If you have ever dragged yourself out of bed after hitting snooze for the fifth time and wondered whether “morning people” are simply a different species, neuroscientist Dr Andrew Huberman has a bold claim: it takes just three days of pain to become one.
Speaking on a podcast with Chris Williamson, Huberman suggested that shifting your body clock may be less about forcing an early bedtime and more about aggressively resetting your mornings.
His prescription? Wake up at the same early hour—say, 5 am—even if you slept late the previous night. Then immediately expose yourself to sunlight, get some exercise, have caffeine (carefully), eat if you wish, and engage in social interaction.
The theory is that these cues, known as zeitgebers—German for “time givers”—help align your circadian rhythm, the body’s internal clock, with an earlier schedule.
DISCLAIMER:
Not exactly, says Dr Pankaj Agarwal, Director of Neurology, Stroke and Neurocritical Care at Gleneagles Hospital, Parel, .
“Three days can start the shift, but full adaptation usually takes longer,” he tells indianexpress.com. While you may feel less uncomfortable after a few days of consistent cues, “stable circadian re-entrainment” often takes one to two weeks, depending on how far you’re shifting.
That said, Huberman’s broader framework is rooted in sleep science.
“Light is the strongest zeitgeber,” Dr Agarwal confirms while also affirming that the morning sunlight tells the brain’s central clock that the day has started and helps set melatonin timing.
“Exercise, meal timing, and social activity also help reinforce wakefulness and synchronise the body’s internal rhythms.”
Caffeine, however, comes with conditions. “It boosts alertness, but it works best early in the day. Late caffeine can interfere with sleep and delay the body clock instead of helping reset it.”
According to Dr Agarwal, the strategy of fixing your wake-up time first is a recognised approach.
“Most sleep experts recommend anchoring wake time rather than trying to force bedtime first. A consistent wake time, especially when paired with morning light, gradually as sleep pressure builds.”
But there is a catch: sleep deprivation.
“Acute sleep loss can impair mood, concentration, judgement, and even cardiovascular health,” he cautioned. So while a short-term reset may be a “strategic trade-off”, people should avoid “driving or doing risky tasks” while severely sleep-deprived.
For those who naturally identify as night owls, a gentler approach may be wiser. Instead of a dramatic 5 am reset, Dr Agarwal recommends shifting wake-up time by 15 to 30 minutes every one to two days, getting bright morning light, exercising earlier, eating a protein-rich breakfast, and avoiding late-night screen exposure, caffeine, alcohol, and heavy meals.
So yes, three painful days might help kickstart the process. But if you are hoping to wake up at dawn feeling magically transformed by Day 4, your body may have other plans.
DISCLAIMER:
