As I settled into bed after a long day of cheer, school, work, and homework, I looked at the clock — nearly midnight. I then thought to myself, “OK, if I get to bed right now, I can still get five hours of sleep.” For me, mornings either mean going to the gym or going to cheer practice, which, unfortunately, also means waking up at 5 a.m. Even though I sometimes dread the morning wakeup call, I have actually found that waking up earlier has been beneficial for me.

Getting an early start to my day and actually having time to do things in the mornings, rather than waking up at 7:30 a.m. and arriving just as the five-minute bell sounds, puts me in a better mood. I am more awake and ready to learn, instead of still waking up mid-first block. That feeling of awakeness continues throughout the day and I feel like I have much more time to get things done as the day goes on.

According to Forbes, research studies conducted over the past years have concluded that being an early riser is actually rewarding, for it increases motivation. In 2008, a study done by the University of Texas at Austin showed that students who wake up earlier actually received better grades. Those who identified as “night owls” averaged at a 2.5 GPA, while the students who identified as “morning people” averaged at a 3.5. Another study done by Harvard biologist Christoph Randler in 2008 concluded that waking up early promotes proactivity and those who get the day started earlier tend to “make things happen.”

Also, those who wake up early actually tend to get more sleep. Since I have began waking up earlier, I find myself getting tired earlier and usually falling asleep around 9 p.m. as long as I have everything I need to get done accomplished. According to Forbes, sleep experts say this is because your body will be more in tune with the earth’s natural rhythms, which makes for a more constant sleeping cycle.

You can’t argue statistics. If you’re one of those people who roll out of bed just in time to grab your breakfast and go, barely making it to class on time, I challenge you to try something new. Wake up a little earlier to do some reading, make a quality breakfast or go on a jog. It may actually turn out that you enjoy waking up earlier, because the early bird actually does get the worm.