Waking up in the morning is one of the easiest things you can do all day, right? Well, for some people, the morning time can bring with it added stress, responsibilities, and can simply be too much to handle. Though we could benefit from adding some morning health tips to our routine, many of us still choose the hustle and bustle of the morning time and leave everything to the last minute. In fact, only one in five people are awake at 5 am, leaving many of us unable to utilize the precious hours in the morning.
Why Not Sleep In?
You might be wondering what’s wrong with not getting up early and utilizing the morning hours? After all, sleeping in lets you feel well-rested, and if you don’t work on the weekends can help save you some added stress. However, studies have now shown that sleeping in regularly might not be so good for your health. In fact, if you regularly sleep in, and then have to wake up early, this is essentially putting your body into a different time zone every week. The effects of this can range from mild to substantial stress, which then causes problems to arise in your body such as fatigue, moodiness, and even a weak immune system. It’s important to understand how to use morning health tips in order to keep your body and mind healthy, free of stress, and ready to move on to the day ahead. It doesn’t take too much effort either.
Building Up Good Habits
If you’re like the many of Americans that are busy in the mornings and dealing with rush hour traffic, kids, and school, you might think that changing your ways is almost impossible. On the contrary, it’s fairly easy to build up a good habit, just like it’s easy to build up a negative habit. On average, it can take only 2 months before a behavior becomes automatic. That’s no time at all! If you can put these 15 simple morning health tips into practice starting today, you can be sure it will soon become a way of life. Let yourself be stress-free, have more time on your hands, and overall happier following these simple little tips.
1. Start the Night Before
The first of the morning health tips to follow has nothing to do with the morning at all, but rather the night before. It’s important to not leave anything last minute, such as setting up clothes, finding paperwork, or setting up for work tomorrow. Though you might tell yourself you’ll be able to prep the trash for residential trash pickup in the morning or put gas in your car before work, all these little errands can quickly add up, and make your morning too stressful.
2. Have Good Sleep Hygiene
It’s important to understand that having good sleep hygiene is everything for the morning after. You might wake up groggy, still tired from not sleeping enough, or even have no sleep at all if you’re unable to set up a proper sleep hygiene routine. This can include relaxing before bed, turning off all technology before sleeping, and even writing before bed. In addition, studies have shown that sleeping in a cold room helps lull you to sleep. Turn your heating and air conditioning on, and drift away for a peaceful and restful morning.
3. Hydrate First-Thing
Hydrating is so important to get your organs functioning and giving them a head-start in the morning. Hydrate with water in the morning, and if possible with lemon or even a little bit of fennel in your drink. This helps the water to become alkaline and especially helpful in removing toxins from your body, much like a drain cleaning service for your organs! Flush out toxins from the night before, and start off each morning healthy by drinking at least 1 8 oz. glass of water.
4. Start with Exercise
One of the best morning health tips you can follow is getting some exercise done during the morning. Not only will exercise help your body overall, but also help you feel productive, and release feel-good endorphins to get you through the day. You can even make an exercise routine with the help of home automation. Put on your favorite music in the speakers, turn down the temperature to cool you off after your workout, and take out all the stress you might face during the day before you even head out.
Home exercise can be as simple as cleaning up your home. Engage with light housework every day to prevent the need for drain cleaning services, though the professionals can always help when something goes awry.
5. Meditate
Meditating is not only an important part of morning health tips but for overall health in general. Meditating can let you get rid of negative thoughts that might be overbearing your mind, let you relax, and teach you how to calm yourself in stressful situations. If you don’t have a dedicated area inside your home, doing simple landscape maintenance and setting up a meditating area outside can also be helpful! Listen to the morning sounds of nature, feel the morning breeze, even watch the sunrise.
6. Journal Your Goals
Journaling is a powerful and effective way of getting your thoughts out onto paper and being able to relax. When you journal, you are physically able to see what your goals are and be able to pinpoint exactly how to go about solving them. Brainstorming, note-taking, and simply just venting are all great things to journal, and can all be done during the morning time.
7. Eat High Protein Meals
If you’re a busy mom or dad, and simply choose to eat a donut or junk food on the way to work, it’s important to stop this habit ASAP. Meal planning breakfasts for the week ahead can be a great way to start eating high-protein breakfasts after your workout, and giving healthy breakfasts to your family as well. Stay away from sugary cereals and granola bars, and give your family a meal that will satisfy them all day. Frozen egg white and spinach cups, whole-wheat avocado toast, and for the sweet-tooth frozen blended smoothies are all great alternatives to traditional breakfast items.
8. Brush Your Teeth
Following these morning health tips can help prevent stressing about the day. Nothing is more stressful than having to visit the dentist or dealing with sore gums and cavities! For this reason, it’s important to brush and have a proper dental hygiene routine every morning. Make sure to brush your teeth, floss, use proper mouthwash, and also work on any underlying issues you might have. For example, if you have had Invisalign treatment, or have braces that need to be properly maintained, don’t forget to include these in your morning dental hygiene routine as well.
9. Invest in a Skincare Routine
In the morning, you might have time to only take a shower, brush your teeth, head out the house and cover your face in makeup without doing a proper skincare routine. However, over time, failing to take care of your skin in the mornings and evenings can have serious consequences. These include facial acne, abscesses, and discoloration. Have a set skin-care routine in the morning, and use cleansers, toner, and moisturizers to make sure you clean your skin before heading out for the day. Sleeping for 8 hours on a dirty pillowcase can also lead to breakouts, so remember to wash these at least weekly as well.
10. Don’t Check Your Phone
Many of us wake up and immediately check our phones and e-mails to see what we missed the night before. It can add some more stress to our lives, especially when we get an e-mail we weren’t expecting. However, this can cause our body to wake up in an anxious state, and possibly remain in that anxious state for the remainder of the day. Stop worrying about things that are out of your control for the time being, and remember to relax as much as you can when you’re starting off your day. This, alone, can be one of the better morning health tips to remember, and one of the easiest to form a habit with.
11. Wake Up Naturally
For many of us, the alarm clock signals the start of our day, and the loud alarm buzzes us out of deep, blissful sleep. This can leave us groggy, anxious, and even frightened! However, it is possible to train your body to wake up naturally. One of the best things to do to help this is by allowing your window blinds to be open slightly to let in the natural sunlight. This light will help you wake up peacefully, without having to listen to a loud alarm clock, and be able to function calmly for the rest of your morning. Who doesn’t want that?
12. Do One Thing at a Time
You might be under stress in the mornings, and have to plan out breakfast, the kids’ lunches, calling the handyman to work on the kitchen sink plumbing, warming up the car, etc, etc.. It takes energy to multi-task, and studies have shown that multi-tasking overtime leads to your brain being unable to focus and fully devote attention to one thing only. A lifetime of this busy morning schedule can, therefore, wreak havoc on your cognitive ability. Stop multi-tasking, and plan out for the day ahead one thing at a time. You can also try to cut time on tasks, such as being able to order coffee online instead of in-person and picking it up later on. As we mentioned earlier, meal planning and doing things that night before can be one of the best morning health tips to keep your mind working sharp.
13. Prepare for Any Meetings
Meetings for work can take up much of your day, including your mornings and the evenings of the night before. Because work meetings can cause so much anxiousness, take some time in your morning to make sure you have everything set up for your meeting, and remain confident in your ability to handle the work ahead. Double-check to make sure you have all documents with you, all presentations are working properly, and everything in between. Not only will this help you to relax later on, but your company will also thank you for being so dedicated! All it took was waking up a little earlier and having a good morning routine!
14. Stretch
It’s natural for your body to want to stretch in the mornings, so why not let it? Find a spot in your home that is big enough for you to release all your energy, and begin by doing simple standing stretches. You can then move on to doing more yoga-like poses, or even incorporating yoga into your morning routine. Nothing is better than letting out tension, being loose, and being flexible throughout the day. Flexibility and stretching will help your muscles from becoming sore if you exercise later on, and will also help you feel younger as well! Stretching can be one of the easiest morning health tips you can follow, but one that can prove to be worthwhile.
15. Talk to Your Family
In the morning times, it’s busy for everyone, including yourself, your spouse, your kids, and all that they have to do in the mornings. Set aside time to talk to your kids about their day ahead, and in this way be able to help them in case any issues arise. For instance, your child might have a presentation this morning you knew nothing about! Or your spouse might be up for a work evaluation this morning. During busy mornings, the stress of these issues can weigh heavily on them, and it can feel as if there is no support at the beginning of the day. Make your family’s mental and emotional help a priority, and use the mornings to talk to them in case they need a loving hand.
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