In one of my late posts I shortly mentioned that I started 2023 in a different way, by trying an experiment on myself. It is february yet the experiment still continues, with minor adjustments, because I have found it beneficial for me. It might not work for everybody, I am aware of that. Still, I would like to share my overall experience.
It is 4 AM in the morning. My alarm wakes me up. I slowly get up, expecting some resistance to this new routine. Yes, I have decided to wake up at 4 AM from Monday to Saturday in order to have more time for myself and see if I get more things done while also improving my well being.
Brutal ? Harsh? Daring? Crazy? Maybe.
I drink my water, say my prayers and affirmations and drink my tea. Sometimes I eat, sometimes I do not. I prepared my swimsuit one day before. I am going to swim.
Where? At 4 AM? Swimming?
Double crazy.
No. I make my morning routine, beauty rituals until 5 and at 5:30 I am at the pool. They open super early in here, something I have found to be amazing. Even more shocking was for me to see the place was pretty crowded with elders at that time, who probably also think like me or just have too much time to spare or sleep issues.
Either way I am stoked.
Before swimming I go to the sauna. Uh how I love the warmth of it. This sauna is special as it is almost completely made out of glass so you can look outside and feel like you are in nature. Pretty rad. I sit for 10 to 15 min. I try to be careful with heat exposure as I have heard in a podcast how it affects fertility. I am 33 and I do want kids so I better not boil down my ovaries haha.
Now the coolest part of my experiment comes: COLD WATER EXPOSURE. After the sauna there is a lovely led colored pool with cold water waiting for you outside. I started with 5 minute exposure. I admit that I wanted to try just because, in some days, the sky at 6 in the morning is so clear I can see so many stars. And I love it. I sit in the pool, look at the stars and I feel somehow a sense of peace. Every worry feels small.
I was amazed to see that I could progress quite fast and increase the amount of time spent in cold water. Now I can sit for 30 minutes without any trouble while also doing exercise under water.
The best part of the experiment of waking at 4 AM and doing deliberate cold exposure for 1 month and still going:
I feel I win my day and that I have more time for my soul and the things I really want to do
More time for painting. Working for somebody else and not for yourself steals your time. I dislike it. By waking up so early I feel I take ownership of my time and life. It gives me a sense of freedom, it gives me power to dream of something bigger and better.
More focus. You get more mental clarity after cold exposure. I can't explain it but it is real. You are much more sharp, less depressed and more motivated. After researching more about this I have found there is scientific proof of these benefits. I HIGHLY recommend you to listen to this podcast about deliberate cold exposure. It changed a lot for me
Daily time in nature and catching the sun. I can't express enough how vital it is to expose yourself to the sun early in the day. It has tremendous benefits for your mood. In Denmark there is little sun so for me it is a sport to catch a good sunny morning and take advantage of it. I must tell you that I have seen some amazing colors in the early mornings. It is definetely worth waking up that early
Improved physique. I was no ugly ducky before, but I look even better now. Very toned, everyting is super firm and at its right place lol. I like it. The combination of swimming, sauna, walking and cold exposure did magic for my skin and body.
So it was great. On sundays the alarm is off. I let my body sleep as long as it feels it is necessary.
I have made a little adjustement since february and on Saturdays I wake up at 5. I also have switched swimming in the morning with swimming in the night. Too many elderly energy in the house lol. And I have found that I feel more victorious if I get to sit and paint or read the first hours of the day.
I am proud of myself for pulling this off. My friends told me that it is very brave, they were impressed too. Now that I am in the second month of this new routine I think of making a little lifestyle out of it. Surely it might suffer changes when I will become a mom /wife , but I will find a way to keep it . I like the feeling of winning the day before starting work. The world is very silent at 4 AM. I like it. Silence is music to my ears.
A winter memory when I bought oats to feed the ducks. They went crazy for it . I adore the wildlife around the lake
