As a college student, waking up for that 8 am class could be described with any negative adjective in the English language. What I recently learned, however, is that waking up early for classes is actually benefiting me. Although waking up early seems like such a horrible thing, it is actually helping you in the long run. For example, waking up early is directly correlated to attaining good grades. Universities have conducted different experiments which concluded that those who woke up early each day had better test scores and overall grade points than those who slept all the time.

You may be reading this and setting your alarms for 8 am in hopes of raising your GPA, but unfortunately it doesn’t work that way. To actually benefit from waking up early, you need to set a schedule for yourself.  By doing this you are creating an internal clock, allowing your body to become familiar with a routine. This is something that is simple and comes with many benefits. A routine leads to a healthier lifestyle, enhances your productivity, and allows you to manage your life in an efficient manner.

I know this can sometimes be difficult, since college life is packed with distractions, such as work-study jobs, studying, and social activities. However, if you create a schedule and plan on waking up and going to bed at reasonable hours then you will probably see a difference in your life. The flip side of this is going to bed late and sleeping in late; both are things most college students do. Unfortunately, too much sleeping and an unsteady routine can actually be harmful to you. Excessive amounts of sleeping are linked to medical issues such as diabetes, heart disease, and depression.

The unsteady routine doesn’t allow your body to create that internal schedule you need. This causes irregular sleep patterns, and most students can see how that would affect their lives. Going to bed late, waking up at 8 am, and sleeping through class is not going to get you anywhere. Despite waking up early, you wouldn’t get enough sleep to allow your brain to function, causing you to skip class because you are so focused on sleeping.

Even though waking up in the morning is unpleasant, in the long run it benefits you. Go create a routine, with a reasonable time to go to bed and wake up. Test that out for a week and see how that changes various aspects of your life, like eating habits, productivity and even mental health. Compare your results to someone who doesn’t have a routine and sleeps forever. You will then see that by creating a routine and waking up at a reasonable hour, you can truly make yourself a better student, graduate on time, and have a smaller overall student loan amount.

As Blogger and budget aficionado, Tara K. helps students across the country enhance their knowledge about money management and everyday life. She is constantly looking for new ideas to transform into great advice for you. Pursuing a journalism major, Tara K. has a passion for the art of inquiry, which is conveyed through her writing.