Want to make every day better? Try incorporating a healthy morning routine. A morning routine is one way to develop healthy habits, paving the way for a healthier, happier day. And it turns out that those who stick to a healthy routine enjoy greater productivity and success.
Morning routines set the tone for the day and can help add to your overall mental and physical well-being. And once you get the hang of it, adding healthy practices into your morning is easy and can add up to big benefits. The following are some ideas that can help you form your own, personalized way to begin your day.
1. Drink Lemon Water
Feeling groggy first thing in the morning? Clear the cobwebs with an invigorating glass of water with fresh-squeezed lemon juice. Simply drinking water first thing in the morning can help you feel more awake, but the benefits of adding lemon juice make it even more worthwhile.
Fresh lemon juice in water promotes healthy digestion for increased energy, aids in weight loss, boosts your immune system and can even reduce joint and muscle pain. Simply add juice of half a lemon to a glass of water and drink up. If it helps, squeeze the lemon juice the evening before and store it in the fridge to save time and make this part of your morning routine an easy habit to keep.
2. Move Your Body
We’ve all heard those stories about celebrities who get up at 4:00 am to do their morning workout, and we also know that is just not possible for many of us. But moving your body in the morning can have numerous benefits. And don’t worry, you don’t have to hit the gym at sunrise.
If you can get up early enough to exercise before work, you will enjoy increased energy for the rest of the day. You also have the benefit of knowing that you have done your workout, so no need to worry about it later along with unforeseen obstacles that can interfere, like after-work fatigue. If morning exercise is new for you, begin with a 20-minute workout and increase the time as you get used to your new routine.
If morning exercise just isn’t for you, then stretch. Try stretching each part of your body while you are still in bed then stand up next to your bed and do some more. Try reaching the ceiling, then slowly move down to hug your knees or just dangle from the hips and let your muscles relax.
Morning stretching and other slow movements can get the kinks out of muscles, increase blood flow and oxygen intake for more energy, and can even improve posture while reducing your risks for aches and pains. But be careful and don’t overstretch your muscles, as this can have the opposite effect and lead to injury.
3. Have Healthy Breakfast Options Ready
When tired, it’s easy to reach for easy breakfast options like a sugar filled muffin or protein bar. But healthy options like fresh cut fruit, yogurt or granola can give you a more energetic start to your day without spiking blood sugar. Most breakfast options are easy and can be made in a few minutes or in advance, like these:
· 2 eggs over easy with lightly sautéed spinach and tomato
· Prepare a bowl of fresh cut fruit with apples, oranges and berries and keep in your fridge
· Have plain yogurt in your fridge and add honey, granola and/or fruit when you are ready to eat
· Make your own granola cereal or buy an organic granola from your local health food market
· If you are ambitious, make your own protein bars for breakfast, so you can control the sugar and leave out unwanted fillers and other junk ingredients
4. Take a Cool Shower
A warm shower may be enjoyable on a cool morning, but it can slow you down, as well. Try a stimulating cool shower to wake you up. Some benefits you will enjoy are increased alertness, improved circulation, improved immunity, stimulates weight loss, eases depression and conditions hair. (1)
For those who cannot fathom jumping into the shower only to be shocked with unwelcoming cold water, ease into it. Begin with a warm shower, then cool it down as much as you can tolerate. Your tolerance to cooler temperatures will increase as you continue this habit, allowing you to enjoy even more benefits of this stimulating morning routine practice.
5. Be Grateful
It is an old saying that being grateful for what you have opens the door so you can receive more. No matter what the philosophy is behind the idea, one thing is for sure; being grateful for as many things as you can increases your mood and provides a positive and grounded mindset to begin your day. Benefits of having an attitude of gratitude include:
· An improvement in physical health
· Improved mental and emotional health
· Greater self-esteem
· Better sleep
· Stress reduction, in fact, gratitude plays a role in overcoming trauma
Interestingly, these numerous benefits of gratitude are backed by research. (2) And the best part is they are easy for anyone to incorporate. When you wake up, take a moment to mentally list everything you are grateful for before you get out of bed. Some prefer to go further by meditating on everything they are grateful for, some perform prayers of thankfulness and others journal or list what they are grateful for on paper. No matter which way you choose, taking a few minutes to practice gratitude is one of the easiest ways to give your mood a boost in the morning.
Conclusion
A morning routine is a great way to get into healthy habits and enjoy more successful and productive days. Take a few minutes to create the right morning routine for yourself, and don’t worry about being perfect because you can always revise it. Once you create it, put it into practice as often as you can until it becomes second nature and you can enjoy the many benefits that a healthy morning routine has to offer.
References
1 Borreli, Lizette. “7 Surprising Cold Shower Benefits For Your Body And Skin.” Medical Daily, 24 Nov. 2019, www.medicaldaily.com/benefits-cold-showers-7-reasons-why-taking-cool-showers-good-your-health-289524.
2 Morin, Amy. “7 Scientifically Proven Benefits of Gratitude.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 3 Apr. 2015, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/what-mentally-strong-people-dont-do/201504/7-scientifically-proven-benefits-gratitude.