How to start the morning right: 6 secrets to a perfect start to the day

Surely you have heard this phrase: “As you meet the morning, you will spend the whole day.” After all, our whole life is made up of days. The mood we form after waking up affects our success, health, energy levels, relationships with people, and much more. Today we will learn how to start the morning correctly so that it is kind and life is happy.

Why is it important to start the day right?

I propose to conduct such an experiment right now. Imagine yourself on two different mornings.

At first, you got up an hour earlier than usual, slowly and in silence prepared a delicious breakfast for yourself, did a short exercise, drank a cup of tea with mint, at the same time admiring how snow slowly falls outside the window, read a couple of pages of an interesting book and in the same calm Tempeh went to work with a smile on their face.

On another similar morning, you overslept terribly because you set the alarm several times. The mood immediately deteriorated at the thought of possible lateness to work and a reprimand from the authorities. In a hurry, everything falls out of your hands; you spill the tea on your suit, don’t have time to have breakfast, forget some documents, rush to the bus, and step into a puddle. The day is not set from the very beginning.

How can you object to the saying about the importance of the right morning? The beginning of the day sets the tone until the evening. How you set yourself up in the morning will largely determine how you will react to everything that happens to you throughout the day, how to communicate, in what mood to make decisions, what actions to take, whether you will be proactive, etc.

Morning hours have a special effect on our bodies. After waking up, the level of melatonin (sleep hormone) decreases, the concentration of cortisol, the stress hormone, increases sharply, and the level of sugar and amino acids rises. This process is necessary to move from a sleepy state to a working mode. And this happens to everyone, whether you consider yourself a lark or an owl.

By the way, very few people feel more cheerful in the evening than in the morning, that is, owl people. In most cases, it’s all about a stale habit. And if you correctly compose the daily routine, many will be able to ensure that the morning hours are much more productive than nighttime.

Perfect Morning Rules

Let’s see what actions should be taken immediately after waking up so that the day is productive and brings joy. I am sure you have heard about these elements, and I will not open America to you. But have you put it all into practice? And not once, but regularly, at least a week or a month.

Before you put on the mask of a skeptic and claim that you already know everything, just for the sake of an experiment, start using these recommendations. Very soon, you will feel how much your internal state has changed, and your physical well-being has improved. The methods are universal and suitable for both men and women.

Early awakening

You can hear about the habit of waking up early from so many successful people. This is not surprising.

First, if you get up early, you immediately eliminate the need to rush. Therefore, you reduce the risk of accidentally forgetting something, and you can safely do useful or pleasant things. And secondly, in the morning, a person is biologically most concentrated and productive, thanks to which many goals can be achieved at this particular time.

In addition, everyone sleeps early in the morning, and there are no calls or notifications, which means that no one bothers you to do what is important to you. You can devote this time only to yourself. Agree; in our high-speed life, we ​​pay very little attention to ourselves, constantly thinking either about the past, or about the future, or other people.

The most favorable time for awakening from the point of view of biorhythms is 5-7 in the morning. In this case, it is extremely important to observe two rules:

Getting up at this time is necessary both on weekdays and on weekends. Otherwise, you will activate the so-called jet lag – the syndrome of changing the time zone. So, if you get up every day for work at 6 in the morning and sleep until 11 on weekends, then for the next week, your body has to spend energy on restoring biorhythms. Instead of getting enough sleep, you return to your original form. It’s very draining.

To get up early, you need to go to bed early. The average person needs 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep to be healthy. Some people sleep short, need 5-6 hours, and there are long-sleepers whose need for rest is ten or more hours. To avoid infringing on yourself and maintaining a good condition, you need to find your norm and stick to it.

Here is a life hack for those who find it very difficult to wake up in the morning: open the curtains and let the morning light into the room. So you rid yourself of the remnants of melatonin, and the drowsiness will go away. If you get up before dawn, turn on the lamp or look at your phone screen for a few minutes.

And if there is absolutely no understanding of why to change something in your daily routine, there is no energy to start something new; I advise you to study motivation.

Glass of water

Many of us are used to “waking up” ourselves with coffee. Now I will not list the pros and cons of this method, at least because even scientists still need to agree on what is more in this drink – harm or benefit.

Let me remind you of only one thing: not every organism reacts to the substances contained in coffee as stimulants. Some people fall asleep after drinking a cup, and there are those who, due to their characteristics and pathologies, are in principle undesirable to drink coffee.

But clean water in the morning is a great solution for those who want to be healthy, cheerful, and beautiful. Here is a thesis on why drinking water on an empty stomach after waking up is useful:

• it helps to remove toxins from the body;
• starts metabolic processes;
• contributes to the normalization of the gastrointestinal tract;
• cleanses the internal organs;
• stimulates the circulatory system;
• if you add lemon juice, the drink will alkalize the body, which will help remove excess mucus from the body;
• when honey is added, water will also become an additional source of energy.

So, remember: on an empty stomach, you should drink a glass of water. You can add a slice of lemon and honey. For comfortable assimilation, it is better to take a little warm water.

Easy charging

Movement is life. And this is not just a beautiful phrase but a pure truth. Many mistakenly believe that to maintain and increase the energy level, it is enough not to spend it or to be in a static position, that is, to lie down. But that’s not the case at all. Dynamics generate energy. As soon as we start moving, strength and the desire to act appear.

Our body loves physical activity. After all, without it, our muscles degrade. In addition, with regular training, endurance appears, the body begins to bend easier, it becomes easier to bend over, and loads are better tolerated.

Morning exercise has many advantages:

• it stimulates brain activity;
• improves mood;
• clears the head of unnecessary thoughts;
• helps fight fatigue;
• energizes and invigorates.

You can start charging right away without getting out of bed. For example, you can move your arms and legs, bend and unbend your fingers, and stretch your body into a string. After lifting, even 5-10 minutes of exercise will be enough. Choose the ones you like best. It is also desirable that they be varied and affect different body parts.

Instead of traditional exercises with squats and bends, you can choose something else, such as yoga or stretching.

Cold and hot shower

If you are not used to washing in the morning, you should find out what you are depriving yourself of:

• During the night, our body gets rid of toxins that come out with sweat. Accordingly, taking a shower in the morning helps the body cleanse itself of excess.
• A contrast shower stimulates the circulatory and immune systems, enriching the internal organs with oxygen and nutrients.
• A cool light shower is incredibly refreshing and uplifting and clears your head of bad thoughts.
• A little about the contrast shower: out of habit, you can’t immediately plunge into ice water because this is a big stress for the cardiovascular system. Experts advise starting with a comfortable body temperature of 36 degrees, alternating it with a cooler one. Then, as you get used to it, you can increase the temperature difference.

Proper breakfast

First, I will touch on the question of whether to have breakfast or not to have breakfast in principle. I know many people who can’t bring themselves to eat anything for breakfast or refuse to eat in the morning because of their diet.

Nutrition experts point out that breakfast is a very important part of a healthy diet. Food taken in the morning stimulates the synthesis of gastrointestinal hormones, which help regulate the intensity of appetite. After breakfast, the feeling of hunger needs to come longer. So the risk of overeating at lunchtime is several times lower.

In the morning, food is broken down more intensively; carbohydrates are not converted into fats but energy. Therefore, at this time, you can easily afford sweets and pastries, even on a diet. But if you give yourself slack in the evening, the same set of products will lead to weight gain.

What should a healthy breakfast include:

• Complex carbohydrates. Cereals, whole grain bread.
• Protein. Yogurt, cottage cheese without additives, low-fat poultry, eggs, and fish.
• Fiber. Vegetables, berries, fruits.
• Vegetable fats. Nuts, seeds, avocado pulp, unrefined vegetable oils.

Beneficial rituals

There is quite a wide scope for creativity. Here are some activities that are great for starting the perfect day.

• Reading

Enough has been said about the benefits of books. They make us smarter, broaden our horizons and vocabulary, increase our value as an interlocutor, improve our memory and make life more interesting.

You can make it a habit to read art books or even textbooks in the morning. After all, do you remember that the morning is the most productive time when it is easiest to concentrate? Allocate 10 minutes for this. Positive changes will not be long in coming!

• Meditation

The practice of meditation helps to calm the body and mind, put thoughts in order, train concentration, and reduce stress levels.

You can meditate in different ways. For example, close your eyes, relax, sit in silence, and concentrate on your breath. Or you can turn on calm music or sounds of nature, close your eyes and follow the sensations in your body. There are also special audio meditations with a vocal accompaniment of the presenter, who tells you how to breathe and where to direct your attention. If desired, you can light candles or aroma sticks.

By the way, our blog has a selection of meditation courses.

• Keeping a diary

There are several options here. For example, it can be a gratitude diary, where you will write down 3-5 points daily about who, what, and what you are grateful for. Or you can start planning tasks for the day: what to do, what to buy, who to call, etc.

Another version is to keep “morning pages.” When you take a piece of paper, write whatever comes to mind. This is a great way to cleanse yourself of negative experiences and put your thoughts in order.

• Visualization

This is a technique in which you imagine what you want to have. It can be visualizing your dream, achieving a cherished goal, or possessing some skill.

I wrote more detail about visualization and how to use this tool correctly in a separate publication.

• Charging for the brain

You can spend your morning for the benefit of the mind, solving some puzzles, puzzles, crossword puzzles, sudoku, collecting puzzles, and mastering brain simulators. You can do all this on your smartphone by downloading the appropriate applications.

• Affirmations

I propose using the time when the brain is most receptive and active to increase self-esteem, eliminate interfering attitudes, and change life for the better.

Affirmations can help with this – positive statements for repeated repetition. For example, such: as “I will succeed,” “I am healthy and happy,” “I am a positive and creative person,” “Honest and friendly people surround me,” etc. The specific affirmation phrase will depend on the area and problem you would like to fix.

What morning habits should be avoided?

Here I will briefly list the important points you should consider if you want to make your morning good and easy. Let’s figure out what not to do in the morning.

• Set the alarm to pause

An extra 10 minutes will not help you sleep, but it will make it much more difficult to wake up. When we wake up, the body begins to produce dopamine, which suppresses drowsiness, and serotonin, the hormone of pleasure, begins to be produced when we wake up.

Both hormones are released when you reset your alarm and fall asleep. And when you finally wake up, you feel disoriented and overwhelmed.

• Check social networks and news feeds.

There is nothing wrong with energizing yourself by watching funny kitten videos. But the price for such a benefit will be disproportionate. After all, you risk spending the whole morning on the phone, doing only a few useful things that you could have done in a different scenario, or even being late for work.

If you are used to starting your day by reading news about cataclysms, accidents, and other negative things, then instead of a productive morning and a charge of vivacity, you will get a bad mood and fatigue from information overload.

• Read work mail or chat.

Before diving into workflow and organizational issues, giving yourself time to wake up and get in the right frame of mind is best. This way, you will be able to react more gently to what is happening and make less impulsive decisions.

• Make many decisions

Making even the smallest decisions takes a lot of effort. Even when you are thinking about which shirt to wear to work today – in white or beige, you are wasting both time and energy. Solve such questions in the evening: what to wear, what breakfast to cook, what to take with you, etc.

Conclusion

Paulo Coelho wrote: “Every morning is the time to start living again.” The first hours after waking up can be compared to life in miniature. After all, our life is just a set of quality or not very-quality days. And it depends only on us how high this quality will be.

Use the recommendations described in the article, get better every day and be happy!