We’ve all heard the phrase “breakfast is the most important meal of the day” as kids. Whether or not this is any scientific and physiological truth to this phrase remains a point of debate in food science circles.
Some believe that this phrase had been hijacked and used by breakfast cereal companies in an advertising push to promote their products from the 1980s onwards.
However, if we’re talking about conventional wisdom, it’s safe to say that over 90% of Americans who agree that breakfast is the most important meal of the day tells us all we need to know.
And if you’re a high-performance individual or someone who lives to be productive, chances are you’re going to want to streamline your life to ensure that you achieve the best results in whatever you’re doing.
Waking up and getting work done before everybody else in the world even touches snooze on their alarm clocks seems to be the key to ultimate productivity, but to tell you the truth: If you’re not having a proper breakfast, you’re voluntarily limiting your productivity!
Here’s why eating breakfast at 4 AM is not too early.
Eating at 4 AM is not too early since our brains need fuel to function. Waking up early for breakfast increases productivity and promotes weight loss, and it also prevents health conditions such as heart disease and diabetes.
Why Breakfast is good for you
Think about it – your body is essentially a machine you control to get things done. Just like how machines run on fuel or electricity, the human body runs on a myriad of nutrients that we can only get from consuming food.
The human brain, which is basically the control center for the rest of our bodily functions, requires glucose to stay alert and focused, which are two main prerequisites for being ultra-productive.
When our body runs low on glucose, our brain will have a harder time trying to pay attention and focus on tasks that require deep concentration.
Our attention starts to drift away and become distracted, which is why tasks that require a lot of cognitive functionality, like studying or working on large amounts of numbers, data and words, are a lot harder on an empty stomach.
Eating breakfast right after we wake up reminds our body that we have work to do ahead of us, and that it’s time to kickstart our mental (and physical) motors while helping us to produce the much-needed glucose that our brains need to focus on all the work that we need to get done in the day ahead.
Why have breakfast at 4 AM?
Most of the world’s billionaires get up at 4 AM, which is considerably earlier than most of the world.
Tim Cook, who is the CEO of Apple, reportedly starts his day by waking up at 3:45 AM, which pretty much gives him an extra 3 hours to get a lot of things done before the rest of the world even wakes up from their slumber.
This means that if you have your breakfast at 4 AM, right after you wake up, you’re going to have an extra 3 hours to knock off as many things as you need to do on your list, raising your productivity levels and ensuring you make the most out of the working day.
And as if that wasn’t enough, research has shown that making breakfast a priority first thing after you wake up has numerous benefits, ranging from effective weight loss to decreasing the risk of cardiac disease and diabetes.
How to get up earlier for breakfast
So we’ve established that having breakfast at the seemingly ungodly hour of 4 AM is good for you. But it’s one thing to talk about something, and it’s an entirely different thing when you’re doing it.
Who wouldn’t want to get a few more hours (or even minutes) of sleeping time when it feels so good to be under the covers even before the sun comes up?
Here’s how you can cultivate habits that will get you to your 4 AM breakfast goal so that you can start becoming ultra-productive in whatever you’re doing.
- Plan a nice breakfast the night before
Before you go to bed, plan what you’re going to have for breakfast the night before. And then prepare the ingredients, and whatever you need so you have everything ready by the time you get to the kitchen to make your breakfast.
Looking forward to your breakfast gives you a reason to get up and enjoy the tranquility of the early morning – plus, it also knocks off the first thing off your list of to-dos, setting the momentum for the rest of the day. - Eat nutritious food
When considering what to eat for breakfast, make sure that your food is nutritious and not just overload yourself with sugary cereal or unhealthy meals.
Remember that what you eat becomes fuel for your body and mind, and if you’re using low-quality fuel, you’ll only end up with low-quality performance. - Sleep earlier
If you’re a night owl, this might be a hard habit to crack. But try to keep at it, and try to sleep earlier and get up earlier day by day. Soon you’ll be waking up before 4 AM to have your breakfast on the hour and feel the difference as you power through a productive day of completing tasks and getting work done. - Use a sleep tracker
If you’re worried that you’re not getting enough sleep, use a sleep tracker to ensure that your sleeping habits are healthy. If you sleep late and still expect to wake up at 4 AM to eat breakfast, you’re doing more harm than good.
On average, high-performance individuals like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos sleep for about 6 hours per day, give or take. Use that as a benchmark when trying to regulate your sleep schedule to this newfound habit.
Conclusion
Being a highly productive early riser means you’ll need to burn through more calories to keep your body and mind running at optimal capacity. And the only way you can sustain that is if you have a proper, nutritional breakfast.
So if you’re wondering whether eating breakfast at 4 AM is weird – it’s not! As long as you continue fueling your body throughout the day with lunch, snacks, and a proper dinner, you’ll be all set to smash your goals for the day and the days ahead.
Photo altered by simplelifesaver.com | Photo attribution: Brooke Lark | licensed under CC2.0
