Akshay Kumar to Tim Cook: Celebrities with 4 AM routines and what research says about the health benefits of waking early |

The alarm rings long before sunrise and mostly all of us to wake up early in the morning. But it seems quite difficult right?While most of the world remains asleep, there are few celebrities who start their day at the very onset of dawn.Their life revolves around early morning workouts, meditation to uninterrupted work schedule.While their demanding schedules might be one contributing reason behind their waking up this early, but, experts say the appeal of an early start goes beyond productivity. Although there’s no universal “perfect” wake-up time, many celebrities embrace early mornings because they provide structure, consistency and a calmer start to the dayHere is a list of successful personalities who start their their day at 4 am.

Mark Wahlberg famous 4 AM routine

Mark Wahlberg is a name that will be taken first in the list of people who wake up super early in the morning.Known for his early morning workout series on YouTube, 4AM Club Challenge where he invites celebrities from different backgrounds to practise and showcase different rigorous workouts, Mark has made it look super easy.He said ‘I work out five days a week. Thursday is one of the harder days – leg day,’ he says. ‘This is my daily routine, and I try to get as much done as possible before I go to work or start getting the kids up.’Mark is not at all sceptical about his decision of waking early. He thrives in it. In an exclusive interview with E News Mark said, “I really do this. I’ll get up at three o’clock—if I get to bed at a decent time. I always try to get eight hours of sleep.”

Akshay Kumar

Akshay Kumar’s early-to-bed, early-to-rise routine has been highlighted across multiple interviews over the years. Besides his stunning acting, the 58-year-old actor always stays in the limelight considering his extremely extraordinary disciplined fitness rules that he barely escapes.Akshay believes waking up early saves a lot of time throughout the day and as a result, one gets to invest their quality time in the things they love. It also helps rejuvenate the body.He follows a sleeping schedule where he sleeps around 9 to 9:30 am and wakes up around 4. Akshay believes dividing the whole day in three sets of 8 hrs. That helps one to achieve the peak level of productivity where prioritizing everything seems possible.

Issa Rae

Insecure creator Issa Rae loves to wake up around 4:00 am in the morning. In a 2024 interview with Glamorous, Rae spoke about her favorite way of enjoying her morning. She said, “It’s in the early morning, honestly, I get up at four and that is my workout time.”“And then literally after that time, I sit with coffee and a journal and just sit with my thoughts,” Rae added.While asked about her morning routine in “It Takes a Village” podcast, Rae said, “I wake up at 4:00 am, then workout for like an hour and an hour or a half.

Tim Cook

Tim Cook, the Apple CEO, wakes up at 3:45 am everyday. Soon he engages himself in work like constantly checking hundreds of feedback emails from customers, before heading to the gym. In office it takes him long hours attending lengthy meetings.But Cook believes that he can control the morning better than the evening.Cook doesn’t work out on Apple’s campus, opting instead for a gym where he’s less likely to run into his employees, The Wall Street Journal reported in 2014.” I go to the gym and work out for an hour because it keeps my stress at bay,” he told Axios in 2018.

Tamannaah Bhatia

Tamanna Bhatia kicks off the day with her morning routine that starts at 4:30 am and then directly jumps into a busy schedule.Once her fitness coach Siddhartha Singh shared a candid video on Instagram where the actress was asked about what motivates her to wake up so early in the morning. Tamannaah said, “Workout in the morning, and you feel more awake. It sets the tone for the entire day.”

What are the health benefits of waking up early in the morning?

Published in the journal Nature Communications, it is stated that our bodies follow a natural 24-hour internal clock which is known as the circadian rhythm.It regulates many essential functions, including when we feel sleepy, wake up, our hormone levels, and even our body temperature.This internal clock also influences a person’s chronotype. It decides whether a person naturally prefers waking up early (“morning larks”) or staying up and waking later (“night owls”).While age, gender, exposure to daylight, and lifestyle all play a role in shaping these preferences, researchers say that genetics also has a significant influence.Studies reveal that disruptions to this body clock may increase the risk of several health problems. People staying up late, for instance, are more likely to experience obesity, type 2 diabetes, and depression, even after accounting for sleep duration.