Creating the perfect morning routine for a great day

Love them or hate them, a good morning routine can set the tone for the rest of the day! Whether you’re a morning person or a night owl, we all have to start our day at some point.

We’ve all heard of the phrase “Someone got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning” but whoever said it first might be on to something.

A hectic start to the day often affects our mood for the rest of the day! But there are some simple tasks you can fit into your morning routine to start your day on the right foot. Creating a routine that suits your lifestyle and sticking to it helps keeps us grounded. We’ve explored the importance of routine for mental health in our previous blog post, check it out if you want to know more!

In this blog post, we’re going to explore some of these tasks and the benefits of incorporating them into your morning routine.

Wake up at the same time

As tempting as it is to hit that snooze button every 10 minutes, this won’t help you get out of bed and start your day! By falling back to sleep during those extra minutes between snoozing, you’ll risk disrupting another sleep cycle which will put you all out of sorts.

Set a realistic time for your alarm to go off and over time, your internal clock will register the time you wake up and will gradually prepare your body to wake up, if you’ve ever woken up before your alarm this is why.

Waking up at the same time every morning without snoozing means you can get up and start the day straight away and get on with the rest of your morning routine.

Rehydrate

Leave a glass of water by your bed before you go to sleep, ready for you to drink when you wake up. Adults sleep between 6-8 hours a night, that’s a long time to go without water. Relax for 5 minutes before getting out of bed and drink some water to rehydrate.

Drinking water first thing in the morning helps regulate brain function, boosts energy levels and jump-starts your metabolism.

Make time for breakfast

Breakfast truly is the most important meal of the day! It’s the first thing you eat in the morning and as its name suggests, you’re breaking the overnight fast.

That first spoonful of cereal or bite of toast helps kick-start your metabolism, balances your glucose levels and gives you energy!

Plan the night before

Save your precious time in the morning by planning out your day the night before. We only have a limited amount of willpower every day and mornings are not one for making decisions. Jot down your to-do list the night before and free up your mornings for important work.

Fit in a little workout

It doesn’t have to be the first thing you do when you wake up, but fitting in a little bit of exercise in the mornings will help you relieve some tension from being curled up in bed and enable you to stretch out your limbs and warm your muscles up.

A morning workout boosts your endorphins, leaving a smile on your face for the rest of the day. Better yet, you don’t have to do a full-on workout at the gym to feel good. Jogging on the spot, lifting some hand weights, stretching or doing yoga is enough.

Time to build your ideal morning routine

Now that you’ve had a look at a few ideas, it’s time to put together your morning routine in an order that best suits you!

Remember, a routine shouldn’t be too strategic, it should be personal to you and fit into your day. A routine gives your day some structure, putting you in control and helping you to complete tasks.