Dolly Parton Begins Each Morning At 3 AM So She Can Pray, Cook Breakfast, And Meditate

Dolly Parton is an open book when it comes to her life, and her morning routine is no exception. The country music megastar opened up about spirituality and her morning routine in an interview with RuPaul for Marie Claire.

It may not surprise you that a woman who has accomplished so much can do it on a fairly small amount of sleep. Dolly shared that she averages three to five hours a night and operates by the old adage "early to bed, early to rise." The 75-year-old says she's almost always up for the day by 3 a.m.

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She also makes breakfast, believe it or not. Dolly's not the type to get into being waited on, and she makes herself and husband Carl Thomas Dean a meal every morning they're home.

The conversation between divas started on the subject of spirituality's role in creating, especially for Dolly.

"I have my little meditations I do, my little scriptures that I read, and all that. And that's how I start my day. And I also can draw on that throughout the day," Dolly said.

"If things get chaotic and crazy around me, I can just go into that little spot of my own," she continued.

"It's why I say you need to keep a little spot for yourself and your spiritual self and for God. I gain strength and courage and hope and light and love from that little spot."

Dolly shared just how early she's up in the morning to get her day started.

"I'm a very, very, very early riser," she said.

"I'm always, almost always up for good around 3 am. So I do some of my best spiritual work, some of my best writing, and some of my business work — call-ins and letters that I'm writing or whatever — between 3 am and 7 am. I get more work done during that little period of time when the world is calm, energies are down, and I just feel like a farmer."

When it comes to breakfast, Dolly has no problem whipping something up for herself and husband Carl Thomas Dean.

"This morning I made breakfast for my husband and me. I made some sausage patties, and I baked some biscuits, and I made some milk gravy," she shared.

"He likes that once in a while. Now, I can't eat like that all the time, but I enjoy eating it when I do."

And, of course, she cooks in heels. It's part of her philosophy of always being on.

"I have to always stay ready — street ready, I always say. I have to keep my makeup on and keep my hair done. Like, when I'm in LA — I've told you about it — if it's going to earthquake, if we get an earthquake, I'm not running out in the street looking like you look now," she joked.

"I have to be ambulance-ready at all times, if I get sick or something."

"But I actually do wear high heels most of the time. They're not always as high as the ones I wear for show. But I’m little," she continued.

"I'm short. And I have to wear heels in order to reach my cabinets. But I always enjoy wearing the shoes too, and I just feel more like me. But I can come down, though. I'm comfortable in my own skin; I'm comfortable with my image. I dress for myself more than I do for somebody else."