Early bird gets the worm

01 Sep 2023
By Pedro Vasconcelos

Back to Work Issue

The expression promises a reward for waking up early, but in the latest wellness trend, the only gratification is sticking to a routine. When it comes to wellness, the point is made early and punctually.

For over a year, I woke up every weekday at six in the morning to go to the gym. This routine, which garnered both admiration and concern, wasn't really a wellness strategy. Whenever the alarm went off, often before dawn, it wasn't my health that motivated me to get out of bed, but futility. I was surprised when people praised my discipline - for me, this routine was just a reflection of my narcissism. But while I was busy buying progressively tighter clothes to show off the results of my morning work, a whole movement was springing up based on this habit I had adopted. In TikTok, a new way of organizing the day was flourishing, which equates our happiness to a "work schedule." Entitled 5 to 9, the phenomenon stipulates a complementary routine to the typical 9 to 5 of a working day. In Portugal, this would be described as 10 to 7, the two extra hours justified by the imminent need to have breakfast and lunch in peace. But regardless of the name, what this trend envisages is an extensive wellness routine that precedes the working day. For most people, the idea of waking up four hours earlier than necessary to exercise is more than unpleasant, it's undesirable. However, according to the short videos circulating on social media, the emotional comfort of our bed is nothing compared to the benefits of getting up early to workout. The promises made by so-called wellness gurus are tempting. We’re guaranteed that nirvana is within reach for those who see the sunrise. Despite the skepticism about influencers' assurances, it seems that, for once, science is on their side. Against facts there are no arguments: the best side of the bed is the one that gets up first.

The concept of regulating our day according to the rising and setting of the sun is not alien, on the contrary, it’s ancient. At the dawn of humanity, our schedule was diurnal: during the day we lived, at night we slept. Of course, since then we've invented thousands of distractions that have altered our sleep patterns, one of which is the same TikToks that, ironically, encourage us to wake up early. For Raíssa Fernandes, adopting the 5 to 9 routine was a way of disconnecting from the hustle and bustle to focus on her well-being. "Little by little I realized how much good it did me to take care of the basics: sleep, hydration, nutrition, moving my body and taking care of my mind," says the influencer. Through her Instagram and TikTok (@raissaafernandes), Fernandes documents the benefits this practice brings her. Although the description of her routine is similar to mine, her motivations couldn't be more different. The physical advantages she feels are just a bonus compared to her true potential. According to the influencer, adopting 5 to 9 "gave me a lot of clarity about the person I wanted to become and the only possible way to get there: my routine, the way it is today." "Routine is not the end, it's the tool we use to achieve the best version of ourselves," he clarifies. Fernandes goes further, indicating that her routine is her "main tool of self-love."

The influencer's words are persuasive, but they are not enough to convince us. Although they are given in the first person, they are no different from the speeches in any other video about the 5 to 9 routine. There is no doubting the veracity of Raíssa Fernandes' testimony, but there is a certain resistance to words spoken in the sphere of social networks, a filter that attenuates possible hyperbole. To find a cure for this skepticism, and to understand the science behind this phenomenon, we turned to Dr. Phillippa Lally, Professor of Psychology at the University of Surrey in the UK. The British researcher specializes in the formation of habits, routines and the impact they have on the human psyche. Her professional background makes her the perfect person to answer the question: "Is the 5 to 9 routine a miracle or snake oil?" Lally gets straight to the heart of the matter: "Both quality sleep and physical exercise are beneficial for mental health." But if it's a question of making sure we stay active and sleep regularly, does it matter what time of day we choose to do it? According to the psychologist, the priority is to develop a structured routine that allows us to exercise and sleep well on a regular basis, but by ensuring that these needs are met at the beginning of the day, the chance of destabilization is reduced. "If we exercise as soon as we get up, then the inconveniences that arise throughout the day are less likely to distract us," explains Lally. Morning exercise can also boost daily productivity. When we start the day feeling like we've achieved something, we go into the working day feeling like we've already accomplished one of the many tasks ahead of us.

Of course, it's not all a bed of roses. Even with scientific validation and the support of an online community, getting up four hours earlier isn't exactly something that's easy to achieve. From weaning yourself off your cell phone to adapting your social life, there are many challenges when trying to form a new habit. For Raíssa Fernandes, the biggest obstacle came in the form of her social circle. "To this day, my habits are not the same as those of the people I live with, and this causes some routine conflicts, such as noises in the house at my bedtime and wake-up time, which are different from the others," she says. Although she is proud of the routine she has built, the influencer confesses that "changing habits can be a lonely process." The social pressure to keep to the same schedule as the majority isn't the only challenge. According to Lally, the biggest difficulty lies not in finding the will to start, but in keeping up the momentum. "It can be difficult to stay motivated for as long as it takes to build a habit," she explains. According to her research, it usually takes around 66 days to develop a habit. Of course, the number varies from person to person, and according to the activity you're trying to regularize, and can range from 18 to 254 days.For Fernandes, the changes to her routine began about three years ago, gradually changing her habits until about ten months ago, when she felt ready to dedicate herself to 5 to 9.

To avoid frustration, both the clinical psychologist and the influencer prescribe the same remedy: calm. The former warns that "trying to do everything too soon can be harmful to both the body and the mind, leading to feelings of failure, [so] the ideal is to build slowly." Fernandes recalls: "My routine is more about constancy than perfection." As well as patience, both interviewees agree that there needs to be a plan. Waking up at six in the morning without knowing what the next step is is half the battle against the temptation to stay in bed. "You need to create cues for the next step after the alarm," advises Lally. Fernandes mentions the importance of these steps in her morning routine: "I immediately put on the clothes I'm going to train in while I drink my coffee." But for the habit-formation expert, the most important piece of advice is the simplest: you have to enjoy yourself. "If you're exercising your body or even meditating, you need to enhance these activities with something that makes them enjoyable," says the British researcher. "A habit is established when you complete a routine without having to make an effort to finish it, and if you can start fostering that feeling manually, you'll be making the next day easier than the last."

However, even in the face of so much advice and warnings, it's important to note: the above testimonies are only based on the experiences and opinions of a few. A healthy life includes regular physical exercise, but our well-being doesn't have to be seen as a full-time job or, in the case of the 5 to 9 routine, part-time. The phenomenon is nothing more than a strategy to ensure an active life. However, Phillippa Lally safeguards that "there are people who naturally feel more active in the evening, and for them a routine that puts the onus on physical activity in the morning is not appropriate." The expert also warns against the temptation to follow all the "trends" circulating on TikTok, Instagram and the like. "Suggestions for healthy behaviors can be helpful, however, many of the recommendations made to us on social media have no scientific evidence to back them up and can foster very unhealthy attitudes," says the psychologist. Even Raíssa Fernandes, who is busy sharing her experience on social media, is keen to point out that "knowledge is shared in a very unrealistic, perfect and almost intangible way." For the influencer, there is a gulf between the information that is disseminated and reality, a distance that is filled with the privilege that is not talked about: "Many of the people who share about well-being and health on social media are extremely thin, live in large houses with access to clothes, equipment, and supplements that are not accessible to the majority," she denounces. The influencer is not immune to this phenomenon, telling how her privilege contributes to the success of her own journey in the world of wellness. "Maintaining good habits focused on my self-care in the early hours of the day is a privilege that not everyone has, and working from home allows me to invest the time I would otherwise spend commuting in my morning and evening rituals," she elaborates. We all have the same 24 hours in the day, but our time shouldn't be measured evenly. Phillippa Lally boils it down to its essence: "We only have so many hours in a day, so I would only recommend that, out of the little time we have, we do something that is beneficial for our mind and body."

Translated from the original on The Coming Back Issue, published September 2023. Full stories and credits on the print issue.

Pedro Vasconcelos By Pedro Vasconcelos

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