You can start your day by hitting the snooze button, dragging yourself out of bed at the last minute, rushing to get ready, and then running out the door with a doughnut in one hand and your briefcase in the other. Or, you can start your day with good morning habits. Below you’ll find nine-morning habits to start the day right.
Wake Up Early
- The quiet morning hours are a great time to get things done
- You can get an early start on your goals, such as getting daily exercise or tackling a 30-day challenge
- You will have time for introspection and getting yourself in the right frame of mind
Eat a Healthy Breakfast
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. A healthy breakfast consists of lean protein, whole grains, and healthy fats. You’ll gain all of the following benefits from eating a healthy breakfast:
- You’ll be less hungry throughout the day
- You’ll have better focus and concentration
- Skipping breakfast is tied to being overweight
- You’ll have more energy
Smile and Think Something Positive
- When you smile your body releases the feel-good neurotransmitters dopamine and endorphins
- In addition, when you smile your mood is further lifted by the release of serotonin
- Smiling strengthens the immune system, so by smiling first thing in the morning, you’ll be warding off disease
Do a Stretching Routine
Performing a morning stretching routine will help you to loosen your muscles after sleeping, while increasing blood flow to your muscles. Taking ten minutes to do a few yoga poses will allow you to connect your mind, body, and breath in preparation for the day that’s ahead.
Make Your Bed
By taking this small step to create outer order, you create inner calm. If you make your bed every morning you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another.
Meditate
Meditating does everything from improving your focus to reducing stress, improving emotional stability, and preventing common health ailments. You can start simply by focusing on your breath for three minutes each morning, and build from there.
Create Something
Before you start taking in information–reading emails, listening to the news, attending meetings, and so on–create something. This can be anything: write a blog post; draw something; create an info-graphic; record a video; write a chapter of your novel; and so on.
Brush Your Teeth and Scrape Your Tongue
- Most people were taught to brush their teeth after having breakfast. However, it’s healthier to brush your teeth as soon as you wake up
- Brushing coats the teeth with a protective layer of fluoride to guard against the sugars and acids introduced in the mouth at breakfast
- You should also scrape your tongue to remove mucus which can block your taste buds
Drink Warm Water With Lemon
- Lemon water cleanses and stimulates the liver and kidneys
- Lemons have lots of Vitamin C, which helps to protect you from catching a cold
- Drinking lemon water alkalizes the body — when the body does not have sufficient alkalizing substances and is overly acidic, it takes these substances from the bones or vital tissues
- The antioxidant properties of lemons help combat free radical damage, which keeps your skin looking young and healthy
