11 Morning Habits to Start Your Day

Over the past year, the morning routine for almost everyone has been turned upside down as a result of lockdowns, quarantines, work from home, and other family responsibilities. Creating a productive morning routine can seem like a difficult task, and as things have begun to return to normal somewhat, the practice has changed again.

However, instead of rejecting these changes as a nuisance, try to follow a morning practice that gives you a fresh start to your day.

11 Morning Habits to Start Your Day:

1. Spend time with yourself:

It is possible to be that person who stays in bed for a few minutes after waking up and drinks coffee or tea later. This quiet time allows you to follow the news, respond to emails, or review your plans for the day, but at the same time, this is not possible for everyone. If you have a newborn, having free time, whatever its size, is almost impossible. However, if you always feel that your morning is full of chaos, you should try to wake up early. This does not mean forcing yourself to wake up at 5 am- especially if you are not a morning lover - but you can only set the alarm 15 minutes before your wake-up time. It may not seem like much, but you can spend that time as you wish, such as doing self-care activities.

2. Participating in creative activities:

Christianne Strang, professor of neuroscience at the University of Alabama Birmingham and former president of the American Art Therapy Association, told NPR: “Creativity itself is important for staying healthy and connected to yourself and the world.”

Girija Kaimal, a professor at Drexel University and a researcher in art therapy, adds: “Anything that enhances your creative thinking - the ability to explain unrelated things and imagine new ways of communicating - is helpful for you.” Creativity, in particular, helps  you imagine a more optimistic future, reduce stress, and sharpen your focus.

You can use that extra 15 minutes in the morning to do what you love, whether it's writing, drawing, reading, or anything else.

3. Exercise for a few minutes:

“The benefits of breathing and meditation are undeniable,” says Lily Herman of The Muse. “Just two minutes of relaxation can make your mind stronger, your senses more alert, and your whole body more relaxed, but in practice, taking time off and meditating can seem daunting. In fact, personally, I've tried to do a little meditation on many occasions and have never been able to get complete relaxation.”

To practically meditate, you can try the following two exercises:

• To increase your energy, set the timer clock for two minutes and close your eyes, then take a deep breath with the count of four and take it out with the count of three, as this will stimulate your sympathetic nervous system, making you feel more energized and energetic.
• To feel calm, do the opposite. Take a deep breath with a count of three and then take it out with a count of four, as this will stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, making it easier to relax.

If you want to move your body and have time for that, consider going for a run in the morning - or at least a brisk walk - you can also try ten minutes of yoga workouts. Physical activity increases blood flow, stimulates the brain, and boosts mental performance.

4. Stay away from electronic devices:

When you follow the same pattern and routine of waking up and sleeping and getting used to it, you do not need an alarm clock to wake up. Still, not everyone may be able to do so, so there is no objection to using an alarm clock, but use a usual alarm clock instead of using your phone.

This simple method will prevent you from lying on the bed and browsing emails, social media, or news. In addition to wasting time and distracting attention, it is unhealthy.

5. Accomplish challenging tasks and then move on to smoother tasks:

If you have ever searched for tips to enhance productivity, you must have read the advice "eat a frog." This does not mean to eat a frog for sure; it is a metaphor for the performance of the most critical and challenging tasks at the beginning of the day. In theory, this makes sense, energy, and concentration do not last long usually after waking up, not to mention that it prevents sources of distraction and procrastination from discouraging you from doing your work. In the end, you can breathe a sigh of relief after you accomplish those responsibilities and remove them from your shoulders.

But while simple tasks may not be a priority, they can affect your focus by creating mental chaos. For example, if you have to make an appointment with a doctor or answer a question in an email, it will keep you busy until you complete these two tasks, so you have to accomplish those small and simple things to devote yourself fully to the most challenging tasks.

6. Avoid negative thoughts and refocus:

Dr. Greg Hammer, a physician and professor at Stanford University Medical Center and author of Gain Without Pain: The Happiness Handbook for Health Care, recommends a four-step approach to starting your day:

• Express gratitude for three things, whether it's a notebook or a mental notebook.
• Accept all the things you can't change.
• Set a goal and make the right decision to direct your energy towards healthy, complete, kind, and praiseworthy things.
• Avoid making good or bad judgments about things.

7. Listen to your favorite music in the morning:

“Regardless of whether you work in a downtown office or sit behind your desk at home, the morning is when you find the energy you need to keep you active throughout the day, ” Jordan Taylor Sloan, a journalist, told Mic. “Scientists have discovered that noisy rhythms - rock and hip-hop - inspire feelings of power and produce increased confidence and more sophisticated concepts, which is the perfect start to any day.”

8. Activate all your senses:

You may not have realized this before, but once you wake up and get out of bed, your five senses work. You may wake up to the sound of an alarm clock or the sound of birds, and if you have a coffee machine with a timer, you may smell the coffee, and you can feel and see the sun on your skin.

Pay attention to these five senses, and try to use them in your morning routine, for example, noticing how your feet feel on the floor when you get out of bed or the colors you see as soon as you wake up. Savor breakfast and smell it, and remember the feelings that the music you listen to in the morning evokes in you.

Exploiting your senses will help you make better decisions. Most importantly, it can help you take time, focus more on the present moment, and appreciate what you have now.

9. Wake-up shower:

Dr. Gary Goldenberg, a dermatologist in New York and professor at the School of Medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, said: “Humans tend to sweat at night. When you wake up in the morning, there's all this sweat and bacteria on your skin. So, taking a shower in the morning will wash away all that gunk you've been excreting from your body all night.”

While we tend to refrain from taking a cold shower, it may be a good idea to try it. Exposing yourself to cold water can increase blood flow and neurotransmitters.

10. Exposure to sunlight:

Sunlight in the morning promotes activity in the body because it prevents the production of melatonin, which gives you more energy, so open the curtains as soon as you wake up and be exposed to light to give your body energy, and make sure you get a lot of sunlight throughout the day as well but do not forget the sunscreen.

But if you wake up before sunrise, buy a lamp that can mimic the sunrise.

11. Not to increase the number of morning activities:

Saying this may not make sense after giving all of these tips. Still, your morning routine should be the most effective for you, as these habits should be short and smooth so as not to become confusing, and at the same time, it does not make sense to have a list of morning tasks that you have to accomplish because they cause you anxiety before you even start your day.