5 Healthy Hacks for a Better Morning Routine
Happy Wellness Wednesday! This week's edition is all about nailing that morning routine, because let's face it, many of us can improve on this one.
How many of you have thought this, first thing in the morning:
"Ugh. I'm so tired. I didn't get enough sleep. What time is it? I can spare another few minutes. *hits snooze* *wakes up 15 minutes later* Shoot! I'm running late now. I don't have time for breakfast now, and I still feel so tired. I'm not going to have enough time to do all the things I wanted to do this morning. I feel so behind"
With these thoughts, by your own definition, you've already failed. You're playing catchup for your day already-- and you haven't even gotten up out of bed!
Now, think back to one of those awesome mornings where you've gotten a million things accomplished, feeling like super(wo)man, then you look at the clock, and you're like, "BOOM. And it's not even noon yet!"
How amazing does that feel? Everyone likes feeling accomplished and productive in the morning, and it sets you up for an even more successful rest of the day. Ever notice how progress encourages more progress? Same thing with productivity- when you start off on a roll, you're much more likely to keep that momentum up.
So how do you get into a better morning routine?
While I'll give you my healthy hacks/tips to establish a better morning routine for yourself, the most important part of this all lies in that specific word: ROUTINE.
Consistency. Habits. Routine.
These are all crucial to turning your start to the days around.
This is coming from a girl who used to constantly feel underslept, rushed, and frantic in the erratic mornings. That would always carry over stress into the rest of my day, and after doing that for many years, I knew I needed to change something if I wanted to set myself up for success to achieve my health and professional goals. By nature, I am a complete night-owl, and it has been very conscientious work to transform into an early-bird.
So, now I want to share with you guys what I have found to be successful for me to start my day well!
Here are my 5 healthy hacks for a better morning routine:
1. Get that good sleep.
This one is obvious. A well-rested night sets you up for a less difficult wake up.
See more on sleep hacks here.
2. Set your alarm for a realistic time.
Choose a time that is not overreaching.
If you normally actually get up at 7am, don't try to set an alarm for 5am. The possibility of that happening is pretty much zero, let's be honest. Try setting it for 6:30am. And then when you do that successfully for about 1-2 weeks straight, increase from there.
3. Do NOT hit the snooze button.
This is simply all about habit and training here. There's no easy way or hack around this- just get your butt up when that alarm rings and hit the OFF button instead of snooze. You can set your phone or alarm clock far enough that you have to physically get up. I find it helpful to put it by a light switch so I immediately turn a light on after I shut my alarm off, to help me wake up.
4. 3-5 minutes of happy YOU. SANS PHONE.
Whatever it is, take a few moments in silence to truly wake yourself up and have a little peace by yourself before an inevitably busy rest of the morning. It's pretty well known at this point too that looking at your phone, first thing in the morning is not so great. Don't get caught up in social media as soon as you wake up- it never ends up going well.
Starting off on a happy, peaceful note seriously changes everything, in a great way.
Some suggestions:
-- Sit up in bed and stretch those arms, touch your toes, move your body around
-- Set your intentions for the day
-- Think about what you're grateful for, today
-- Turn on feel-good music and dance around (I do this a LOT. Don't ask me what songs)
-- If you're not alone, snuggles & happy talk with your love
--If you've got a furry companion, puppy/kitty snuggles to get those endorphins going
5. Drink a WHOLE glass of water.
This can totally be done in combination with #4 above.
Either way, drink an entire glass of water. It wakes you up, gets your body hydrated after 7-8 hours of being asleep, and you can check 1 glass of water off your daily intake already!
Yet another thing done already for the day, BOOM. Do this before your coffee/tea