Morning routines – Review of the 5 am club by Robin Sharma
In this book, the 5 am club; Robin Sharma reveals how to transform your life told through the creative story told throughout the book, aiming to inspire people all over the world to make positive changes for their health. Its principles are based around calibrating your biology in the first hour of waking to provide the energy, cognitive focus, creativity and productivity for the rest of your day. He emphasizes the practices needed to connect with your “inner hero” and higher wisdom. The following are the three key areas Sharma belives to participate in the first hour of your day.
Sweat
By moving first thing in the morning, you open yourself up to the amazing benefits that have been backed up by research. It can:
- Increase your ability to be active for the rest of the day (1).
- Reduce your consumption of calories in your day (1).
- Improve your mood (2).
- Increase your metabolic rate (3).
Reflection - Slow things down
We live in a world where we are constantly distracted. Sharma claims that successful people of the 5 am club have heightened clarity and focus. Partly because of their ability to participate in some form of meditative activity within the first hour of the day. Whether it be meditation, journaling or using apps such as headspace or smiling mind, find something to switch off or get your thoughts on paper. If there are things that have been troubling you, then unpacking it on paper will help you step out of the problem to see the solution. Sharma highlights that another element of reflection should be gratitude, which is an essential practice to train your brain to become focused on the things that are going good in your life versus the things that are not.
Grow
The final principle of the 5 am club based on learning. Whatever this may be for you (i.e., reading, listening to podcast, audiobooks) to develop your skills and knowledge.
Morning routines require discipline to create a regimen for consistently productive days! Studies have shown that all it takes in 66 days to be able to force habit. If it's not hard, it's not changing. “Mastery is not an event; it’s a process.” You have a choice every day to experience difficulty to live a glorious life. As a final recommendation, if you’re a morning person and want an extra push to wake earlier, reading this book will give you the motivation to do so with its fabulous ideas and principles along with an excellent storyline to go with it.
Image: @elijahdhiett
To find out more or to purchase the book, follow the link to https://www.robinsharma.com.
1. Hanlon, B., Larson, M. J., Bailey, B. W., & Lecheminant, J. D. (2012). Neural response to pictures of food after exercise in normal-weight and obese women. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 44(10), 1864-1870.
2. Thompson Coon, J., Boddy, K., Stein, K., Whear, R., Barton, J., & Depledge, M. H. (2011). Does participating in physical activity in outdoor natural environments have a greater effect on physical and mental wellbeing than physical activity indoors? A systematic review. Environmental science & technology, 45(5), 1761-1772.
3. Gonzalez, J. T., Veasey, R. C., Rumbold, P. L., & Stevenson, E. J. (2013). Breakfast and exercise contingently affect postprandial metabolism and energy balance in physically active males. British Journal of Nutrition, 110(4), 721-732.
Jade is a final year naturopathy Student at Southern School of Natural Therapies. She is currently seeing patients from the student clinic at their Fitzroy campus.
