It could be, maybe, just maybe, and here me out here, that the comic is not the absolute, actual depiction of one's day to the second, just a generalism to get through the point. Which can be done through not too dense heads which are able to do a bit of imagination and not taking a comic literally. Geez.
ITT: Half of the people doesn't understand what OP asks. The question is not why they start early, it's why specifically 5AM. Why not 5:30? Why not 4? What is the specific significance of 5AM?
Exactly. Look at any graph from the last 50-100 years from live births to life expectancy, from crime rates to living standards: life is objectively better and better, at least in the Western world.
Stop feeding yourself with negativity all day long. Grab a beer, watch a movie, go hiking with your friends etc. Do this regularly without reading too much "news" and you'll feel it soon enough.
Reminds me of the old one with fried chicken: let me bathe you in your dead child.