If you are like most people, you aren’t a morning person. Or let’s say you are a morning person, BUT you struggle to get moving. You just want to wake up and feel ready to take on the day, without needing 50 cups of coffee. Well, you came to the right place, I will show you 7 little tips for making your morning a little more energetic. After implementing these few key tips, you will have more energy in the day, feel more empowered to make better choices, and transition your life into a healthier lifestyle.

1. No Snooze Button

QUIT hitting SNOOZE! The more you snooze the more time you lose. By allowing yourself to keep hitting snooze you keep attempting to go back to sleep and not allowing your brain to wake up. NO by snoozing you do not allow yourself to wake up slowly. If you use your phone as an alarm clock, charge it away from the bed so it forces you out of bed in the morning. Another way to wake up is without your phone. Put your phone in a different room and go back to alarm clocks. A friend of mine was telling me about this amazing purchase she made with an alarm clock that woke her up with natural lighting. So of course, I had to go out and buy it! Oh. My. Gosh. This alarm clock is amazing! You can dim the clock, so your room stays dark. It slowly brightens with light so you are woken up like as if a sunrise was coming into your room. Not only was I waking up with my alarm the first time, but my mood was also so positive being woken up with natural sunlight. So, wake up on the first alarm, not the 10th.

2. Drink Water

Once you are up, keep a cup of water by your bed. You’ve been sleeping all night; your body is dehydrated. So, it is natural to feel groggy, and low energy. Upon waking up with that amazing natural light get up and drink a cup of water. When the body is dehydrated it naturally feels sluggish, low energy, and maybe even a little dry mouth, or scratchy throat. Put water back into your body and start the morning off on the right foot

3. Meditate

Now this one some people are going to say I can’t even get my mind to shut off, OR I’ll have people tell me, you want me to meditate in the morning I’ll just fall back asleep. So don’t do it right after drinking the water. I normally do meditation right before I start work. Now for those that go into an office setting still, that isn’t really ideal. So right after you get ready, reserve 5-10 minutes to do a guided meditation. It doesn’t have to be fancy. The biggest key factors are sitting up straight, or like myself laying flat with palms up. I always suggest keeping your palms up so you’re telling the energy around you that you are open to receiving the best for the day. If you don’t like guided meditation, and you can shut your brain off, then nice white noise in the background could be suited for you. Just allow yourself 5-10 minutes of YOU time to start the day off for you, not anyone else.

4. Workout

This is a loaded topic, some people like going to the gym and being in an atmosphere outside their homes. Some people have a garage gym, especially after 2020. However, if you find you are not a gym person, let alone someone that likes to work out. Then don’t! This is not to tell you; you need to do something you don’t like doing. This tip is to tell you to get moving in a way that you enjoy. What does that look like to you? Yoga… Zumba… Pilates… Group Class… Walk around the block… or just simply go out to your backyard and walk around with a pet. Whatever movement looks like to you, do it, and do it because you enjoy it. Do not force something you do not enjoy, or it won’t be something attainable.

5. Cold Showers

BRRRR! This was a hard one for me. My husband likes to say “You take Satan Showers” I love my hot water showers, the relaxing feeling. Or during the winter months when it is cold outside, and you get home from a workout, and you get into a nice hot shower. That was my favorite. However, the more I read and learned I wasn’t doing any favors to my body. It is actually better to take a cold shower than a hot shower. Trust me, I did not start off by just switching the nozzle to cold because I saw it was better for me. NOPE! I slowly work myself into a cold shower. So I would do what I enjoyed and took my hot shower first, then the last few minutes I would slowly go cold. Every 2-3 days I would add a few more seconds to minutes. Eventually, I did half a warm shower, and switch to cold. I’m still in this phase. However, why is this important… well it does impact your health too. It allows your body to react naturally to self-heating, causing your metabolism to speed up and increase your energy. It also has been proven in research studies to improve moods such as depression. Other research showed a difference in the immune system and better-looking skin. So do not go from hot to cold in one second, ease your way slowly to a colder water preference.

6. Eat Breakfast

The important meal of the day! The food of champions! Whatever slogan we want to use to label this, we are labeling it. “I’m not hungry.” “I can’t eat that early.” “I don’t have an appetite.” I probably have heard it; however, you need to kick start that fire analogy that is shared in recent blog posts. You can’t get your fire (metabolism) going if you do not have any wood (food) to burn. You should be eating within the first hour of waking up. If you go to the gym and work out fasted, that is a preference and there is nothing wrong with that. If you need something in your stomach do something small that you are able to keep down, and not throw up. However, when you are done working out, grab a protein shake, or something to refuel your body. If you do not work out in the morning and you get up early for work, you still need to kick-start your metabolism. Whether that be a protein shake or a smoothie. Some people may have a small piece of toast or fruit. However the main point eat within the first hour of waking up, so your body has the energy to continue throughout the day.

7. Plan

Now, I am not one to tell you to have an agenda and checklist for your day. NO! That is not what I am saying. I am saying develop a routine that gives your day structure. If it does not go according to plan, do not get hung up on it. The plan is there as a guideline to keep you successful. If you woke up with no direction, or idea of what to do. You would simply just fall into a rut of an unorganized and lazy routine. Instead set the day ahead with intentions of stuff you want to get accomplished. Block time of focus areas to accomplish things you want to be done. That way at the end whatever you did not get to, put it towards the next day’s agenda. You will get more accomplished with motive, and structure, yet no expectations.

Bonus Tip: Read

I like to set aside time for one chapter in the morning. I lean towards self-building books, something that will contribute to my mental health. Some will say just read 10 pages. DO what resonates with you. It does not have to be morning either, it can be a mid-day break from the chaos of life. However, find time to read and reset your mind on something positive to flip the script of the day.

Now that you have these successful tips, and even a bonus add-on. GO set the intentions of your healthier lifestyle. Try at least 3 out of the 7 and see how it impacts your day. I challenge you to try and get all 7 in one month and see how it sets yourself up with energy and success. Remember not every day has to be perfect or aligned. If something does not turn out perfect that morning. Stop, take a deep breath, and ask yourself what can I realistically accomplish today. Then go and do that. Hope you find your mornings as enjoyable as I do now.

7 Morning Routines that Healthy People Do