MARCH 11 2019 / LIFE
10 Morning Habits For A Great Day
Ah, mornings. We may love them or we may struggle with them. Believe it or not but how you start your morning sets the tone for the rest of the day.
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 purse in the other. Or, you can start your day with good and healthy morning habits. I recommend the second option.
When you form healthy habitual behaviors for the morning, you set your day up for success. I must say this took me a while to figure out my routine, and there are different kinds or routines that work best for different people.
Whether you are aware of them or not, you operate under habits (both good and bad) all the time. Habits are an integral part of your daily life. Part of developing a healthy habit, is to become intentional with it. Most habits are formed because they are easy or become a daily pattern.
Common day to day actions require little to no thought once impeded into a routine. If you want to cultivate positive habits, then you may need to put some intentional effort into forming them until they become second nature.
The tone of your morning will determine the tone of your day, so it’s time to start planning accordingly.
Here are 10 simple habits that you can add into your morning routine now, to ensure you are feeling, acting, and thinking at your highest potential for the rest of your day and days ahead.
SAVANNA LEIGH
Hello! My name is Savanna and I am from the Virgin Islands. I love surfing, scuba diving and anything involving the beach. While relaxing, I enjoy blogging <3
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1. Smile and Think Positively
As soon as you wake up, smile. Scientists have discovered that smiling does all of the following for you:
Affects Your Brain
Affects Your Body
Affects Those Around You
So, you had a bad day yesterday, but that day has gone now and today you can start over. Each and every day really does bring new opportunities and possibilities, so smile, who knows what fantastic things today may bring!
Smiling really is good for you. It boosts your immune system, lowers your blood pressure and regulates your heart beat, so smiling will make you feel better and help you live longer too.
Lastly, ask yourself these two questions:
What am I grateful for today?
What am I looking forward to today?
2. Stretch
Even before getting out of bed: Stretch!
Stretching is as important as getting regular exercise. Most people do not know this, and as a result stretching is often a neglected practice. Not only is stretching important for your body, it’s also important for your mind.
Here are some benefits to stretching:
Stretching helps with posture.
Stretching decreases injury by warming up the muscles before activity.
Stretching increases blood flow and nutrient supply to muscles.
3. Make Your Bed
It may seem like a waste of time, unimportant, or unnecessary (you’re just going to use it again at night), but making your bed is a simple action you can take in the morning that makes you start your day feeling accomplished. Taking charge and completing simple tasks will give you the foundation to take on more and more throughout the day.
You spend roughly a third of your life in your bedroom, and the appearance of your room has an effect on your mood. It’s hard to feel calm, relaxed, competent and grounded when you are surrounded by disorganization.
A properly made bed instantly makes the entire room look pulled together, creating a subtle vibe of tranquility and competence. A made bed shows that you care about yourself and your home, and that feeling of being cared for helps lift your mood and lighten your emotional burdens.
4. Brush Your Teeth and Scrape Your Tongue
Never forget tot brush your teeth in the morning. I don't know about you but I feel 10x more happier and confident once I brush my teeth.
The benefits of brushing your teeth in the morning are obvious: overnight bacteria has built up in the mouth and it caused bad breath and started to produce the acid that wears away at your enamel. Brushing your teeth is also just a good way to start the morning.
In addition to brushing your teeth, you should also scrape your tongue.
Here are five reasons why:
Fresh Breath – Most bad breath comes from the bacteria at the back of the tongue.
Better Tasting Food – By scraping your tongue you remove mucus which can block your taste buds.
Boost Immunity – Scraping your tongue prevents toxins from being reabsorbed into your body.
Healthier Teeth – The process of scraping your tongue promotes general tooth and gum health.
5. Put Yourself Together
Putting time and effort into your appearance helps build self-confidence. I can personally say that when I put on some concealer under my eyes and fix up my hair, I feel much better about myself. I think that when someone feels “put together,” it is one less thing to worry about throughout their day.
So, shower, wash your face, brush your teeth, floss, comb your hair, apply lotion/oil, dress to impress, and apply any other hygiene/grooming habits that make you feel good about yourself.
Putting more effort into your appearance for the day may involve picking out your clothes the night before (especially if you are short on time in the morning) or ironing your clothes. Whatever makes you feel like you are taking care of your health, looking presentable, and feeling confident, do that!
6. Eat a Healthy Breakfast.
You’ve already heard this a thousand times, but I’m going to say it again: breakfast in the most important meal of the day. By eating in the morning, you’ll have more energy throughout the day and a stronger ability to focus and concentrate.
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.
7. Drink Plenty of Water
After a period of sleep, your body is certain to be dehydrated. It is important to rehydrate with water in the morning.
Here are some benefits to drinking plenty of water:
Water maintains body fluid levels. The human body is comprised of about 60% water. It is essential to maintain this fluid balance, as it is responsible for food absorption and digestion, blood circulation, saliva creation, transporting nutrients, and maintaining body temperature.
Water regulates calories. While not having a direct effect on weight loss, water assists by helping the body feel full. This makes it less likely that the individual will drink or eat high-calorie foods or beverages.
Water energizes muscles. Dehydration often results in muscle fatigue, making it more difficult for muscles to work and perform when needed. Drinking water before and during exercise is especially important. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends drinking at least 17 ounces of fluids before exercise and continuing to sip on water during.
Water enhances the look of skin. As with other organs, your skin contains a large amount of water. As such, dehydration causes the skin to appear dry and wrinkled. In addition to drinking water, dermatologists state that using a skin moisturizer can enhance the appearance of the skin.
8. Set Goals
Everybody has goals. Whether they are big or small, we all have things that we want to accomplish.
Goals are important to fulfilling our wants and needs; whether it is related to love, money, relationships, or something else. With that being said, I would suggest spending some time in the morning setting your intentions for the day.
You need to review your goals so that you can:
Create plans to reach those goals
Put your day in perspective
Know what’s important to accomplish
Take a few minutes to write down a “to-do” list for the day ahead. Then prioritize it so your day’s list has only 3 to 5 items on it. I suggest ranking the tasks in order of priority to make sure you tackle the most pressing things first.
Writing down your “to-do’s” instead of keeping them floating around in your mind helps clear mental chatter. You also give yourself a sense of purpose each day when you know what you need to get done. And there is something satisfying about crossing off tasks on your list. I think that it really cultivates a sense of accomplishment.
9. Pack a Meal & Snack
Preparing and packing food items you consume every day is both a healthy choice and a wise financial decision.
If you google “packed lunch ideas” you will come up with 3,000,000 hits. I use Pinterest when I am in need of ideas. There’s no end to the different combinations of foods you can pack to keep your lunch interesting!
10. Turning Off Lights and Electricity
As you're heading out the door, turning off the lights and appliances in your home, office, or apartment can save you a significant amount of money when it comes to your monthly utilities. Not only is it simple to do, but it also helps the environment.
To supercharge your efforts, you can add a series of tiny actions into your daily routine:
Turn off lights, AC and fans
Power down electronics when they’re not being used. (Many electronics will often go into “standby” mode that still uses some electricity.)
Open the blinds and shades
Also, by opening the blinds, the natural light does help you get started on the right foot.
Natural light has a number of different advantages, including:
Aiding in mood and perception
Enabling the performance of tasks
Controlling the body's Circadian system
How many times have we heard that the morning is the most important part of the day? It’s true.
The way that we begin our day has a definite impact on how the rest of the day unfolds. We can choose to be proactive and set ourselves up for success, or we can choose to just let things unfold as they may.
The hardest part of starting a morning routine is getting started. My advice is to create the habit of following this process. Good luck!