Navy SEAL Commander Explains Why it’s Good to Wake up at 4:30 am

Does it feel better to sleep for 8 hours, or much longer? Do you feel better the next day when you sleep for less than 8 hours? Last year an article was published in Business Insider promoting a Navy Seal commander named Jocko Willink’s advice when it comes to sleep, and how to wake up in the morning and preserve the most energy.

He was the commander of the “most highly decorated special operations unit of the Iraq War,” US Navy SEAL Team 3 Task Unit Bruiser, and since then he has spent his retirement operating a consulting firm called Echelon Front, sharing information through podcasts and books as well.

The audience of our articles probably knows that there is not necessarily any moral authority that is derived from the fact that someone was in the military, but regardless of the origin of this technique, hopefully it will help you.

(Image credit: Business Insider)

Willink claims that “thinking” as soon as you wake up in the morning is a mistake. “Don’t think in the morning,” Willink said. “That’s a big mistake that people make. They wake up in the morning, and they start thinking.”

It’s a little puzzling to think how thinking could be a mistake, but if it does in fact consume too much energy for a particular individual or slow them down, it may make sense to clear the mind and tone down mental background noise a little bit if possible. That’s the type of reason why people meditate.

The man recommended waking up at 4:30 am, and immediately jumping out of bed, to put on clothes that have been laid out the previous night. A prepared to-do list from the day before is recommended by the former military man.

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Then, he advised going straight to working out, exercising early in the morning, that “wakes up his mind and body far more intensely than checking emails and doing some light stretching ever could,” according to the Business Insider article.

Willink continued: “Don’t think. Just execute the plan. The plan is the alarm clock goes off, you get up, you go work out. Get some.”

This sounds like it might work for a certain type of individual, that lives a life specific to the way they live it. This was made for someone who has chosen to join the military, but for a person that has a completely different occupation, for instance something that requires mental energy, some good advice pertaining to that may be very different.

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Some people suppress their thinking too much, and a little period of time to reflect on things at the very beginning of the day could prove to be very necessary.

What if you had made a bad decision the night before, and planned something that suddenly became impossible or different the next morning?

Rigidness within routine that leaves no room for changes of plan, or factors that flow into the situation at the last minute, could be considered taking this type of thing too far.

However, if a little room is left for this routine to be altered and changed, it may work for somebody who is seeking to attain a specific kind of mental state. When it comes to waking up early, not as early as 4:30 am however, it can be biologically healthy because of the sunlight and lack of exposure to excessive blue light from electronic devices in the late hours.