Why is a morning routine so important?

There’s a lot of science behind sleeping well and starting your days better with a morning routine, but I’m no scientist. However, I am a sleep-aholic and I’m not ashamed. I was always the one in my family who was the last to get up on Christmas Day or who slept in on my days off. I saw no shame in it! 

Part of me always wanted to be a morning person, but it just wasn’t in my blood. 

If I hadn’t had at least eight hours of quality sleep, I would feel my body start to lag and I would struggle to focus on simple things. 

In my eyes, the only way I could ensure that I would feel energetic through the day was to sleep well and for a long time. I’d never considered that my morning routine affected my days too. 

While I was unemployed during a brief period of the coronavirus pandemic, I found myself with way too much free time. The first couple of months of this time, I didn’t know what to do with myself and I would lie in until late afternoon and watch a lot of television. It didn’t matter what time I showered or brushed my teeth because I thought I had nothing to get up for. 

I didn’t realise how bad this was until I talked myself into creating a good morning routine for myself. I wanted to be more productive and to check things off my mental to-do list to feel better. I needed a big kick up the bum to get myself in gear.

Every morning begins with the night before

I’ve done a lot of research in my time about insomnia and the things you shouldn’t do before you go to sleep, but I’d never really believed them. Like I said, my solution to tiredness was always to just sleep for longer. 

However, when I started having earlier nights and I turned the tv off to read before bed instead, I noticed a huge difference. I wouldn’t be able to tell you if this was psychological or not. But I can tell you that it worked for me.

I felt more rejuvenated in the morning and I was gradually waking up earlier, even without an alarm. It was evident that my quality of sleep was much better because I wasn’t sleeping as long. 

Waking up naturally set me up for the day as I wasn’t feeling excessively sleepy first thing in the morning and therefore wanted to get up and do something. 

Actually, implementing a bedtime routine helped me to create the perfect morning routine, just because I really believe that every morning begins with the night before. 

Open Your Curtains

Now, this seems like a silly one but there are both physical and psychological reasons why I’m mentioning this for your morning routine. 

The first thing I do when I wake up is open the curtains, no matter what weather greets me on the other side. Not only does the light help me to open my eyes fully if I’m having a bit of a sleepy wake up but I think it helps your mind to welcome the morning and for you to introduce yourself to the day ahead. 

Seems a bit far fetched to you? Well, you should open your curtains anyway. No one likes to live in darkness. 

Stretch 

I’m not talking about that cat-like stretch that we do when our bodies have been still for too long. No, I’m suggesting that you spend the first five minutes (after your morning wee) to give your body a little bit of love and stretch those areas that you tend to ignore throughout the day. 

Maybe your posture isn’t too good and your back needs a good stretch or you’ve slept on your neck or shoulders a bit funny. 

Stretching first thing can help to release the tension that your body has built up through the night and can increase blood flow that encourages your body to wake up properly. 

This tip is especially good if you don’t like to exercise or prefer to work out later in the day. Stretching isn’t an intense exercise but it is good for your body and almost everyone can do it!

I’ve written an article on the best bedtime and morning stretches to do easily at home. 

Write a Daily To-Do List

This doesn’t have to be anything too ambitious, especially if it’s your day off work or you’re not really planning to do anything huge. 

While I was unemployed, I started to write down some small things that I wanted to accomplish. It started with doing the washing, going for a run or making bread because I didn’t have much else I could do in lockdown. 

However, I loved the feeling of ticking those things off and having that physical list in front of me showing me how productive I’d been. I made these lists almost every day and without realising, it became part of my morning routine. 

This also prepares you for the day ahead as you can physically see the things that you need to do or would like to have time for today. But don’t overwhelm yourself with too many daunting tasks that you’re not sure you can get through – this will just add stress to your day. Keep it chilled. 

One thing that I had to keep in mind, was that if I didn’t do all of the things I’d written down, then it didn’t matter. I hadn’t put a deadline on them and so I couldn’t put myself down for not doing them. I’d simply cross them off anyway and add them on the next day instead. 

Some advice for you: only make your to-do list for that day. If there’s things you want to accomplish this week, then okay, keep them in the back of your mind, but I’d advise that you only make a list as part of your morning routine for the day ahead. You don’t know what sort of mood you’re going to wake up in and you shouldn’t push yourself too hard if you’re having a particularly bad day. 

Manage your to-do lists however you like but make sure you’re not putting yourself down for not ticking them off. 

Shower Almost Immediately After You Wake Up

This is something that I advise but don’t always stick to myself. If I’m waking up on my own because my boyfriend has left for work early then I find it a lot easier to get on with my morning routine and to get out of bed a lot quicker. 

But I still try to reduce that lie in time and to get in the shower as quickly as possible. A shower can wake you up more than you realise. You’re preparing your body for the day.

And as simple as it sounds, showering means you’re getting out of your pyjamas (I hope) and physically getting dressed and ready. 

Make Your Bed

I’m sorry but making your bed can make a huge difference to helping your mind feel less cluttered. Having a neat bed makes the rest of your room look more presentable, especially if lockdown has caused you to spend some extra time in there. 

Sometimes there’s too much activity going on around the rest of the house so the only peace you can get is in your room. If you’re like me and don’t have a desk there, sitting on top of a neatly made bed helps me to resist temptation to crawl back in for a midmorning nap. You’ve spent time on making that bed look nice so why ruin it before bedtime? 

(Although, if you can help it, try to stay out of your room for most of the day, it might help you sleep better.)

Seriously, just make your bed and you’ll immediately feel better about your morning. 

Drink Some Water

Think about how many hours you’ve just been asleep for. Most of us won’t wake up in the night and consume a bottle of water before going back to sleep. 

Throughout the night, you’re likely to sweat too which is another way that your body is losing water while you’re sleeping. 

So you need to hydrate yourself. 

Drinking water first thing in the morning can influence you to continue doing this throughout the day too. And as we know, water is essential for our bodies to keep itself alive and to repair itself. 

Don’t Scroll Through Your Phone

How many times have you got sucked into scrolling through your phone and suddenly felt like you’ve lost time? 

Just don’t do it when you wake up. Scrolling may help you feel a little bit more awake in the short time but staring at a screen for a long time makes your eyes a lot more tired and the blue light isn’t good for your eyesight. 

Mobile phones may contain a lot of triggering content, especially on social media or the news. Whilst you’re sleeping, your body and mind is in its most relaxed state so waking up and immediately viewing distressing or unsettling content (however mild it may be) is a big jump for you to deal with. 

Also, nobody wants to start the day by listening to all the worrying things happening in the world or waking up to some bad news. Let your body wake up and adapt to the daytime before viewing this content. 

Repeat Your Mantra 

This one may not be for all of you, but it helps me on the days where I wake up and don’t feel completely like myself. 

I took an online mental health writing course a few months ago and this was suggested to me. At first, I laughed it off, thinking it was ridiculous and I would never use it. 

Then, after a particularly bad week, I went back to this lesson and really listened to what she had to say. I created my own mantra and repeated it to myself while I was doing some activities where I was alone with my thoughts, like when I was showering or running. 

Make sure you keep your mantra simple, so that you can remember it and repeat it to yourself easily. Write it down on pieces of paper and dot them around your house to remind yourself spontaneously. Keep it happy, positive and inspiring!

Remind Yourself How Grateful You Are

Again, this is a simple one but it’s so effective. 

Waking up and listing three things you’re grateful for today could bring a spark of positivity to your morning, especially on the days you don’t have much to look forward to. 

Maybe try to pair this with your mantra or your to-do list and see how much more you begin to appreciate those small things in life that you don’t realise you take for granted. 

If you need some help with this, I have a 10 day positive mindset free workbook available that contains prompts and questions to get you thinking about the positive things in your life. 

Spend A Few Minutes On A Hobby

This one may be hard for those of you who find it hard to wake up extra early. If you’ve woken up earlier or got ready quicker than you thought and you need to kill ten minutes before setting off for work, why not work on something you love to do? 

It could be as easy as doing a puzzle or finally letting yourself look at your phone. You could research what recipe you’re going to try for dinner tonight or journal what you’re feeling today. Whatever speaks to you, spare a few minutes to do something not only for yourself – but for your own enjoyment. 

Give them a go!

These are just a few suggestions that I’ve come up with based on what worked for me. It doesn’t necessarily mean that it will help your morning routine as we’re all different, but have a play around with them, see what works for you, adapt them as you like and try to commit to them. 

Give them a go for at least a couple of weeks to see if/how they work for you. Keep an open mind and remain positive! Let me know how you get on.