If you’re like many of us, your morning routine may include jumping out of bed, grabbing whatever clothes you can find easily and flinging them on your body frantically, speed-brushing your teeth, and all but sprinting to your car (just me? Oh. Oops.) If you’re a morning person though, maybe you take time to do more than just that, and that’s great! But no matter which of these two groups of people you fit more into, you may want to consider adding something to enrich your morning routine and prepare yourself for a better day.
Here are just a few things that you can easily add to your morning routine (yes, even those of us who really would rather press snooze again), to set yourself up for success.
1. Breakfast
A lot of us have a bad habit of skipping breakfast, and that’s just not good for a few different reasons. It causes us to start our day without any sort of fuel, and can lead to low energy and stronger food cravings later in the day.
Adding something for breakfast to our morning itinerary can do us all sorts of good, and no, that doesn’t mean you have to spend an insane amount of time preparing a feast for the beginning of our day. Prep ahead by making some simple overnight oats or freezable breakfasts, or, for an even easier solution, keep some healthy granola bars on hand for those mornings when you simply cannot be bothered.
Eating something healthful and nutritious in the morning kick-starts your metabolism and leads to healthier food choices for the rest of your day, too.
2. WATER
In all caps for a reason, you cannot underestimate the power of a large amount of water right when you wake up. If you think about it, when you wake up, your body has gone (ideally) 8 hours without any hydration, which means your body needs that re-hydration ASAP.
That’s why it’s important to drink as much water as you can stand in the early hours right after you wake up. This gets your system going, can provide you with more energy, and sets you up to hopefully drink more water throughout the day. PS, you should be drinking at least 2 and a half liters of water daily.
3. Stretch
This doesn’t mean you have to wake up at the crack of dawn for an intensive morning yoga session (unless you’re into that), but getting your body moving at least a little can work wonders for your joints and muscles. This is especially good if you experience some tight muscles from sleeping in wonky positions. Reach up high, try to touch your toes, roll up slowly, maybe do a twist or two. This will get your body prepared for the day that lies ahead, and release some feel-good endorphins, too.
4. Positive Affirmations
If this sounds kind of corny to you, you’re not alone, but you can’t knock it ‘til you try it. Speaking positive affirmations aloud to yourself in the mirror can boost confidence and inspire you to work toward your goals, plus, the law of attraction is a real thing, and you can make it work in your favor by verbally claiming what you want for your life. If you’d rather not speak that early in the morning, you can write these affirmations down, instead.
5. Make Your Bed
You may be like “what’s the point if I’m just going to come home and mess it up again?” but it can be beneficial to your day overall. Making your bed in the morning means you can check one productive thing off your list, and the simple sense of satisfaction you get from completing a task could propel you forward to a more productive day.