The 5AM Club in Spain: is it realistic with our late hours?
, 3 min read
You finished the book on a Sunday, full of enthusiasm. On Monday you set the alarm for 05:00 and stuck to it. On Tuesday too, just about. On Thursday you switched it off without opening your eyes, and since then The 5AM Club has felt more like guilt than a plan.
With Spanish hours, getting up at 5 and sleeping enough means having dinner and going to bed at times almost nobody keeps. You can still use the book's idea if you adapt it: an hour for yourself before the day starts, at 06:30 or 07:00.
What The 5AM Club suggests
Robin Sharma suggests giving the first hour of the day to yourself, before you look at your phone. He splits it into the 20/20/20 formula: 20 minutes of exercise, 20 of reflection and 20 of learning. That structure is useful. The problem is the time.
Why 5am clashes with Spanish hours
Almost nobody in Spain gets up that early. According to the CIS sleep barometer from 2017, only 6.2% get up before 6 on weekdays. The most common slot, at 35.5%, is between 7 and 8.
We also go to bed late. A University of Michigan study estimated when people in each country sleep using data from a phone app, and as Xataka explains, Spain came out as the latest to bed of the countries studied. The same study found that what most decides how much a country sleeps is bedtime, not wake-up time. If you move your alarm earlier without moving your evening earlier, you sleep less.
The maths the book doesn't do for you
Sleep experts recommend that adults get at least seven hours. This is how the night looks depending on when you get up:
| You get up at | In bed before |
|---|---|
| 05:00 | 22:00 |
| 06:30 | 23:30 |
| 07:00 | 00:00 |
Going to bed at 22:00 means being in bed at the time many people here sit down to dinner. It can be done, but it changes your dinners and your plans with friends. If you aren't willing to do that, 05:00 will last as long as it did last time.
How to keep the good part of The 5AM Club
- Move the time and keep the idea. An hour for yourself at 06:30 has the same structure and costs you no sleep if you go to bed at 23:30.
- Shorten the blocks. A 10/10/10 you do every day is worth more than a 20/20/20 you give up on Thursday.
- Move earlier bit by bit. If you get up at 08:00 today, start at 07:30 and keep going earlier once that sticks.
- Decide how you'll prove it. Ticking a box from bed is easy. A photo of your coffee in the kitchen at 06:45, not so much.
If you already go to bed at 22:00 without effort, then The 5AM Club is for you. For everyone else, the time that really matters is the one you can keep on an ordinary Tuesday.
Your time, with Ultimatum
With Ultimatum you set your real time, for example 06:30, leave a small guarantee and prove it with a photo taken in the moment: the coffee on the table, your clothes on. If you keep your word, you get your money back, and if the photo check has doubts, a person reviews it without charging you anything automatically. It isn't available yet; join the beta and we'll let you know when it opens.