Life for most of us starts each day when we open our eyes in the morning. It is as if it comes to a stand still while we sleep. So let us begin with.

What time should we wake up?

We should wake up with the sun..latest. Ideally, Ayurved advises that we wake up an hour and a half before sunrise. 

For practical purposes, we can say that the range between one and half hour before sunrise up to the time of sunrise is a good time to wake up. The later we keep sleeping beyond sunrise, the more we drift away from health and life.

Why should we wake up early with the sun?

Our body has three basic functional units, the doshas, Vat, Pitt and Kaf that govern all functions of the body. Each of these doshas have their specific time of action during the day and specific functions. To know a bit more about these doshas have a look at http://ayurvedicanswers.com/ayurvedic-principles/tridosh/

The end of the night, or the time before sunrise belongs to the Vat dosh and at that time, its main function is to move the bowels. 

Once we wake up, this dosh is able to do its job well. Staying in the lying down position hinders natural intestinal movement caused by Vat from the top to the bottom towards the anal opening.

So, waking up during this time favors regular bowel evacuation. Once the major load of stools has been passed, the pressure of stretched intestines is reduced and there is an immediate sense of relaxation. Then the urinary system also functions smoothly and free urine flow occurs as required. This paves  the way for major clearance from the body.

When this happens on a regular basis, the accumulation of toxins in the body is reduced to a good extent. This in itself is a major health insurance. Without heavy toxic load, diseases are almost impossible. 

Next, these empty intestines and stomach, along with a relaxed mind, ignite the digestive fire which actually means that the major digestive organs like the liver and pancreas are helped to rejuvenate and thus work well. Needless to say, the body will now be in a good condition to process the next meals we consume.

On yet another note, waking up early obviously gives us an extra couple of hours on hand which we can use well for regular abhyang (oil application) to the body and exercise – again two extremely health enhancing activities. Follow up on these with meditation and we have given ourselves the best start to the day.

How can we wake up early?

First and foremost, for any change to happen, we must be convinced about its usefulness. We must really understand how it will benefit us and then, taking the required steps will not seem too much effort. 

So, start when you are ready. The following will help.

Mindful eating during the day

Rest to the body and mind is the most  important thing that happens during sleep. When we have a huge workload, our rest time is encroached upon. Similarly if the body has a more than required work load of food digestion it will have to work even during its rest time. Naturally, it will become difficult for the unrested body to be able to wake up early. It will rightly demand to sleep more.

So now about mindful eating. It means being conscious of when, what, how and how much we eat. To read more details about the rights and wrongs of food visit http://ayurvedicanswers.com/preventive-ayurved/food/

We should wait to feel hungry before we eat. This ensures the stomach is ready to process the food we will supply it with. 

We should eat with our attention on the food and this means we are aware of the amount of food we are eating as well. The right amount is that which we are able to digest well. Not as much as that can fit into our stomach.

When we do this, our body has the proper amount of work and is able to execute it in time too. 

Early and light dinner

As explained above, keeping the stomach free from undue pressure is important. As the sun sets, the process of digestion weakens compared to its functioning during the day. So dinner should be easy to digest and in a smaller quantity. 

Also, finishing with dinner early means by the time we hit the bed at least two hours have passed. By the time we intend to wake up the system had finished up its work and rested well too and so it creates no hindrance for us to wake up as desired.

Not being careful about these points makes waking up early really difficult and if by will power we do manage to wake up, it does harm to the body as it does not get time to relax nor does it digest the food well.

Working with ease

Just as we talked about not over burdening the stomach, the same applies to the mind as well. When work is carried out with ease, the mind tires much lesser. High pressure jobs, too many chores and unrealistic expectations from one self is a big burden for the mind that is naturally made to work its best when it feels relaxed. An overworked mind finds respite in sleep and stimulants like tea and coffee. Sleep quota increases when the mind is tired too much. Waking up early then is a big challenge then. If we do wake up, grumpiness and lethargy are bound to accompany. 

We need to take a look at the whether the work we engage in suits our nature. Whether we do it compulsively in a particular way daily or are we present and know what we are doing, how and why. Work that gives joy rarely tires the mind. The type of work best suited for us depends to a large extent on our body constitution too. To know more about body constitution read along on http://ayurvedicanswers.com/preventive-ayurved/body-constitution/

Since work forms the major part of our life, its effects on health are unavoidable. So it is only obvious that we choose our work wisely.

Leave the curtains open

This point is easy to understand. Once the morning chirping of birds and few rays of dawn enter our bedrooms, it is very pleasant and much easier to wake up. Having a dark room means we still feel it is night and waking up cannot occur to us.

Planning 

Having decided beforehand what is it that we wish to do in the morning will make the mornings very productive. Waking up and not knowing what to do makes it all the more easy to just fall back into bed. So for the initial few days at least set a routine and a timetable for the early mornings.

Regular bedtime

Rhythm is very soothing to our body and minds. Depending on how much sleep we need, we must keep the bedtime fixed. It is easier to fall asleep instantly at the same time daily and thus wake up too.

Related readings:

Healthy daily routine http://ayurvedicanswers.com/preventive-ayurved/daily-routine/

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One of the most common causes of ill health. Probably, also the most ignored.

Why is sleeping during the day harmful?
Sleeping during the day weakens the digestion and that in itself  is an invitation to all sorts of health issues.
Sleeping after lunch, spoils the digestion of that meal. Acidity, burps that keep reminding you of what you had for lunch, bloated stomach, headache, unclear bowels all happen due to this.

In the long run, this leads to heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, gynaecological problems, chronic colds, migraines to name a few( yes, this is one major factor in how these things start)

To top it, tea and snacks follow soon after waking up. Also, hungry or not hungry, dinner is never skipped. Imagine the stomach’s plight !!
Naturally you are not fresh the next morning and the cycle continues.

Day time sleep is totally unnecessary and purely laziness. Why would anyone want to waste precious time sleeping?

Answers to FAQs
1. If you feel the need to rest due to extremely hectic mornings, you may sit in a relaxed position and take a nap of maximum 30 mins.

2. Occasionally when you were unable t0 sleep well the previous night, you may sleep during the day, but before a meal.

3. If you are drowsy throughout the day, even after good sleep at night, you need to see a Vaidya or Ayurvedic physician to find the cause. Hitting the bed asap is not the solution.

4. For those accustomed to sleeping in the afternoon for years, and wishing to change, do so gradually. Reduce the time you sleep and meanwhile find yourself an interesting activity for the afternoon.

5. This does not apply to the sick, very small children, aged and pregnant.

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