The way we start our morning can set the tone for how the rest of the day unfolds. It’s true what they say about starting the morning right setting us up for a successful day!
Have you ever noticed that on those mornings when you snooze the alarm, stay in bed and then frantically rush around to get ready for the day, the rest of the day seems to be rushed too? On the other hand, those mornings where you wake up, get a workout in, eat a good breakfast and have time and space to prepare for the day, it leaves you feeling more organised and on top of things for the rest of the day. We can use this knowledge to our advantage and set up a morning routine that will help us win the morning, and as a result, win the day.
There are many ways we can design our morning routine and the great thing is that they can be highly personalised to suit our schedule, lifestyle, preferences and of course our goals.
We’ve put together an easy 4-step formula to inspire you and help you build your perfect morning routine. It involves focusing on four key areas to help us move towards holistic health. Let’s get into it:
- Hydrate
After a good sleep and a lengthy time without water, it’s important to rehydrate your cells. Drink a glass or two of water upon waking. It helps us get closer to our daily water goal and will ensure we’re starting the day hydrated. We recommend filtered water to support the body’s detoxification processes.
- Move
Moving first thing in the morning gets it ticked off for the day, while helping us wake up and getting the endorphins flowing. It’s been shown that working out close to waking up increases the amount of BDNF (brain-derived neurotropic factor) produced. Put simply, this gives us brain boosting benefits and can improve our concentration, clarity and mental performance. Choose a type of exercise that you love and get moving as part of your morning routine.
- Mind
After hydrating and moving our body, it can be beneficial to do something that supports our mental health and mind. Before we get swept up by our busy days it’s important to take some time for stillness or reflection. Do a short meditation, give breathwork a go, grab a journal and write about how you’re feeling, etc. Sometimes we need to slow down to speed up, it’s worth creating the space to support our mind.
- Eat
Eating a nutritious breakfast helps to fuel our body for the day ahead and also doubles as a post workout meal after our morning workout. Enjoying a healthy breakfast kickstarts our metabolism and gets us on our way to meeting our daily nutrient requirements. Choose a balanced option that has a source of protein, healthy fat and fibre, to stay fuller for longer.
When it comes to creating a morning routine, remember to start small and make it easy. This helps us get started and then we can build on it from there once we have momentum. Morning routines can be as short or long as you’d like. The main thing to keep in mind is that healthy habits are created through repetition and consistency.