Katie Maycock | Anxiety and Digestive Health Specialist
The Importance Of A Morning Routine!
Mornings should be filled with relaxation, meditation, exercise and gently easing into the day. Sounds nice right? This is what every single morning looks like for the average person…
Yeah right! For a lot of people, it’s sleeping in as late as they can without being late for work. Getting kids ready for school. Waking up reading text messages, replying to emails, guzzling down coffee. Sound familiar?
Not only is this creating a foundation for stress and anxiety. It is ruining productivity for the day.
Having a morning routine is essential to start your day. It helps sets the tone for the day and can reduce stress dramatically.
Having a morning routine can:
1. Increase productivity
2. Reduce stress
3. Increase organisation
4. Increase mental clarity
5. Improve digestion
Those are just a few benefits from having a morning routine!
You might be thinking, I want all of those benefits! But how?
I have developed a strong and foolproof morning routine!
1. The routine starts the night before. Go to bed at a reasonable time to get seven to nine hours of sleep. In the morning, you’re going to give yourself at least an hour and fifteen minutes.
2. When you wake up, DON’T check your phone. For the first few minutes, just simply lay there and properly wake up. Stretch, gently get moving. (If your phone is your alarm clock that is fine, turn it off and put it away).
3. For the first thirty to sixty minutes DON’T check emails, messages, social media, news.. ANYTHING that is going to bombard you with information. Trust me, those emails and messages will be there when you’re ready to check them. I want you to start to think about your brain as having a limited amount of storage.
According to a study done in 2011, we are now taking in five times the amount of information then we were in just 1986.
This is leaving our brains at a mental deficit with increasing stress, reduction in productivity and less able to make effective decisions.
4. Spend at least 10 minutes meditating. Technology has made this simple! You can download a really good app called Headspace. Headspace is designed for guided meditation and really good for people who have never meditated.
5. Drink water! Sounds simple and it is. Here’s the thing, during the night you lose a lot of fluid. Drinking a glass of water helps to re-hydrate you and as an added bonus helps to start your digestive tract.
6. Start getting ready for your day. Whether that’s having a coffee and breakfast or simply showering. At this stage, you should have at least 45 minutes to get ready for work.
7. If you want to have a superstar day, incorporate some exercise in the morning. Whether it’s a 10-20 minute HIIT, walk or gym session. This can increase focus, metabolism, energy and so many more reasons.
This routine seems simple, but a lot of people struggle putting it into practice. We are habitual. To set yourself up for a successful morning, start off slowly. Start with going to bed earlier. And slowly incorporate the other points.
Within a few weeks you’ll be waking up refreshed and less stressed!
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