How do your Mornings Set You Up for your Day?

Have you noticed that how you spend your mornings can dictate how you feel for the rest of the day?

It’s pretty cool…you can have complete control of your energy levels and even productivity and focus just by having a morning routine!

You can choose to set yourself up for a day of the “Stay Awake/Alive” game, or make every day a energy-filled productive day.

You will want to play around with some habits to install to see how your body reacts with certain habits, since everyone is different. Some will have an immediate effect, some will take a little bit of adjusting to reap the benefits. Here are some ideas for you to get started:

– Wake up at the same time every day (no matter what day it is, no matter where you are). If you do choose to “sleep in,” make it only once in a great while (like once a month or less), or when you absolutely are needing more sleep. If you’re finding yourself needing more sleep more than once or twice a month, it’s time to rethink your bedtime habits and bedtime in general.

– Drink a glass of room-temperature or warm water upon waking. This gets your engines revved up, lubes up the insides!

– Give yourself at least an hour to do something else other than “get ready for the day.” Read, meditate, exercise, write, play some music, play with your partner/pet, etc. Anything other than the necessary “sh!t, shower, shave.” This gives you some “me time” where your brain, spirit, and body can connect, reminding you that you’re important. You come first. Then it’s the world’s turn. But not before you.

– Figure out what eating habits work best for you in the morning. Some people work well on a high protein breakfast first thing in the morning. Some do well on fruit and coffee. Some do well with nothing at all until lunchtime. Everyone is different, but be open to trying something new for at least 3 weeks if you want to make a change in your current situation.

– Cycle OFF the coffee/tea/stimulants. You shouldn’t NEED any stimulants to “wake you up.” If you do, wean yourself off and try going for a while without. Your body should naturally do well without stimulants on a regular basis. “Boosts” are fine, but if you’re “boosting” every day, it’s no longer a boost; it’s part of the norm. If you just like the habit of drinking a hot, bitter liquid in the mornings, you can replace it with something else, like hot water with cacao powder, or ginseng and turmeric, or some other non-caffeinated tea (tea is just hot water and some type of plant, so technically, yes, coffee is a tea, but we’re looking for non-caffeinated…and yes, decaf coffee still has caffeine in it, but you can use it to wean yourself off, or just have less and less coffee each day).

– Get some sunlight or blue light in your eyeballs first thing and keep the light on with your eyes open. Don’t hit the snooze. Get up. Blue light stimulates your cortisol, so it’s great to use to your advantage in the mornings to wake your whole body up via hormones

– Move around. Even if it’s just 5 minutes. The more full-body the movements, the better. If you want a follow-along, check out https://maxshank.com/5-minute-flow/  or look up “Max Shank 5-Minute Flow” for some free stuff to get you started (I don’t get anything out of you purchasing, I just really like it and recommend it).

– Sing or Hum. Yep, you heard me (or did you?!). Singing and humming stimulate your vagus nerve, which is the biggest nerve in your body. It runs through all of your organs, which means if you give it some positive juju (like singing/humming), it will also transfer to your organs, helping with their functions as well. And, if you sing some songs that have positive words/messages in them, it’s got some psychological goodness in there as well that’s proven to change your brain.

– Smile. Yep, it works. Just this simple action (even if fake) can change your attitude and mood for the day. It works even better if you see it, and you get bonus points if someone else sees it (they’re contagious!).

Try these simple things daily (either just one, some, or all), and see how your life changes!