Morning Routine Ideas To Help Start Your Day

After waking up in the morning, some people may be tempted to scroll on their phones, lay in bed, or slowly complete their tasks before work. However, the morning may offer some time to practice an ideal morning routine involving mental and physical wellness activities that may prepare someone for the day. Using each minute you have in the morning to improve your health can be a way to improve your overall schedule and cope with challenges that may arise along the way. 

Building a healthy morning routine 

On social media, influencers may urge viewers to develop the “perfect morning routine.” From productivity gurus to celebrity doctors, people in the health and wellness space focus heavily on maintaining a consistent morning routine. While there may be hype around morning routines, the concept isn't a meaningless trend. Research suggests that you may enjoy widespread benefits when you pick a personalized morning routine for your health. Researchers have found that routines may maintain physical and mental health, a healthy body, and a sense that life has meaning.

Great morning routine ideas for wellness 

You might not choose to pack your morning full of activities. However, you can try several approaches that appeal to you, then trust your intuition to let you know if they fit your life. Considering new elements individually rather than many at a time. In addition, research has found that it can take an average of 66 days for a habit to become automatic. While practicing a new activity may seem effortful at first, once it becomes a habit, you may find that the activity becomes second nature. Below are a few suggestions for morning activities to add to your routine. 

Exercise

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that people engage in regular aerobic exercise and strength training each week. Some people find that getting their physical activity in before the day begins ensures they have the energy to complete their goals and wakes them up to begin the day by getting their blood flowing.

Research suggests that morning exercise may provide additional benefits compared to exercise at other times of the day. For example, a person may be able to better increase their aerobic exercise capacity in the morning, and morning strength training could lead to greater muscle strength. Some research also suggests that morning exercise could be more effective for weight loss. However, different studies on the effects of exercise at different times of day have returned different results. If exercise in the morning doesn't seem right for you, getting movement in later in the day can still return benefits.

Get sunlight

Morning sunlight exposure that reaches one's eyes can provide benefits, especially for night owls. While a morning person may already be alert and ready for a productive morning when they wake up, not everyone is refreshed in the morning. Morning sun exposure may help night owls go to sleep and wake up earlier. Natural light may also improve sleep, mental health, and overall well-being in all people, not only night owls. 

Sunlight exposure helps the body by impacting circadian rhythms. Circadian rhythms are fluctuations in the body that occur roughly every 24 hours. Circadian rhythms influence when people are tired, energized, hungry, or disinterested in eating. Light exposure determines when these fluctuations start and end. Sun exposure may help you align your circadian rhythms with your environment.

To get sun exposure, people can go outside. Do not look directly at the sun. Even when cloudy and overcast, being outside for ten minutes or more can provide enough light to impact one’s circadian rhythms. Building this morning habit may make it easy to do so at the same time the next day. For example, you could exercise, meditate, or eat a nutritious breakfast outdoors every morning. If going outside isn't an option for you, talk to your doctor about possibly using a bright light therapy lamp that mimics the sun's effects.

Meditate

Practicing meditation can increase a person's empathy, compassion, and kindness, and many forms are available to try. Some people sit cross-legged and silently stare at a wall, while others lie on their backs with closed eyes and listen to a guided visualization. If stress or irritability hits you early in the day, meditation may be helpful to fit into your morning routine to more calmly face the day ahead.

You may be able to find recorded meditation-videos, audio tracks, and apps available to guide you as you explore meditation practices. Experiment with different types and repeat the ones that are helpful to you. If you don’t connect with meditation, consider mindfulness practices and deep breathing, which are also associated with mental health. 

Lie in bed

Not everyone strives to have a productive morning routine. Mornings can be difficult for some people due to sleep inertia, the grogginess a person may experience after waking. If jumping out of bed to exercise, go outside, or meditate sounds daunting, be easy on yourself and validate your experiences. 

When mornings are rough, consider scheduling extra time to lie in bed. That way, you can ease into your day gently instead of engaging in activity from the moment your eyes open. Research has found that, for some people, hitting snooze and spending extra time in bed in the morning may be helpful. Although people who hit the snooze button on the alarm clock may get less sleep than those who don't, they may find that waking then snoozing a little longer helps reduce their grogginess once they finally get up and out of bed.

To combat sleep inertia, consider partaking in a mental activity while lying in bed, such as reading a book, watching a quick video, or doing a puzzle on your phone. Getting your mind working may help you gradually wake up and be ready to get out of bed and try other activities. 

Eat breakfast

What you eat for breakfast may impact how your body processes food throughout the rest of the day. Eating fiber, protein, and whole grains at breakfast may help your body maintain lower blood sugar levels and higher metabolism throughout the day. A nutritious breakfast can also positively impact some individuals’ cholesterol levels and blood pressure. Experts suggest skipping refined carbs at breakfast and saying no to bagels, toast, and packaged cereals. Instead, people may opt for an omelet with veggies or oatmeal with nuts and fruit.

Every person is different, so the foods that are “healthy” for one person may not be for another. Talk to a doctor or nutritionist about the types of food that are best for you, and follow guidance based on your unique body type instead of what is cited to “work for everyone.” Nutrition is unique, and you’re not defined by what you eat. 

Practice hygiene

Some people may already engage in daily personal hygiene activities, such as showering and brushing their teeth. If you're looking for more ways to practice self-care each morning, consider expanding your care for your body. 

More complex hygiene practices may mean brushing your teeth, flossing, gargling, and using a tongue scraper. Or, in addition to putting on moisturizer, you could try out a multi-part skincare routine and wear sunscreen every day. You may choose to shave, exfoliate, or put skin oil or lotion on from head to toe. These activities may maintain hygiene, and some, like flossing and wearing sunscreen, have health benefits. When done mindfully, they can become practices that help you have more positive thoughts about yourself and desire to continue practicing self-care when you wake up. 

Journal

Journaling can benefit mental health, and some studies suggest journaling can particularly help people living with anxiety or depression. There are as many different approaches to journaling as there are to exercise and meditation, so you might find it helpful to experiment and see what works for you. Journaling about your worries may help you feel better and be able to set your challenging thoughts aside so you can focus on your upcoming day. Journaling your gratitude could help you start the day feeling happy with the life you have.

Prepare for your day

If you often become overwhelmed, a little preparation up top may help. Set aside some time each morning to prepare for your day in whatever ways make sense for you, given your daily tasks. For example, you might review your planner or calendar, write a to-do list, create a schedule, check emails, or prepare another way.

Engage in leisure

In a world that may seem too busy, some people carve out time solely theirs before they tend to the day's obligations. Leisure looks different for everyone. However, setting aside a few moments to one hour for leisure time as a morning ritual may help you enjoy your day more and feel like you have a better work-life balance than you would if you woke up and immediately began getting ready for work.

For some people, leisure time might look like some of the other morning habits mentioned above, such as exercise or meditation. For others, reading a book, magazine, or the morning news might be a welcome routine to start the day with. You could also do some early-morning gardening or spend time on a personal project, whether woodworking or oil painting. Your morning routine can set the stage for the rest of your day, and for some, injecting leisure into each morning may help them remain calm and centered for the rest of the day.

Support options for improving wellness and mental health

While morning routines can be refreshing and improve mental wellness, some people may seek a more significant boost to feel well. Therapy is one option available to provide support and consistency. However, some people may also face barriers to finding support. In these cases, online therapy through a platform like BetterHelp may be more accessible than face-to-face therapy.  

Remote therapy allows clients to attend sessions from their homes, allowing them to log on quickly, even in the morning. In addition, they can send messages to their therapist at any time, including in the morning, receiving a response when the provider is available. 

Some people turn to therapy for worry and stress reduction, and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a disorder that involves excessive levels of worry and stress. A study found that remote cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) reduced symptoms in people with generalized anxiety disorder. The study also found that remote treatment was as effective as in-person therapy when treating anxiety.