular schedule,” Lynelle Schneeberg, a Yale Medicine sleep psychologist and the author of “Become Your Child’s Sleep Coach,” told HuffPost.

Here’s why having a consistent rise time can transform your mornings:

Many bodily functions, including sleep and digestion, are influenced by your circadian rhythm. This 24-hour cycle, which is linked to the idea of a biological clock, prompts the body to release various hormones, such as cortisol and melatonin, at specific times.

The strongest cues for the circadian rhythm are said to be light and darkness. When you wake up in the morning, you are likely exposed to daylight. That tells your body to stop producing melatonin, a hormone that makes you sleepy. Meanwhile, your body ramps up production of cortisol, a hormone that provides energy, in anticipation of your wake time, said Jamie Zeitzer, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University.

Why does this matter? According to Zeitzer, cortisol is crucial for giving you the energy you need to go about your day. When you wake up at 7 a.m. one day and 8:30 a.m. the next, your circadian rhythm may be out of whack and your body might not know when to get the cortisol flowing. As a result, you could wake up with insufficient cortisol levels and feel extra groggy.

When you rise at the same time every day, however, your circadian clock may be more stable, which means you could have a more robust and reliable cortisol surge before you wake, giving you more energy.

Waking up at the same time can also help you fall asleep more easily at night. Rising at the same time every day can…