Operation Wake-Up Earlier. A Debrief.

One month ago, I started waking up earlier. I called it my “operation wake up earlier” in honor of applying myself to the task for our youngest son’s US Army graduation.

Anyone who struggles with chronic illness can know the heaviness of fatigue, the painsomnia in the overnight hours, and the physical hurdles of waking up. Managing these hurdles were all stacked against me in this endeavor. I am further along in my healing journey when it comes to sleep and restfulness than I have been in my recent past. I will save of those reflections for another opportunity to write.

This year, waking earlier was mainly in preparation for going east (3-hour time change) for a week.  One week after I began, our clocks changed forward an hour for daylight saving time also, so in total it was a four-hour time change I was working to achieve. This was certainly achieved in chunks of time, not all at once. First, it was an hour earlier. Then 30 more minutes, 30 more. In a panic the last week before we travelled, it was another hour earlier.

(It’s also important to note that I accomplished this change of morning schedule three years ago when I had to travel east for my last surgery. During that time, I stayed inside and used a sunlamp. There are many variables that were different this time around.)

Here’s how my Operation Wake-up turned out for me.

Most importantly, the three weeks of planning and waking earlier helped me during our week of travel greatly. It was a huge relief to not struggle as heavily physically with the wake-up routine while away from home. 

On the day of our son’s first ceremony, we stepped outside to the sunrising there on the east coast and I was ready for it. Sleepy still, but dressed and ready for the day!

The morning sky over the ceremony could not have been more glorious. Beautiful blue skies for a turning blue ceremony.

Currently, now that I’m back home, I am naturally waking up 2 hours earlier than I was a month ago, and with the time change adjustment it’s 3 hours! I may still try to wake up earlier that extra hour but for now, I’m proud of the 2 and it gets me up just after the sunrise. Maybe this summer I’ll be up earlier for the summer sunrise. Living in a chronic illness body while playing the HRT game may have other plans for my sleep needs, so we’ll see.

In addition to waking up earlier, I added tactics that I had read help with waking up earlier for long term success. I changed my wake-up habits completely. The bedroom light was set to come on automatically early. Instead of the same routine of tea on the sofa, I made myself bundle up with clothes and blankets to sit outside first thing for at least 30 minutes.

Somewhere, I had read that looking at the horizon for 15 minutes upon waking helps to reset your circadian rhythm. I laughed at that, because when I started, it was before sunrise. I checked the sunrise times weekly, and with the longer hours approaching in springtime, it worked out that sunrises were coming a minute or two quicker each day.

In addition to the horizon viewing though, I believe the cold helped shock my body awake a bit! While at my parents for a few days during this experience it was 35*F, and all the blankets couldn’t keep the cold out!

The extra movement was likely a contributor to making the change as well. Upon waking, it took me more movement first thing to get myself dressed in all the layers (instead of stumbling to the sofa in my robe).

The very best thing that helped the process mentally was my trusty sidekick! Our dog Cole got so excited each morning as he heard my jacket rustle, in anticipation of going outside with him. He goes out every morning, usually by himself, but with me outside with him, he was like a young kid happy to be watched playing as he kept looking back at me while searching for critters before the sunrise.

The last thing that helped was making myself stay off my phone for those first 30 minutes. I understand the irony, because I clicked into my phone first thing to use the time stamp filter to snap a photo as my accountability each day. But then, I set my phone down (most days).

In addition to all the tactics, there was the mindset challenges and changes. These are a few of the things I learned. I am grateful to have the opportunity to be an urban gardener with a mind that is set in a growth perspective. It’s been a lifestyle of always trying my best, despite mental health challenges and the chronic illness challenges that I’ve lived with most of my life.

All the sunshine…(or just earlier brightness through the clouds).

I’ve learned that our eastern grape isn’t necessarily stunted because it sprouts two to three weeks later than our western grape. It doesn’t get the sunlight as early! Haha! What a simple thing to learn. The sun doesn’t come over the fence as early. Such a simple and wonderful thing to recognize.

The sunflowers sprouted around mid-February and were looking quite weak. They’re volunteers left from last year’s plants, and we thought they may just not make a good go of it this year because it was still quite cold when they sprouted.

They have endured the early mornings better than I and are now steady and full. It’s like they put on a full petticoat and skirt of leaves to courtesy to the earlier spring sunshine! They are growing tall as fast as teenagers now and look to make a glorious showing this summer now. Yes, I will let them keep the whole garden box again this year. How can you say no to a sunflower? 

All the sounds…

The birds’ sounds don’t start until approximately 30 minutes before the sunrise. The traffic sounds (we live on a busy 4-lane street) don’t start until approximately 30 minutes after sunrise. The critters that occasionally inhabit the warm compost box leave around sunrise, or when Cole wakes them for eviction and if they squeak, he freaks.

The ding-ding-ding of the rapid transit train doesn’t bother me as much as the traffic noises do, and there is more frequency to them in the mornings than during the day. By a full hour after sunrise though, the traffic sounds start to irritate my sense of calm. The planes join the chorus about an hour after sunrise and all the road noises really amplify as the roads and highways fill all around us. That timing is when I try to take a breath, put on some soft music, and put in the headphones if I need to keep my sense of morning calm.

The most important sound in these early mornings is my morning voice. That inner grumpy wake-up voice was slowly replaced with a sense of purpose and little bits of inner empowerment as I achieved the little bits of earlier moments. Just getting through the multiple layers of dressing and walking outside was met with deep sighs and deep acknowledgements of “this sucks” thoughts. Then it was “this sucks, but I did it”. “I really want coffee instead of tea” was replaced with, “coffee I will allow myself when we travel will be amazing”.

The last bit of empowering thought changes came when I chose to acknowledge and personally take on the ownership of waking up early for MYSELF. At first, I thought I was doing this for my son, or rather for his ceremonies, but I was really doing this for the ease of my own schedule when we travelled. That mindset shift of believing I was doing this for myself was an anchoring faith in myself. I believe that is the main reason that I am continuing this early morning “operation”. Even calling it an operation allows me the choice and mental flexibility to change it later down the road when it doesn’t work for me or my body.

Here's to the mornings, the sunrise, and the learning opportunities I’ve allowed myself.