What’s the 5 AM club, and should you become a member?

If you only had one more hour in the day, you’d be unstoppable. 

Although you can’t manifest a 25-hour day, it’s possible to set an extra sixty minutes aside to ensure your day’s success. But with so much stuff on your agenda, how can you squeeze another hour in? 

The 5 AM Club is a 2018 international bestseller by Robin Sharma, a Canadian self-help writer and leadership expert. His method is simple: wake up at five AM and spend the first hour of your day focusing on yourself. 

Waking early and enjoying some undistracted time helps you set yourself up for success. While getting up before the sun might sound inconceivable, the change in your sleep pattern can carry over into better work routines and higher bandwidth throughout the day.

What’s The 5 AM Club? 

Here’s a brief The 5 AM Club summary. 

Robin wrote this book based on his morning routine: waking at 5 AM and dedicating the first hour of his day to exercise, self-reflection, and personal growth. 

According to Robin, your brain is most calm, focused, and productive when you wake. Beginning your day early and with an hour to yourself helps you start off on the right foot to enjoy a more energized and productive day.

Neuroscience backs up this theory. Your brain wave activity naturally fluctuates throughout the day. When you first wake, you’re in the theta brainwave state, which is in-between daydreaming and active brainwave activity.

Think of the theta state as your natural zen mode. It’s a moment of calm, free-flowing ideas and creative mental activity. At 5 AM, when the world is quiet and distraction-free, you’re more able to hold onto it. And elongating this state of mental relaxation can set you up for increased productivity as the day progresses.

Studies show that when you start the day in a positive mental state, this good mood can carry over into the rest of your day. The same is true for the opposite. 

If you wake up in a rush to get out the door, that shock of stress first thing in the morning can hang over you all day. It might put you on edge with clients or colleagues, make prioritizing tasks feel overwhelming, or keep you in a constant state of hurry. 

But if you start your day peacefully, that soothing sense of calm could help you power through your day. It might make you more contemplative, confident in tackling a challenging task, or unphased by an unexpected hiccup. You’ve centered yourself right off the bat and can keep it together more effectively throughout the day.

5 benefits of waking up at 5 AM

If you need extra motivation to adjust your alarm clock, getting up early has several benefits, like: 

1. Better performance: Human beings have a finite amount of self-control and focus. As the day goes on, you naturally put in less effort. Your mood shifts, tasks seem more difficult, and you feel fatigued. Kickstarting your day early and riding the productivity wave can ensure you devote your concentration to the most important tasks early on and complete more before you tap out.
2. Improved sleep: People who wake up early tend to hit the hay earlier and get more sleep. And better sleep usually translates to more energy and an improved mood.
3. Reduced stress: Exercise typically lowers stress levels. If it’s the first thing you do in the morning, you start your day feeling good. And getting up at 5 AM means you can take your time showering, getting ready for work, and having a relaxed breakfast. Plus, heading to work before rush hour traffic hits reduces stress and lets you enjoy your morning commute. 
4. More proactiveness: Studies show that morning people tend to be more proactive. That bedtime planning and thoughtful morning routine translate into better discipline and stronger habits for the rest of your day. 
   
   Changing your day’s entire routine is no easy feat. But when you see your hard work’s positive impacts, you may feel more motivated to tackle other challenging areas of your professional and personal development. 
5. A better morning rhythm: Your brain doesn’t immediately wake up. Sleep inertia is the thirty minutes to two hours after waking when your brain feels groggy. A 5 AM wake-up call ensures that by the time you head into work, you’ve come out of your morning fog and are ready to focus. 

How to join the 5 AM club

If the snooze button is your best friend, waking up before the birds may feel unimaginable. Here are three tips for joining the 5 AM club.

1. Keep your eye on the prize

A 2009 study found that forming a new habit takes about 66 days. The same study also found automating habits vary from person to person and the habit itself. Some people can form a life-changing routine in 18 days, while others may take up to 254. 

Remember that there’s no timetable for incorporating a new routine into your life. Consider checking in often to celebrate your progress and find ways to personalize your routine to improve daily. With time and consistency, you’ll look forward to getting up in the morning.

2. Adjust your sleep routine

The average adult needs at least seven hours of quality sleep a night, although this fluctuates slightly from person to person. That means you need to be asleep by 10 p.m. to hit your 5 AM goal. Assuming it takes 30 minutes to fall asleep, crawl into bed by 9–9:30 p.m. to ensure you’re snoozing by 10 p.m.

Good sleep isn’t just about quantity. Seven hours of uninterrupted quality sleep is more beneficial than 10 hours of irregular rest. 

Here are a few ways to improve your sleep hygiene and get to sleep earlier: 

• During the day: Limit caffeine, stay hydrated, exercise regularly, and avoid napping.

• At bedtime: Set an alarm that notifies you it’s bedtime. And replace screen time and social media with reading, meditating, or listening to a relaxing podcast or audiobook.

• While sleeping: Reduce bright lights and noise and leave your cell phone in another room.

3. Figure out what you want to do at 5 AM

You’re up — now what? To tap into this special moment of creativity and clarity, Robin proposes a 20/20/20 formula:

• 20 minutes of movement, like jogging, calisthenics, or yoga
• 20 minutes to reflect on your goals via journaling, mindfulness practices, or visualization techniques
• 20 minutes to learn a new skill, like a work-specific hard or soft skill or creative hobby

While the 5 AM club rules dictate sticking to the 20/20/20 formula, personal growth is just that: personal. If breaking up your first hour into these 20-minute intervals doesn’t motivate you to get up earlier, find a morning routine that does.

Consider rearranging the order or finding things to do at 5 AM that align with your larger goals. And if you work outside the typical 9–5, adjust the technique so you always have an hour or so to yourself before work or other obligations. 

Focusing on the 4 interior empires 

Waking up early and giving yourself space to ease into your day can help you be more productive and efficient. But Robin argues that to elevate your life and see long-term personal and professional improvements, you must develop good habits beyond your morning routine.

To gain a better understanding of the habits you can adopt in every area of your life, Robin outlines four “interior empires” to prioritize within your overall personal development: 

1. Mindset

Your thoughts can act as a self-fulfilling prophecy. When you think positively, it has a domino effect. All those positive vibes make you more likely to think creatively, manage stress, and adapt to change. To enjoy these benefits, pay attention to the information you absorb and how it shapes your thinking.

The media you consume, the people you engage with, and the words and mannerisms you choose all shape your internal thinking. Note what occupies your mind and cut out information or stimuli that causes negative thoughts. 

2. Heartset

Your emotional intelligence is your ability to interpret, communicate, and regulate your emotions. It’s also how you comprehend and respond to other people’s emotions. Understanding what you’re feeling and why means you can address any issues.

If you notice that you’re feeling overwhelmed, you can search for the source of that feeling and resolve it. And understanding your own emotions means you recognize them in others and can offer them empathy and sympathy. This allows you to build deeper relationships based on a shared emotional understanding.

3. Healthset

Exercise doesn’t just flex your muscles, it keeps your brain in good shape, too. A significant benefit of regular exercise is that it helps your brain create new neurons that cause it to become more efficient, flexible, and adaptive, which can spur stronger performance in your professional life.

There’s also a positive link between exercise and mental health. Exercise pumps your body with dopamine and serotonin and reduces stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, which can lower your risk of chronic stress. 

4. Soulset

Self-reflection in and out of your 5 AM routine gives you the mental space to acknowledge your interests, hopes, and fears. A daily check-in can guide you to seek out activities that align with your goals and connect with your whole self. Journaling and meditation are great ways to incorporate self-reflection into your day. 

Step away from the snooze button

Whether you join the 5 AM club or opt for something a little later, giving yourself at least one hour to start your day before kicking into work mode can positively impact your life. It allows you to respect your natural rhythm, begin more peacefully, and set the tone for a high-performance workday.

Try resisting the power of the snooze button this week out of curiosity. Feeling the benefits of focusing on you for the first hour before diving into obligations might motivate you to continue this habit moving forward.