It’s no secret that life can quickly collapse into chaos. One thing after another, conglomerating until we are stuck in fight-or-flight mode, focused solely on surviving each day. As a result, our personal health can often take a backseat.
Prioritizing time that is solely for you – a moment to breathe, relax, and refocus – is vital. It’s important to keep a regimen and stick to it. It can get overwhelming trying to do the best exercise or the right diet, but the goal here is not perfection; it’s consistency. In truth, keeping it simple is often the best thing you can do, leaving less room for error and feeling more overwhelmed.
Don’t let this stress you out further; instead, read along for some insights and suggestions on how to make the most of your mornings.
Despite the focus on mornings, we have to begin with the night before. Sleep, sleep, sleep! Getting enough sleep is extremely important. Health benefits aside, mentally you’re setting yourself up for the kind of day you will have tomorrow, and we don’t want one that is running on empty before it has even started. We also don’t want to make a difficult thing any more challenging, which leads to the next point:
Wake up before your day does.
Of all the things on this list, this is definitely the one I struggle with the most. Give yourself, at the very least, an hour to yourself before your day is marked to begin. I know this will be a challenge, especially for those who are already rising early, but remove “want” from the conversation. Obviously, you don’t want to, who would, but what do you need to do in order to have the life you want, to feel the way you want?
Next, it’s best to drink at least 8 to 16 ounces of warm water first thing, as your body has just been fasting overnight. Better still, add a little splash of fresh lemon, which can boost digestion and Vitamin C.
I highly recommend taking this time to work out. Whichever workout suits you, walking, a 10-minute stretch, or weight training, just pick something that gets you moving. There are many reasons this is important, but among the most important are that it wakes up your body systems, boosts your mood, and sets the tone for your day. Your lymphatic and hormone systems will be encouraged to move and regulate properly, and the release of those feel-good endorphins sets your day up on a note of success and keeps you ready to achieve more.
Another key change is to keep your screen time to a minimum first thing in the morning, and try your best to expose yourself to some natural sunlight, which will help regulate your circadian rhythm. This is important, as it serves as your body’s natural clock, responsible for sleep-wake cycles, as well as hormone and digestive processes. And, with social media just a few taps away, it’s all too easy to slip into a mindset of distraction and comparison rather than proactiveness and success. I recommend 30 minutes to an hour of zero screens in the morning, longer if possible.
Now that you’ve successfully gotten up, drank some water, got moving, and managed to keep the phone away, let’s talk breakfast. There are plenty of debates about whether to skip breakfast or eat it, and about the benefits of intermittent fasting. What I’ve deduced is that either works; it’s not a one-size-fits-all regimen. What matters is being mindful of your body’s cues. If you’re not hungry yet, fine, keep up the fast, but when you do feel those hunger pangs, reach for protein-rich, whole foods. These food choices will actually fuel your body and keep you sustained longer than other overprocessed junk foods. Eggs, avocado, Greek yogurt, walnuts, berries, and leafy greens are all good foods to boost your energy and help prevent blood sugar drops that can cause a midday crash.
Before you bring this time to a close and move forward with the rest of your day, I want you to think of three things you can be grateful for. Really think about this and take a challenging aspect of life and try to reimagine it in a new, positive light. This is meant to help ground you and keep your mind focused on what truly matters. It’s to help you maintain that positivity throughout your day and even your week, while also giving your brain a little challenge to get working.
Keeping up with exercise, diet, and sleep doesn’t have to be a luxury, but it does require effort and some sacrifice. Remember, we aren’t aiming for perfect; we’re aiming for consistent. Build these, some of these, or even your own steps into your routine and watch it change your life for the better. A good morning routine should be rooted in longevity, keeping you active in the present so you can live fruitfully in the future.
