40 ·^ COSMOPOLITAN
When the
alarm goes
off at 6am,
I fling back
the curtains.
Sunlight
stimulatescortisol(the stress
hormone we need to wake up) and
suppresses melatonin (the hormone
that tells us to go to sleep). It’s two
hours before I need to get up to go to
work, and four hours before I’d prefer
to get up – at 10am. I throw on some
clothes and dash off to a HIIT class,
rushing back two minutes later to
pick up my work bag. I’m thankful
it isn’t the dead of winter – it’s not
quite pitch black, but I’ve vowed to
get a blue-light-emitting lamp, as
they replicate the effect of sunshine.After the class, I bounce into
work. I pass on coffee, brainstorm
ideas and arrange interviews. I break
for lunch at 1pm, returning to find
my energy has waned. Usually, this
is the start of when my focus peaks.
But my eyes glaze over. I reread the
same article until I can go home.
I have dinner and am so tired, I crawl
into bed at 8pm, two hours before
the curfew of my new regime (and
five hours earlier than my usual
bedtime of 1am).
The next day I swap exercise for
breakfast. Normally, I don’t eat
anything at this hour, but research
tells me that in order to shift my
internal body clock (known as our
“circadian rhythm”) I must shift
everything else – from exercise tomeal times. According to experts,
what we eat doesn’t actually matter
in this context, it’s all about when
we eat it.† I butter bagels and mash
avocado, but can’t face eating it, so
I wrap it up for lunch and go to work.
I feel OK in the morning, but by
lunchtime, I’m flagging again. I make
it through the afternoon with the
help of a strong coffee at 2.55pm
(allowed), and another at 5pm
(forbidden). I have a late meeting
and get home at 8pm. It feels like
midnight. Yet as the days continue,
I see a gradual difference. I fire
off lots of emails in the morning,
instead of mindlessly moving
around files into folders on my
screen, and can feel my productive
hours shifting ever earlier.THE PLAN
Waking up two to three
hours before my regular
wake-up time.
Having breakfastas
soon as possible.
Getting lots of sunlight
in the mornings.
Only doing exercise
before lunch.Eating lunch at the
sametime every day.No caffeine after 3pm.
No naps after 4pm.Having dinnerbefore7pm.
Limiting light(daylight
as well as screen time)
in the evenings.
Going to bed twotothree
hours before normal.
Sticking to the routine
every day, regardless
of commitments.