Your routine in the morning can set the tone for the rest of your day. It’s important to set good habits that you can use to help create a morning routine that will eventually set you up for success.
If you start your day off stressed, and do things like snooze your alarm, skip breakfast and rush yourself to start your day, the rest of your day can seem chaotic and stressful as well. Your morning sets off your day, so when you form healthy morning habits, you’re setting yourself up for success.
Here are 10 simple habits that you can add to your morning routine, to help you feel, act and think your best for the rest of the day ahead.
Don’t look at your phone right away
A bad habit many of us have is to check our smartphones as soon as we wake up in the mornings - but you could be doing yourself a massive disservice. Doing this first thing sets your mind to a reactive state, rather than a proactive one, and can cause you to feel stressed and defensive for the rest of the day. Try to stay away from technology for at least an hour each morning, to give yourself a positive focus.
Drinking water
Drinking a glass of water as soon as you wake up can hugely help to hydrate your body. Adding lemon or drinking a warm glass can also really help to remove toxins from your body that can build up overnight - as well as stimulate your metabolism and digestion.
Positive thinking
Before you even get out of bed - try to think some positive thoughts, smile and be grateful for the good things in your life. Smiling can help to release dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins that can help you to feel good and can lift your mood - as well as lower your heart rate and relax your body. And practicing gratitude can also reduce stress hormones and improve your mood.
Get up and make your bed
Some of the most successful people in the world say that getting up and making their bed first thing is one of their morning habits. Even if you think it’s silly or unnecessary, such a simple action can help you to feel more put together and accomplished. Simple tasks like this that you can take charge of will help you to feel more able to take on more throughout the day.
Meditation
Meditation and mindfulness can help to ground you first thing in the morning and help to regulate your mind and emotions, which helps to influence how you react to challenges and things throughout your day. During this time you can also set intentions for the day, to help you feel accomplished and help to steer the decisions you make.
Move your body
A walk, a yoga routine, or a full-on workout - starting your day by moving your body can help to energize your body and your mind. Think about what kind of exercise motivates you, and schedule it into your mornings. It won’t need to be complicated, or long or hard, but any kind of physical activity in the morning will help to get your blood flowing and quiet any distracting thoughts in your mind.
Do something nice for yourself
Simple self-care acts, like taking time to put effort into your appearance each day will help you to feel confident. Get up and shower, wash your face and do your skincare routine, pick out a nice outfit - or anything else that makes you feel more confident and put together.
Eat a good breakfast
Yes, we all know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. This is because when you take the time to eat a healthy and nutritious breakfast, you have more energy throughout your day and a greater ability to focus and concentrate.
Write down a to-do list for the day
A daily to-do list can really help you to prioritize the things you need to do for the day, and help you to tackle the really important things first. Writing these do-tos down instead of keeping them in your head can help you to really focus and cut out distractions - as well as giving you a satisfying sense of accomplishment when you finally tick things off your list!
Get enough sleep
Okay, so this technically might not be a morning habit, but if you have a well-rested body and mind, you’re more likely to stick to your healthy morning habits. Your waking self is very reliant on how much sleep you have managed to get- if you’re feeling down and exhausted in the day, you’re probably not getting enough sleep. Sleep plays a huge role in our mental well-being as well as physical - and sleep deficiency can have very bad effects on your health.