You might be wondering which aspect of family life I am going to take up as the topic for this issue. We are going to discuss the beneficial aspects of ‘early rising’. I am able to hear the naysayers grumbling and fretting. At the outset, ‘early rising’ might seem a matter of no consequence. But can you believe if I say that a marriage was broken because of this ‘trivial’ matter?! The girl used to get up only at eight in the morning. When she got married, her mother-in-law wanted her to get up at six. The mother was annoyed and took her daughter away from her in-laws’ house!

In many houses, the wife would also get up very late, justifying her action by saying that her husband is not the only privileged person to get up late. The husband, with the ego of a man, would get up from bed at least half an hour after his wife gets up! In a joint family, some other woman would take care of the morning work, but in a nuclear family, if both the man and his wife vie with each other in ‘rising’ late, the breakfast item can be only bread or noodles!

When we were children, before attaining the school-going age, we would get up very early making the elders feel helpless and annoyed! And, during old age, we wouldn’t get sound sleep; we would be waking up in between, keeping switching on and off the light. It is only the interim period during which ‘rising early’ becomes a real struggle.

For those, who work on night shifts, continuing the sleep even after sunrise is permissible. But, for others, early rising should be the habit. The benefits we derive from early rising are immense:

a. The early-morning rays from the sun give us freshness and energy. It has been found that those who rise before or at the time of sunrise are more energetic.

b. We get sufficient time for exercise. Exercising renders us more brisk and healthier.

c. We get more time to do our morning work and we can finish off all the work leisurely without hurrying.

d. We can set ourselves as examples for our children in their understanding the benefits of early rising.

e. If we start our morning with patience, excellence and beauty, we can carry over the enthusiasm and fresh feeling to the end of the day.

f. By rising early, the relationship among the family members can be maintained on good terms as we can avoid arguments like, “Who should do this work? Who should do that work?”

g. If we work with enthusiasm and clarity, we can get good sleep at night.

h. It is advisable to avoid watching serials in the night. We can read some good books or listen to some quality music before retiring to bed.

The time of our ‘rising’ from bed determines our mood, health, relationship with the family, etc.