Last week was Valentine’s Day. It was also my anniversary. My wife and I have been together for 19 years. Nineteen years is long enough to understand that love isn’t just dinners or flowers. It’s adjustments. It’s trade-offs. It’s small decisions that compound over time. And one of the hardest ones I’ve made... Waking up at 5AM.

If it were purely up to me, I would naturally go to bed after midnight and wake up close to 8AM. I’m a Night Owl. Always have been. My ideas come alive at 10PM. My brain feels sharp when the house is quiet.

But a couple of years ago, when work was intense, the kids were little, and I was stating with my habit of writing this newsletter late at night, something had to change. So I moved my writing from night… to 5AM. This week, I want to share how I did it. Next week, I’ll share why you don’t actually need 5AM to win.

Tip of the Week: You can benefit a lot from changing your sleeping schedule, but don’t rely on discipline - build a system that shifts your biology.

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The Theory Behind

We don’t all wake up wired the same. Research on chronotypes shows most of us fall into three groups: Early Risers (Larks), Night Owls, and those somewhere in between. Variations in genes like PER3 influence when we feel most alert. From an evolutionary standpoint, this diversity helped humans survive in shifts. The problem is modern society doesn’t run in shifts.

The world rewards early alignment. School starts early. Corporate meetings happen in the morning. Promotions often go to those “seen” early. Productivity culture glorifies 5AM routines. Whether we like it or not, the system favors morning energy. At some point, I stopped resisting that reality and asked: if the world runs early, should I learn to run early too?

Circadian rhythm is controlled by light, not motivation. As Dr. Andrew Huberman explains, light exposure is the strongest regulator of our internal clock. Morning sunlight triggers a cortisol pulse that wakes us up. Darkness and temperature drops signal melatonin release. We don’t fall asleep just because we’re tired, we actually fall asleep because our brain believes it’s night. If you want to shift your sleep, you must shift your light exposure (yes, that includes your phone).

What I’ve Learned

If you’re like me and falling asleep early feels unnatural, I’ve gone deep on this topic. I’ve listened to multiple Huberman episodes, read sleep research, tested different things, and honestly geeked out on it. After experimenting, here’s the system that worked best for me.

• Step 1: Environmental cue: Marconi Union’s “Weightless.” This track is often cited as one of the most relaxing sound compositions ever produced. Slower tempo, minimal transitions, calming frequencies. When I play it consistently, it signals shutdown mode. Over time, my brain associates that song with sleep.

• Step 2: Physiological shift: Box breathing (4-4-4-4). Inhale four seconds. Hold four. Exhale four. Hold four. Repeat. This activates the "parasympathetic nervous system," which is your rest state. Heart rate slows. Muscles relax. The body calms before the mind does.

• Step 3: Cognitive shutdown: The Cognitive Shuffle. Pick a random letter. Let’s say “D.” and then start to think about words that start with that letter (e.g. Inhale. Dinosaur. Exhale. Inhale. Diamond. Exhale. Inhale. Delicious.....and keep going). The words are intentionally unrelated. Your brain tries to connect them... and fails. This mimics the random imagery that appears during the transition to sleep (called hypnagogia). Instead of planning tomorrow or replaying conversations, your mind drifts into harmless randomness.

Individually, these work. Together, they’re powerful. Music becomes the cue. Breathing calms the body. Random words quiet the mind. That’s my falling-asleep-early system. Discipline wakes you up once. Systems help you repeat it for years.

Make It Happen

This isn’t about copying a guru. It’s about intentional adaptation.

1. Lock Your Wake-Up Time First. Pick your target time and hold it (even if bedtime isn’t perfect yet).

2. Shift Gradually. Move your bedtime 15–30 minutes earlier every 3–4 days. Avoid drastic jumps.

3. Use a Sleep-Trigger System. Don’t just “try” to sleep earlier. Build a repeatable wind-down sequence: Play the same calming track nightly. Practice 3–5 minutes of box breathing. Use a cognitive shuffle to quiet your thoughts. Stack them together. Repetition builds association.

4. Get Morning Sunlight Within 30–60 Minutes. No sunglasses if possible. Light anchors your circadian rhythm.

5. Dim Your Evenings. Lower overhead lights after 9PM. Signal darkness before expecting sleep.

6. Avoid Naps During Transition. Let sleep pressure accumulate. It’s uncomfortable — but effective.

7. Wake Up To Something. Don’t wake up early just to wake up early. Wake up to something that pulls you out of bed. For me, it was writing. For you, it might be the gym, a book, or quiet time before the house wakes up. If nothing meaningful is waiting, the snooze button will win.

If you’ve read this far and are wondering whether I kept the habit… I didn’t. I eventually settled at 5:50AM. That’s my new wake-up time (and most days, I wake up before the alarm). What time do you usually wake up? Reply to this email or comment below, I’d love to know.

Next week, I’ll share the other side of this story, because the truth is: you don’t actually need 5AM to win… but if you can make it work, it can definitely help.

Wake up, grab a brush and put a little make-up,

Jorge Luis Pando

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