Do you start your day with a spring in your step or do you slowly build up the courage to face the morning? If your morning zombie routine is getting old, try some of these lifestyle tweaks that can help breathe life into your mornings.
The first lifestyle tweak is water
During the night we are affectively fasting, and our bodies start to dehydrate. To combat this dehydration, place a full glass of water the night before besides your bed and drink the water first thing in the morning – not during the night. Drinking liquids late at night increases the chance of needing the loo and interrupting sleep patterns. Drinking water on an empty stomach (first thing in the morning) has proven health benefits such as; increasing energy and immunity, flushing toxins from the body, reducing weight, increasing metabolism, and preventing kidney stones. Be sure to keep well hydrated during the day as it is essential to healthy living and helps improve your energy and metabolism.
Stop hitting snooze!
This tip is easier said than done especially as the seasons are changing, but the truth is that hitting snooze drains you of energy. Unless you can snooze for another 45 minutes, you are going to repetitively be sending your body into a state of stress as sleep cycles are broken. Rather let your body clock kick in. To kick start your natural body clock get on a sleep schedule, this is done by going to bed and waking up at a similar time each day - yes even weekends. As a rule of thumb adults should aim to get between 7 - 9 hours sleep each night, teenagers should get between 8 -10 hours, and children from the age of 6 – 12 should get 9 -12 hours sleep. By doing this you will find that you naturally start to surface from your sleep even before your alarms sounds. These are two major wins for having more energy in the mornings.
Living smart with your smart phone
Another good lifestyle tweak is to keep your alarm out of arms reach. Now days most of us use smart phones for everything, including our morning alarm. Keeping your phone as your alarm but having it out of arms reach from your bed hits two birds with one stone. Firstly, you must get up and get moving to switch off your alarm. Secondly, putting your phone on charge out of reach of your bed means that you can’t scroll on your phone for hours leading to an earlier night sleep.
Light up your life
Our eyes are incredibly responsive to light. To help those who really struggle in your household to wake up well, think about using light to slowly wake up their senses. Sunlight alarms have become increasingly popular. Sunlight alarm clocks use the gradual introduction of light, mimicking a sunrise in your bedroom to wake you up. If you want to be up and at it at 6am set the “sunrise” in your room to start at 5am allowing you to gradually wake up as the light slowly intensifies. Enjoy summer vibes all year round instead of the shocking wakeup of traditional alarms.
By adding a few of these daily tweaks to your routine you can say no to morning fatigue and wake up feeling energised. In training yourself to wake up well you’ll enjoy the ripple effects of peaceful mornings no matter the season.
Date Published: 18 May 2023
