Note: This article is from Dr. Mehmet Yildiz, who talks about 5 steps to start your day with enthusiasm.
Our habits determine our success, health, and happiness. Many successful people have morning and evening routines that balance their lives. However, each person is unique, so a person's routine may not work for another. We need to specify it based on our lifestyle, goals, and requirements.
In this article, we present five practical steps that can be done in less than 30 minutes in the morning and can be customized based on our needs. These practices may increase our energy, boost our mood, and keep us happy throughout the day.
We can be more creative and productive when we feel happy and in a good mood. When we practice these steps for a few months, they turn into healthy habits and regulate our brains for life. Our needs, goals, and lifestyles differ.
5 practical steps to increase energy, improve mood
1. Taking a hot or cold shower for three minutes
My morning goal is to activate and balance the essential hormones and neurotransmitters using the proven techniques I will list below. To achieve this goal, cold and hot showers can be an example of activating the hormones that make us feel good and relax our muscles.
I take a shower when I wake up to feel fresh. Investing three minutes of my time in this triggers important chemical and electrical reactions in the body. I have been doing this successfully for more than two decades. Since I started taking cold showers, I have not suffered from a single cold or flu.
I specifically love cold and hot showers alternately because heat and cold create different reactions, causing different hormones to be activated and balanced. Based on my experience, taking a cold and hot shower in the morning and at night before bed resets my biological clock rhythm, helps me sleep comfortably and wake up happily.
2. Moving the body for ten minutes
Movement is essential to our physical and mental health. Both the body and the brain need movement to function properly. Although some people do this for physical fitness, for me, exercising in the morning is not to build muscles or lose weight but to increase blood flow so that the heart and brain get enough oxygen to function.
Some people like to run in the morning to activate beneficial hormones. However, some prefer light activities such as yoga, stretching, slow walking, swimming, balance, or gymnastics to activate muscle fibers.
Exercise depends on many factors, including the nature of the body and its medical history. So, no specific method can work for everyone, yet this principle can apply to everyone. We can modify our movements based on our needs, goals, and choices, as the goal is to give the body what it needs to promote happiness.
3. Feeling grateful for five minutes
Gratitude is a wonderful feeling, and its effects on the brain are remarkable. This is why mental health professionals write down everything they are grateful for as a therapeutic tool. When we are thankful, the body and brain work in better balance, and we rarely feel anger, jealousy, guilt, or anxiety.
We can personalize this practice; some may express their gratitude by writing short words or phrases. I prefer to write about each wonderful point and relate it to my daily goals and plans. The practice of gratitude clarifies our purpose in life.
In addition, expressive writing has a calming effect on the brain. Recognizing what makes us special and reminding ourselves of the blessings in our lives can direct our minds to generate positive thoughts and reduce anxiety.
4. Practicing a ten-minute meditation
There are many ways to meditate. The success of some meditation methods and mindfulness exercises varies from person to person. Based on my experience, meditation is as easy as focusing on one thing, such as breathing, and maintaining our attention to reduce the effects of being overwhelmed by thoughts.
Focusing on my breathing works because breathing makes us focus on staying conscious. Understanding the importance of breathing in our lives is crucial, so this fact may help us feel better. In addition, mindfulness practices may improve our relationships by increasing empathy, compassion, and self-love. Meditation sends signals to the brain to slow down and reduce anxious thoughts.
For example, thinking about the past can lead to guilt, shame, and regret. Likewise, thinking about the future can cause anxiety. We don't need these feelings in the morning when we start the day. Regular meditation can regulate our emotions and enhance emotional intelligence and growth, even by practicing it for a few minutes a day.
5. Eating mood-enhancing foods
I left this step until the end because I don't eat in the morning. My purpose for not eating in the morning is to keep my digestive system relaxed and to avoid unnecessary glucose that causes an insulin elevation. I drink a glass of cold water, although some prefer warm water for various reasons.
However, some people need the nutrients from breakfast, and others enjoy coffee or tea. Eating and drinking, especially essential amino acids and healthy fats can improve mood for some people. However, excessive food consumption can cause various problems, such as making us feel lazy because the body has to devote a lot of energy to digesting food.
There are many styles of feeding. There are several options. For example, I used to drink a cup of coffee with butter instead of breakfast. Caffeine and healthy fats gave me alertness and boosted my cognitive ability without causing blood sugar or insulin elevations, which maintains a good hormonal balance.
However, caffeine became addictive, and its effects diminished after a while. I had to take it off a few days a month to experience its effect again. Unfortunately, those non-coffee days were unbearable to me, as it made me nervous. In addition, coffee and tea caused me digestive problems, which increased my stress. Coffee was not suitable for me, but it is suitable for millions of people. So, it is important to define our diet.
In conclusion
Starting the day with activities that match the needs of the body and the brain can bring us many health benefits. Turning these steps into habits through practice can make them manageable.
Chemical and electrical processes appear as hormonal signals and neurotransmitters. These signals affect our thoughts, emotions, moods, and behavior. Observing our thoughts can help us regulate our emotions. Regulated thoughts and emotions can affect our mood, mindset, and behavior. Thus, they influence our health and happiness. Living in a state of mindfulness and working in a state of flow can be a better investment in a healthy and happy life.
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