By Chloe Moran, CFP at Rose And North
Over the years, I've come across a number of individuals who believe in something called "the 5am club." This is a concept started by Robin Sharma, where you wake up at 5am do twenty-minutes exercise, twenty-minutes planning, and twenty-minutes study. You'll get more done, you'll feel more awake, and achieve world peace. Or so I'm told, minus the last one.
When I got engaged last year, I inadvertently became part of this club. I'd hired myself a personal trainer because I wanted to get back in shape before going wedding dress shopping. A few months into our Tuesday evening sessions, my trainer suggested that the gym is less busy at 6am and asked if I would like to train at that time. I agreed to give it a try, as I'd only lose an hour's sleep and it would mean that our torture sessions were over nice and early in the day. Benjamin Franklin said, “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a person healthy, wealthy, and wise.”
Whilst I have found getting up at 5am suits me much better, this is mainly because I want to exercise and this is the best time for me to do it. 5am starts are not for everyone. I think it is important to find out whether or not you are a night owl or an early bird. For me, getting up at 5am means that I want to be in bed by 9pm. Party on.
However, more often than not I am still going to bed at the usual 10-11pm. This can mean that getting up at 5am is detrimental, due to sleep deprivation. I remember whilst studying Psychology A level we learned about a group of cats that were put on flower pots in some water, so that every time they fell asleep, they fell in the water which woke them up. Long story short, they all died. The effect of having only 5-6 hours sleep a night (instead of 6-7) is unlikely to have the negative effects that the cats ensured, but it is important to proceed with caution!
But there is some research to suggest that exercising in the morning has many benefits. A morning exercise routine can help you to establish a routine, give you more energy, improve your mood and sleep, and lower your blood pressure and your stress levels (thanks to exercise reducing your level of the cortisol hormone). But I do not feel noticeably more productive or energetic as a result of getting up earlier. You could put my energy levels down to the fact that exercising, regardless of the time of day, improves energy levels.
The importance of mental wellbeing is something that we discuss a lot nowadays, and for good reason. According to a poll from YouGov, in the past year 74% of people have felt so stressed they have been overwhelmed or unable to cope. Given that we spend such a large proportion of our time at work, it is important that we are happy there.
A recent FT article by Pilita Clark entitled It's pointless to work long hours so why do it? explains that little sleep and 80-hour weeks do not make you a productive thinker. Whilst in theory you can get more work done the more hours you put into it, there comes a point where you begin to slow and this can have significant consequences. This is a common problem; evidence suggests that 12.7% of all sickness absence days in the UK can be attributed to mental health conditions and 1 in 6.8 people experience mental health problems in the workplace (14.7%).
The bottom line, is that it is important to ensure you are getting enough rest, from enough sleep each night to switching off for longer than a weekend every few months (where possible). Many large companies enforce a mandatory two-week long holiday. There are countless times I have heard people say that the problem with a week's annual leave is that by the time they have switched off from work and begun to relax, it's time to start thinking about going home! As such, I would definitely advocate taking two weeks leave once a year to re-charge your batteries.
In summary, I think it is important to know your strengths. Explore what time of the day your brain functions at its best by experimenting to discover whether or not you are a night owl or an early bird. Get plenty of rest, don't pack every single weekend of your life with a lot of activities and people (easier said than done). Go on holiday and switch off!
Chloé Moran is a Chartered Financial Planner at Rose and North. She comes from a technical background, having spent most of her career Paraplanning and has won many awards for this work. Chloe is a regular columnist for Financial Planning Today, and regularly contributes to articles in the consumer and industry press and enjoys debating the key issues facing the profession.
