“I TRIED GETTING UP AT THE SAME TIME EVERY DAY FOR A MONTH – IT TRANSFORMED MY ENERGY LEVELS”

My sleep routine is sporadic at best and non-existent most of the time. I go through phases of attempting to settle down for an early night (call it a reverse lie-in, and I’m sold), taking a pre-bed bath rather than doomscrolling until the early hours and making sure I get outside first thing in the morning, but nothing sticks for long. 

Once I’m in bed, I sleep well (for the most part), nodding off quickly and rarely waking unless disturbed by one of my children or my dog. Despite this, I’m always tired. Getting up in the morning has been a struggle for me for as long as I can remember. Even as a child, I used to crave a lie-in at the weekend (a trait my own kids have sadly not inherited). 

I dream of waking up naturally and not feeling exhausted, and I’m willing to do (almost) anything to achieve this. I’ve long known that a regular sleep schedule is essential, but I was under the impression that this only applied to the time I go to bed each night. When I read that getting up at the same time every morning can help regulate my circadian rhythm and make waking up easier, I was all in. 

And the science stacks up here, too: research shows that consistent sleep timing is beneficial across the board. So, could a month of setting my alarm for a consistent morning wake-up really help me feel less tired? I couldn’t wait to find out. 

How does a consistent wake up time help with energy and tiredness?

Even though having a consistent sleep routine makes good sense, I still couldn’t fathom how getting less sleep (ie by waking up earlier at the weekends) was going to help me feel less tired. So, I reached out to the experts for their take. 

“There are lots of reasons why a consistent waking routine works for people,” says Heather Darwall-Smith, a psychotherapist, sleep expert and author of How To Be Awake (So You Can Sleep Through The Night). “Your body loves a regular timetable. It’s a bit like a toddler – feed it and put it to bed at set times and it behaves much better for the rest of the day.”

But how will getting up earlier make me feel less tired?  Well, there are a number of factors at play here.

1. Quality over quantity 

“Mood, memory and energy are impacted more by the quality of the hours of sleep you get than the head‑count of minutes,” notes Darwall-Smith. “In other words, six solid, well-timed hours will be better for you than eight interrupted ones.” 

2. Our circadian rhythm thrives on routine

“Our internal clock, the circadian rhythm, doesn’t just regulate sleep/wake cycles, but also energy, hormones, digestion and mood,” says Maryanne Taylor, a sleep consultant and founder of The Sleep Works. “It operates best on rhythm and routine. The more consistent we are, the more the brain knows when to wind down and when to feel alert. 

“The brain loves certainty. Waking up at the same time each day helps anchor your body clock, making your sleep-wake rhythm more stable. Your body starts to expect sleep at the same time each night, and waking at the same time too. The sleep we do get becomes more efficient, even if it’s slightly less than ideal in length.”

3. It helps build sleep pressure 

This isn’t a term I’d heard before starting this challenge, but it’s worth getting to grips with the idea. Sleep pressure, also known as sleep drive (or adenosine) is the body’s in-built mechanism that tells you when it’s time to go to sleep, by making you feel tired. And getting up at the same time every day helps to build healthy levels of adenosine, contributing to better overall sleep quality.

“Getting up at the same or similar time each day and staying up and about for a predictable stretch lets adenosine steadily pile up,” says Darwall-Smith, “meaning that by evening you feel naturally ready to drift off.”

My morning wake-up routine experience 

My research all done and dusted, I was keen to start banking the benefits of a consistent wake-up time, but first, I had to decide what this was going to look like for me. I knew I had to be realistic: a morning person I am not, so I plumped for a very respectable 7.30am. This gave me just about enough time during the week to get the children ready and taken to school on time, but not so early that I’m anxiously counting my hours in bed when I go to sleep (I’m usually up until around 11.30pm). Crucially, this is a time that I knew wouldn’t be too painful at the weekends.

Hurdle number one made itself known quickly: the snooze function. For the first week, not much changed; I simply snoozed my alarm during the week. However, the experts did stress that there’s no need to be overly ambitious here: we’re after a sleep window, rather than a bootcamp-style military regime. 

Fortunately, I had to be up early that first weekend as I had commitments that involved leaving the house at 8am, so I had to advance my alarm to 6.30am. And during the day, I was pleasantly surprised that I wasn’t feeling totally exhausted, as I’d expected after a full week of work, school runs and extra-curricular commitments. 

The experts were onto something with the sleep pressure talk, though. After the first week, my body seemed to learn what I was trying to achieve, and by 10pm, I was more than ready for bed, which I gratefully succumbed to. And yes, I slept like a log. 

The second week continued in much the same vein, with me fully committed to the process, but (as I’m wont to do) by week three, I was starting to have doubts. Did this really mean I’d never have a lie-in ever again? And if not, was it worth it? 

“You don’t have to give up a weekend lie-in entirely, but keep it modest,” says Darwall-Smith. “A lie‑in that’s, say, 30–60 minutes later is a cosy treat. Stretch it to two or three hours and you’re giving yourself ‘social jetlag’, meaning that come Monday morning your body clock still thinks it’s living on Sunday time – no wonder the alarm becomes alarming!”

I heeded her advice and set my alarm for 8.15am the following Saturday, and it felt like a proper treat. Was I still tempted to drift back off to sleep? I’d be lying if I said no, but I have noticed that my Mondays are entirely more manageable now I’m in a better routine. I also never used to be able to sleep well on a Sunday night, most likely due to not having built up enough sleep pressure during the day, but since starting this challenge, I’ve slumbered consistently well regardless of the day. 

That’s not to say that I haven’t felt periods of overwhelming tiredness during the day, though. The intense heat of the last few weeks has well and truly take a toll on me, but I’ve tried to nap a little more when work (and my kids) allow, and even my Oura ring is impressed: my sleep score (which in all honesty I try not to get too hung up on) is a solid 80% most days – I’ll take that. 

As for whether I’m fully converted, only time will tell, but I’m pleased by how much better I feel. I’m no morning lark just yet, but it’s a work in progress, and that’s fine by me. 

Images: Getty

2025-07-23T07:18:08Z