Good Morning, Sunshine!

Every morning, I stick my head in my colleague’s office and say “Good Morning, Sunshine!” in an exceptionally bright and cheery way. I’m never quite sure if he finds my early morning enthusiasm strangely bewildering or mildly hilarious, but I typically offer a big smile and a few encouraging words and head on to share some more of my effervescent personality with others.

Yes, I’m one of those people that many love to hate: a morning person.

I believe I’ve always been a morning person – I remember that as a child I would always be awake before anyone else in house, and I often spent an hour or more reading in my room before my parents or sister ventured out of bed. As a university student, I was often up and dressed before 8:00am, even after a heavy night of clubbing. Well, perhaps not after every out night out, but certainly after many of them! By my final year in Leeds, one of my housemates and I would frequently cross paths outside the bathroom as we engaged in daily friendly competition about who could get the first shower. At 7:30am!

Many of you know that I am an avid runner and fitness enthusiast. A few years ago a friend of mine begun a community running group to encourage people of diverse backgrounds to come together as runners/walkers in promotion of a healthier community. (Note: She’s awesome, and deserves a whole post dedicated to her, but I probably need to get her permission before I do that). I was exercising in the evenings after work and as much as I wanted to support her efforts, the thought of meeting a group of people to run at 5:00am sounded about as appealing as pulling out my eyelashes one by one. However, thanks to the urging of one of My Chosen Few, I finally dragged myself out of bed and made it out to an early morning run. After a couple of weeks of running in the early morning, I was hooked! It was summer, and the running route meant we would run the last 1/2 mile into the sunrise – an inspiring way to start the day.  I discovered that by the time I got back home from the run, I was wide awake and excited about starting the day – my physical energy level improved and my brain was on fire!

It took me until my mid-30s to acknowledge that my body and brain function best if they are up before the sun. By the time I get to work I’ve typically been up for 3+ hours, and my post-workout endorphins provide a boost to my naturally cheerful disposition and positive energy.

Perhaps if you’ve only been out of bed for 30 minutes and haven’t had your coffee yet, my daily “Good Morning, Sunshine!” greeting might grate on your nerves or seem a little exaggerated – I mean, we are at work, who gets that excited about their job? But I’ve never met anyone who regrets getting up early, or who would prefer to be a “night owl” instead of an “early bird”. And I’m grateful for my body clock: I rarely need an alarm and have very little difficulty getting up at 4:15am, which is probably a sign of my natural affinity for early rising. I’m not scared to go to bed early either – my phone goes on Do Not Disturb mode at 9:00pm, and I’m usually fast asleep before 9:15pm. And yes, I will reply to any texts sent after 9:00pm at 4:15am, so be warned!