Prior to slumber, take a moment to prepare for the next day
Each evening, utilise a couple of minutes to outline your plan for the following day, suggests Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, the author of Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less. This can be done on a notepad or in a digital notes app, and it will help make your mornings more efficient.
According to Pang, doing this enables your inventive subconscious to mull over ideas and issues throughout the night. This not only reduces feelings of being swamped as you’re not starting from scratch in the morning, but also constitutes a more regulated rhythm of labour by simplifying the task of getting started, which in turn boosts your productivity.
Add an extra five minutes to your alarm clock
If morning disagreements with your spouse are a regular occurrence, Todd Baratz, a psychotherapist and author of How to Love Someone Without Losing Your Mind, suggests setting your alarm five minutes earlier to create time for a conversation or a quick cuddle – this can promote a feeling of unity. Baratz believes it’s about mindfully making a moment to bond and escape from automatic routines. Additionally, cuddling triggers the release of the soothing hormone oxytocin.
If you and your partner operate on divergent schedules, Liz Baker Plosser, author of Own Your Morning suggests leaving a sweet note by the morning coffee pot, an act that promotes positivity, as she personally attests.
View your day as an exciting journey
Ali Abdaal, a doctor and the author of Feel Good Productivity, shares his personal productivity method from his time at medical school. He used to pick a single pivotal task for the day to maintain focus, but he found this approach could weigh him down. Now, each morning he asks himself “what’s today’s adventure?” This mindset encourages him to see his primary task as an exciting thing to delve into rather than a chore. He maintains that breaking your routine, such as working from a unique coffee shop or walking a new way to work, stimulates you. Small changes like these can enhance positivity and circumvent procrastination.
Finally, make your showers a bit cooler.
Don’t trivialise the strength your shower holds: wrapping up your morning bathe with a two-minute cold wash leads to the tightening of your blood vessels and the release of happiness-inducing endorphins from your brain. This process can assist in lowering muscle aches and stress. Liz Moody, writer of the book 100 Ways to Change Your Life, advises: “Kick off with 30 seconds and steadily increase to a minute – the first splash is always the toughest.”
Welcome daylight at your earliest convenience
Factor in a five to 15-minute stroll in daylight within your daily regimen to activate the suprachiasmatic nucleus part of your brain. This segment regulates the circadian rhythm, producing a positive impact on hormones, bowel activities, immune systems, and sleep quality. Moody urges to conduct this activity shortly after you wake up-to get your circadian rhythm on track swiftly. If still night at the time, the option to have a breather outside when the first light appears is beneficial.
“Serotonin levels elevate with light, enhancing your mood and directing your brain to recognise that it’s time to be alert,” explains neuroscientist Nicole Vignola. There are amplified rewards if you overindulged with wines overnight. The principle of Neuropsychopharmacology David Nutt points out, “Alcohol perturbs sleep rhythms, so daylight in the morning aids the sleep the following night.”
Begin the day with an uncaffeinated beverage
“Proper brain functioning depends on an equilibrium of electrolytes, which get disturbed by dehydration,” says Vignola, endorsing the commencement of the day with water over an espresso. “Sleep leaves us more dehydrated than normal and caffeine can exacerbate this dehydration.”
Do you find the ritual of brewing your morning coffee pleasurable? Go for decaffeinated coffee. Nutritionist Sophie Trotman notes that many of her clients reported improvements in sleep and anxiety after switching from regular to decaf coffee.
Engage in a brief exercise activity
A minute of jumping jacks, sun salutation or 20 squats can curb drowsiness for the day’s remainder. According to Moody, “Stepping out of bed and engaging in an hour-long workout isn’t necessary. Interestingly, a 60 second movement can boost awareness and creativity and mitigate the impacts of a sedentary lifestyle.”
Complement your breakfast with a serve of vegetables.
Brighten up your morning meal with a rainbow of fruits or vegetables to enhance not only your mood but your digestive health, according to Tamara Green, nutrition expert and co-author of ‘Good Food, Good Mood’. Green advises throwing in an additional source of protein if you often feel peckish shortly after breakfast or suffer mid-afternoon energy slumps. Simple side dishes such as Greek yoghurt and cottage cheese are recommended, or alternatively, blending protein powders, hemp and flax seeds into porridge or smoothies. Green mentions ingesting between 20g to 40g of protein could help maintain a steady blood sugar level and ensure you stay satiated for longer periods.
Partake in this daily stretch if you work from a desk: position yourself on all fours with your hands under your shoulders and your knees beneath your hips. Gradually extend one arm and the opposite leg concurrently for eight seconds, return them to their initial position, and switch sides. This exercise, termed ‘bird dog’, provides a full-body stretch combining balance, resilience, flexibility, and strength, and is particularly effective against hunching and upper back rounding. Plosser explains this stretch activates your core, imitating the requirements needed for limb movement, a motion you perform throughout the day.
Take time to pause with a mini meditation, transforming idle moments into mindful ones. This can aid in realigning yourself among the morning frenzy. Amelia Nagoski, co-author of ‘Burnout: Solve Your Stress Cycle’, suggests spending several moments tuning into your internal sensations, muscles, and joints to identify and relieve tension. Dr Leada Malek, a physical therapist, proposes a few cycles of diaphragmatic breathing to induce relaxation and enhance concentration. She instructs first-place one hand on your abdomen and the other on your chest, take a deep breath through your nose, allowing your belly to rise, before slowly exhaling through your mouth.
Lastly, it may be beneficial to refrain from using mobile phones before having breakfast.
Looking at your inbox immediately after switching off your alarm may feel habitual, but it is one of the detrimental habits for your morning routine. According to Moody, mobile phones are programmed to release dopamine that you’ll find yourself longing for during the day. She expounds that an initial surge can lead to an increased likelihood of a slump later in the day, making you gravitate towards additional dopamine triggers, such as your mobile, alcoholic drinks, or processed nibbles. To counter this, Abdaal utilises the Opal app blocker to withhold access to platforms like YouTube, Instagram, X, and Reddit until 10:00. If it’s difficult to limit screen time for teenagers, consider making app blockers a morning rule.
Encourage your kids to carry out their dental hygiene routine in the kitchen.
Author Sarah Turner, also known as “The Unmumsy Mum’, explains that all items required for her little ones during the school day are placed downstairs. She plans ahead by arranging their clothes on the counter the night prior, reducing the need for frantic morning searches for missing socks. Essential things such as medications and sun cream are kept handy in a basket and kept in a specific location. Although this might turn your kitchen into a makeshift dressing room, another author, Iben Sandahl of ‘The Danish Way of Parenting’, suggests prioritising the broader picture over minor details. The main point is that teeth are cleaned, irrespective of where that happens.
Request teens to inform you of their desired wake up time.
Contrary to popular belief, having a customary evening catch-up with your teens about their schedule can help minimise morning disputes about wake-up calls. As Sandahl recommends, show faith in their ability to start their day productively. Plosser concurs by stating that allowing children some autonomy – within certain limits and when feasible – without excessive control, helps them embrace independence and reduces potential disagreements. She recommends conducting these discussions before dinner instead of bedtime, to address issues like misplaced gym kits well in advance of the rest period.
Set your coffee machine as a timer.
Rather than mindlessly scrolling through your phone while waiting for the kettle to boil, treat this as a challenge against time. Could you perhaps tidy up remnants from the previous evening in the sitting room? Or maybe empty the dishwasher? In certain instances, you could transform this into a quick exercise routine. Moody proposes to have some kettlebells at hand in your kitchen, letting you do a brisk exercise session whilst brewing your morning cuppa. Turner adds, “We often cram in a last-minute spelling revision session for my son while anticipating the toast to jump up”.
Anna Seynaeve, the other founder of Facestellar, presents a hint for those of us feeling slightly overwhelmed. We should spare a moment to pamper ourselves with a swift facial rub, tracing our lymphatic system pathways in the process of cleansing and moisturising. “Begin with your fingers at the base of the cheekbones, moving towards the ear. Proceed from the chin to the ear, finally pulling downwards from the ear towards the collarbone,” Anna advises. “This facial massage not only eliminates facial and jaw tension but also brings relaxation to all interconnected body muscles. It can be effective in relieving headaches, which could be induced by sleep deprivation, and reducing facial swelling.”