Starting your day off right with a healthy morning routine is necessary for maintaining a good mood. But how can you create the perfect morning routine? Here are some tips and tricks to get you waking up on the right side of the bed.
A healthy morning routine is how you can take control of each day. Starting your day with easy with low-stress is how you can make the most of the entire day. As soon as you wake up, every decision you make goes into your brains willpower reserves. Willpower is a limited resource and sometimes it runs dry. This means if you wake up and immediately hit snooze, it becomes a lot more difficult to get anything done.
A good morning routine helps us automate our mornings so we can develop healthy habits that benefit us instead of deplete us. A lot of activities you do in the morning are an act of self-care too! Everyone’s ideal morning is different but here are some tips to help get you started.
How To Create A Healthy Morning Routine
A healthy morning routine requires some trial and error as well as maneuvering. Sometimes we need to change the time we go to bed and wake up to ensure we can fit in our entire morning routine. Remember consistency is key to building up healthy habits.
1. Good Night Sleep
First things first, get a good night sleep. A healthy sleep will give you energy and recharge your batteries for the next day. Make sure you have a proper wind-down routine to go with your morning routine. 7-9 hours average is what most adults needs to function best. However, if you are sick, recovering from an injury or are active as a profession, you may need more sleep.
2. Wake Up Right
A good night sleep also requires a good wake up call. Waking up during your lightest sleep cycle is when you feel the most recharged. Use an app to monitor your sleep cycle and help you wake up during the lightest cycle.
When the alarm goes off each morning, remember that snooze is not an option. Hitting snooze over and over again will affect your mood, cognitive ability and make you even more tired. Set your phone across the room so you have to get up to turn it off which might make the waking up process easier.
There are even apps that make you solve a puzzle before you can turn the alarm off. Mathe Alarm Clock gives you math questions to answer in order to turn off the alarm. It activates your brain and prevents you from trying to press snooze.
3. Stretch
Whether in bed or out of bed, give yourself a good stretch. Stretching in the morning gets your blood flowing, energizes your body and your mind. Do whatever feels good to you or watch a Youtube stretching video to help get you started.
4. Get Hydrated
Drinking water first thing in the morning hydrates you, activates digestion and boosts your overall energy.
5. Make Your Bed
Making your bed will make it less tempting to get back in. Its an easy way to make you feel good and that you already accomplished something. Additionally, it frees yourself from clutter which contributes to higher self-esteem, better hygiene and improves our overall wellbeing.
6. Eat A Good Breakfast
Start your day off with a good meal. It’s true, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. A protein rich breakfast will give your more energy and mental clarity. If you have busy mornings, make overnight oats, chia seed pudding or something else you can prepare ahead of time.
7. Do Something Positive
Jump start your day with something positive. Most successful people believe in the power of a good morning and positivity. Taking 2-5 minutes each morning to do something positive improves mood, mental health and concentrated.
- Practice gratitude – make a list of everything your grateful for or reasons why today is going to be a great day
- Meditation – take a few minutes and focus on 3-5 positive things about yourself and your life.
- Affirmations – in addition to meditating, include some affirmations to make yourself feel good and help you complete your goals.
- Set goals & visualize the day – take time to reflect and focus on what is important today. Whatever the goal is start by identifying it and visualize how you can achieve it.
9. Get Moving
A healthy day requires some physical activity. It is recommended that adults get at least 30 minutes of physical activity a day. Whether you lift weights, run, swim or dance, get active. This will release feel-good hormones like endorphins that’ll give you energy and enhance your mood.
10. Get Into Your Skin-Care Routine
Some beauty time is soothing and restorative. Whether your skin care routine is simple or complex, get into it each morning. Ensure you make time everyday to practice good hygiene.
Tips For a healthy Morning Routine
A healthy morning routine isn’t especially difficult but it is different for everyone. What works for some may not work for others. However, there are several things to avoid that don’t work for anyone.
Stay Off The Phone Until You Finish Your Healthy Morning Routine
Give yourself a few hours every morning away from your phone. Don’t check social media or emails until your morning routine is finished. It is easy to get lost on Instagram or Facebook and then all of a sudden your late for work.
Plan ahead to avoid these types of distractions. Get your outfit, breakfast, lunch and everything ready the night before. Once the morning comes around you will have more time and energy to focus on your morning routine.
Don’t Hit Snooze
Hitting snooze disrupts the REM cycle of sleep. This is when you dream and waking up during this time will leave you feeling even more drowsy than if you woke up at the first alarm.
Setting a reasonable alarm is much more helpful than setting 10 different alarms. Just set the alarm for the time you need to be awake for in order to get your morning routine accomplished.
Open The Blinds
Opening the blinds will help you avoid crawling back into bed. It gets you up and doing something right away. Even keep your phone near your window so as soon as the alarm goes off, you open the blinds.
Even sleeping with blinds open or with a light that stimulate the sunrise will help you wake up earlier. Exposure to light will help bring you into the lightest sleep cycle and help you wake up when the alarm goes off.
Don’t Skip Breakfast
Breakfast is what breaks the overnight fasting period. It helps replenish your bodies energy sources and activates your bodily functions. Breakfast is essential for good health, both mentally and physically.
Importance of a Healthy Morning Routine
A good morning routine helps set the tone for the rest of the day. It allows us to better control our schedules and gets us into good habits. When we start each day fresh and with energy we have time management, are in a better mood and are more productive.
Waking up each morning doesn’t have to be a chore. Start your day by getting up, stretching, making your bed and go from there. You’ve already accomplished something if you simply get up and get active.
