“Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise,” runs the proverb. We must have full sleep before we apply ourselves to our daily work. Oversleep is as harmful to our health as under sleeping is.

A man who goes to bed late must rise late. A man who gets up early is sure to have an advantage over others who get up late. Getting up late means hurrying through everything-no bathing but only dry cleaning, not eating and chewing food properly but only bolting it.

Early morning hours are the freshest and the quietest. The atmosphere is calm and free from dust. There is ozone in the air early in the morning. It is useful for health. To breathe this gas is to breathe life. The rays of the morning sun are particularly good for health and only an early riser can take advantage of it. Early rising makes a man smart, and active.

Exercise and deep breathing in the fresh morning air give new life and energy. They act as tonic. Nature is quiet. Peace and quietness of Nature impart peace to the soul. One instinctively feels that there is a bond of union between Nature’s heart and that of man.

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Nature presents a very charming and lovely view in the morning. The freshly blossomed flowers, the pearly dew drops on the grass and chirping of the birds enliven the mind. Apart from this, one can begin one’s day’s work early and finish it early.

In cities, life has become artificial. Modern science has provided means of keeping late hours, so people in towns generally go to bed late. Activity in all spheres of life goes on till late hours. Mills and factories work non-stop. Tonga and motor rickshaws keep plying throughout the night. So people in towns go to bed late and rise late. This has led man to all sorts of diseases and ailments.

In villages, life is not so complex. It is more or less natural. People go to bed early and rise early. Moreover, their work is such as requires early rising. A farmer must get up early to plough his field or milk his cows and buffaloes. The farmer’s wife must rise early to grind corn or to churn milk. The washerman must rise early to wash the clothes.

Early rising is not so difficult as it seems. It is all a question of Practice. Once you get used to it, you will find it difficult to do without it. Even in the severest winter you will not need a great effort to come out of your warm bed.

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If a farmer begins to plough his fields, a traveller starts on his Journey, or a labourer begins his work, while the others of his calling are still asleep. He finishes his task much ahead of them, besides, he can do much more than the others. The fact that one has already done a portion of one’s work before others have started to do theirs, gives one a peculiar sense of confidence and satisfaction.

Early morning is the best time of the day for students and other intellectual workers to go about their work. They are fresh after the night’s rest, and there is not much noise at this time to disturb them.

Thus, early rising makes a man healthy and fit for work during the day. A man who can work and labour is above want. He can make money. A man’s success in life is proportionate to his efforts; to his industry; to his attention to small things.

When a man is healthy and wealthy, he automatically grows wise. A man who can put in work can learn any trade. It is by using one’s hands and brain that one grows wise. A man grows wise by work and experience. An idle man remains a fool all his life.