Simplify Your Morning Routine
The trending “morning routines” are flooding the social media markets. Don’t get me wrong, I love to see social media promoting and encouraging healthy change. But the ever growing list of green powders and to do list’s before you even begin the day seem to be creating some sort of pressure to have a trendy morning routine to feel all put together.
Me on my best days see’s me…
Getting up early for some movement, a gym class, a run or a pilates class.
If I’m super lucky I get to have coffee with a friend before getting my work day started.
Fitting in a quality breakfast while I dry my hair and gert myself out the door
I would love to tell you that I have this quick fix to make you feel good for the day. I don’t. But I do have a few non-negotiable basics that I like to follow to set me up for the day. Supplements are great but getting the basics right long term is way more successful for our health.
A few back to basic tips to help bring some energy to your mornings that I love to do;
Don’t snooze the alarm- its important to honour our body’s natural cue’s to waking up. If we try to push through we will start a new sleep cycle and waking up even 30 mins later can see us waking up in the wrong phase of sleep leading to the groginess and lack of energy. Try to get up and brush your teeth, wash your face to get your self moving.
Hydration! This is super important as we have just spent the lasy 6-9 hours fasted and the precious water supplies have been used up by our bodies for the flushing out of toxins and resetting our bodies for the new day. Star with a glass of water or two before having that morning coffee.
Movement- This is a great fix to a slow morning when you just feel ‘blah’. Exercising is the perfect way to release endorphins which leads to a natural energy high, leaving you feeling awake and ready to being your day. This is more beneficial if you build up a sweat but even just getting out for a walk in the morning is perfect to getting that blood flowing.
Light exposure- this is becoming a popular topic of conversation to get your hours of sunlight in the morning, but why? Sunlight in the morning and evenings is important to signal our bodies to produce the right hormones and brain chemicals to have a healthy sleep wake pattern. If we constantly live in artificial light maybe while we work 9-5 office jobs we have a higher risk for poorer sleep. Natural light helps up to work up our melatonin levels through out the day so we feel sleepy for bed at the right time. Sunlight also has been shown to boost mood and energy when exposed in the mornings.
Supplements- if you are someone that has a greens powder in the morning or other specific supplements to help with mood and energy, then my advice is having these 30 mins away from that morning coffee. It doesn’t necessarily have to be on an empty stomach, but caffeine is a common compound that slows the absorption of vitamin and minerals for our bodies.
Finally BREAKFAST!! This is probably one of, if not the most, important part of anyones morning routine. And if theres anything you are gong to do in the morning it should be this. Don’t skip breakfast or have something tiny and filled with simple sugars for the sake of ticking off the box. Our breakfast meal should be a source of fibre, protein and healthy fats. This morning meal sets us up for stable energy levels, replenishing any fuel burn’t in early morning exercise and simply reducing overeating because we become ravenous around 11am. Incorporating a proper breakfast will be the best thing for your mind, body and moods.
reminder*** I sleep in a lot of mornings, don’t exercise, don’t walk or have fancy drinks. I sometimes grab an instant coffee and head out the door feeling half asleep. My point. You don’t always have killer mornings and it’s just as important to have mornings where you do the bare minimum. BE KIND and remember theres no right or wrong answers when it comes to health, its what works for you!
