How to Start Your Day Right
Mornings set the tone for the coming day. It’s important to instill healthy habits that you can practice to make sure your day gets started out on the right foot.
What makes waking up so difficult?
The first reason is lack of sleep. To train yourself to rise early in the morning, you need to develop a sleep regimen that you follow every day. Your body will gradually grow accustomed to waking up at the same time each day.
The second reason is eating late meals and indulging in late-night snacks. Your body needs to rest at night, not digest food. If you don’t get a good night’s rest, then you will tend to wake in a bad mood and stay in bed longer in the morning.
The third reason is the use of electronic devices like a cellphone, laptop or TV within a half hour of bedtime. To produce melatonin - the sleep hormone - darkness is needed. It is essential to clear your bedroom of any stimuli, so that your brain associates your bed only with relaxation, and not engaging activities.
The first hour after waking in the morning should be as pleasant and calm as possible. This is the time when your body energizes itself and prepares for a productive day.
Your Morning Routine
After a relaxed awakening, it is necessary to bring your body to its woken state in order to kick-start your organs.
When you first open your eyes, do not rush to check your phone and social networks. The morning should be calm and balanced, as you allow your body to wake up.
When you get out of bed, the first thing you should do is brush your teeth. During the night, many bacteria form in the mouth, so if the first thing you do drink is water, then these bacteria will go into your body. Skin rashes can be a symptom of this.
Once your mouth is clean, doctors recommend drinking a glass of water. You can add mint, lemon and/or berries to it if you’d like. Hydrating in the morning will restore water balance and start your metabolism.
You should eat breakfast within 30 minutes of waking in the morning. Before eating, take a shower alternating the water temperature from hot to cold. This action is very beneficial, as it removes swelling from the face and promotes an even skin tone and color.
Use the morning to channel creative energy. Water your plants or play with your pet; make a healthy, delicious breakfast to nourish yourself; do a little exercise and read a book to ready your body and brain for the day ahead.
How to Accustom Yourself to Morning Exercise
Physical activity in the morning helps keep your body in good shape and also increases your level of endorphins and happiness hormones (serotonin, dopamine and oxytocin). It will lift your mood and start your day on a positive note.
Find the type of exercise which works for you. It can be yoga, stretching, lifting light weights, or running. Once you decide what exercise you will do in the morning, you’ll need to correctly introduce this habit into your life.
Start slowly: five to fifteen minutes of exercise is all you need to do in the morning to feel energized and not too much that you will feel worn out.
Do not overload yourself. For example if you chose weightlifting, do not use heavy dumbbells. If you go for a run, then you should not run six miles on the first day. Pushing yourself too hard causes stress which can discourage you and kill your desire to continue.
Make a schedule of morning workouts and mark every day that you have exercised. The more days you mark, the more you will be motivated.
Get ready for your mind to come up with all sorts of excuses not to exercise. This is your mind’s way of trying to protect you from wasting energy. Do not trust your mind, instead listen to your body and you will make morning exercise a part of your life.
Some More Tips for a Positive Morning
When it’s cold in your home you definitely won’t want to get out from under your warm blankets in the morning, so make sure that your bedroom has a comfortable temperature. An additional heater and humidifier will solve this problem. The heater will maintain a pleasant temperature in the room, and the humidifier will fill the room with oxygen so that your blood and brain are saturated with it.
To enter the flow of positive energy, meditate in the morning. Just ten minutes of meditation will clear your mind and allow you to set a positive intention for the day.
Do breathing exercises. Tony Robbins’ Priming Practice is a great way to fill yourself with positive energy for success. The famous American writer and life coach recommends that you do it every morning to gain balance and control over your thoughts and emotions.
Make yourself a delicious breakfast. Cook dishes which provide your body with the necessary supply of energy for the first half of the day. Make sure your meal is a balance of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. Brew your favorite drink and take a deep breath - a beautiful new day now begins.
Try these techniques for just one morning and you will immediately feel a difference. You won’t want to go back to your old routine.