Does becoming a morning person change your life? You have to first become a morning person and decide that for yourself. What you may come to realize is that investing time in the morning is an investment to your overall health and wellbeing. Giving yourself more time in the morning may promote productivity, better mood, and reduce levels of stress. Should you want to become more of a morning person, you’ll need to Ditch the following habits.
Waking Up Late
Most people think this is the dream, especially after a long week, but waking up late means less time for self-care. Waking up late on workdays leaves barely enough time to get ready, eat, and get out of the house. Without ample preparation time, you may start the day in a state of stress. You should ideally leave at least one hour in the morning for yourself. During this time, you can get ready, meditate, practice some affirmations, or engage in a gentle yoga sequence. This hour should help set your day up for success!
Checking Social Media First Thing After Waking Up
This is a terrible habit that many people have developed over the years. It is almost too easy to grab your phone and immediately check your email, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, text messages, and more. Once you stop looking at your phone immediately after getting up, you’ll realize how strongly that little habit affects your mood throughout the day. Even though it feels like an urge, we encourage you to not open your social media after waking up. You want to keep your mind calm in the morning, but checking your phone bombards your brain with images, news, notifications, and more. You lose focus and your sense of time while doom scrolling, which wastes time that could be spent on yourself.
Not Letting Natural Light And Fresh Air In
A great habit to embrace during your morning routine is to look at the morning sun (not directly at it) for 10 minutes. This has proven benefits for your mental health. The reason to open your windows to allow fresh air and natural light into your home is to help wake up your brain. The natural light cues your body to be awake and keeps you from remaining sleepy as you begin your morning routine.
Staying In Bed After You Wake Up
You most likely stay in your bed after you wake up because you don’t know what else to do. Sometimes, this habit causes you to fall back asleep, and then you wake up in a panic because you are late. When you wake up, it is best to rise immediately and meet yourself fully. That means that you engage in a yoga routine, meditation practice, or other morning routine right after you get out of bed. This takes time and self-discipline, but we believe that you can do it!
Not Having A Productive Morning Routine
If your morning lacks structure, then you will likely not have a productive or relaxing morning. Humans grow via action and doing things that add meaning or value to life can lead to feelings of satisfaction. When you wake up early, you need to have a plan or routine in place. If you don’t know what to do, then you will likely become frustrated. When you get morning light, take a cold shower or ice bath, meditate, stretch, or practice breathing exercises, your mornings will have purpose. Positivity and productivity will help you remain thankful in the morning. Don’t idle away during your morning time because that only wastes precious moments!
Not Making Your Bed
This may seem like it doesn’t factor into a successful morning routine, but the state of the surrounding room influences you more than you realize. A messy bed may cause you to feel messy or like you are in a state of disarray. When you make your bed and tidy up your room in the morning, you are more likely to feel light, bright, and clear-headed. If you think that making/not making your bed doesn’t affect your mental state, then you are probably wrong. You’ll be surprised how good the little things make you feel.
Having Coffee As Your First Drink
The first beverage you want to drink after getting up is a tall glass of water. Extra points if you enhance that glass of water with some freshly squeezed lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. The body is in a dehydrated state, so drinking water puts you on the right step towards rehydrating the body. Drinking coffee not only increases cortisol (the stress hormone) levels, but it can also increase blood sugar and anxiety. Don’t alter the body’s energy level early in the morning; rather, have your coffee after 9:30 a.m. and you’ll start feeling a lot healthier.
