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Do you wake up excited about the day, or do you habitually hit the snooze button and miss out on your mornings? The difference may very well be impacting your well-being and productivity.
Research shows having a good morning routine is essential for well-being. It boosts serotonin levels, helps with restful sleep, and is a cornerstone of a successful life. It doesn’t come as a surprise so many peak performers have a solid morning routine. You’ve probably noticed in your own life that the way you start your day sets the tone for the hours ahead.
If you’re tired of your morning grogginess, here are 5 habits to revamp your mornings for well-being and greater productivity.
A good morning routine should start the day before. And for that, you need to practice sleep hygiene, which entails going to bed early.
While it may be true that your chronotype influences your sleeping patterns, there’s a fine line between being a night owl and going to bed too late. Humans are diurnal creatures, after all, meaning you should probably be in bed before midnight so your body clock aligns with the rhythms of daily living.
Hitting the sack at an earlier hour won’t be enough to help you fall asleep, however. That’s why you should take necessary measures beforehand:
Also, be patient with yourself: It may take several days of trying before you’re able to fall asleep earlier than usual.
Remember when a parent’s voice gently brought you out of your slumber when you were a kid? Well, a recent study found that a mother’s soothing voice outperformed high-frequency smoke alarms in its ability to awaken children.
And not only are gentle wake-up calls more effective, which is contrary to popular belief, but they’re also less stressful. Gentler sound can help your brain associate waking up with positive feelings, while the traditional buzzer will only put your body in fight-or-flight first thing in the morning.
Another option for gentle waking is using dawn simulation with a special alarm clock. These devices use a combination of light and sound to tap into your body’s biorhythm for natural waking.
If you often wake up feeling tired, it could be that you’re simply dehydrated.
Over 70% of your brain is water, and it needs this substance to work properly. Drinking water first thing in the morning will help you rehydrate, feel refreshed, and get ready to face the day. It can additionally help prepare your stomach for breakfast and coffee drinking as water naturally increases the stomach’s pH.
Another idea is adding lemon juice or lemon slices to your morning water for an added boost of health benefits, including better digestion and antioxidant protection.
Starting the day with healthy habits will only make it natural for you to stick to them throughout the day. A nourishing breakfast combined with a workout routine, can be invigorating enough to help you face daily stressors and challenges stress-free.
With that said, a well-balanced breakfast is rich in fruits, vegetables, unprocessed grains, and healthy protein and fat. Avoid sugary breakfast cereal and other food high in refined carbs and unhealthy fat.
And as far as workout goes, simple morning yoga or stretches will do. Modern science supports the reported benefits of yoga, which include physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, and relational benefits.
If you have trouble getting restful sleep, sticking to a good morning routine won’t come easy. Things that can come between you and sleep include insomnia, restless leg syndrome, and sleep apnea, to name a few.
Most of these are easy to treat with lifestyle changes, such as focusing on sleep hygiene. Sleep apnea and simple snoring, however, may require additional steps. Weight loss, for example, can help reduce the severity of sleep apnea and improve sleep quality as a result.
But if you’re not overweight, or if you suffer from simple snoring, then you may want to consider snoring solutions like snoring mouthpieces. Definitely consider trying out theGood Morning Snore Solution, which is a clinically tested tongue-stabilizing device. It prevents snoring by keeping the tongue in place so you (and your bed partner) get a good night’s sleep.
