There are many health scientists who have been clear about the benefits of structured morning routines and how these can impact our performances during the day, whether at work, at home, or even regulating mood through the entire day.
A structured morning routine holds the power to make you a performance machine throughout the day, but only if maintained over a certain period (66 days for the average person).
Possessing energy and patience to deal with life and work challenges for the entire day, a normal person gets a least 6 to 7 hours of sleep per day, ergo, your morning routine doesn’t start when you first wake up at dawn but the night before when you go to sleep at a reasonable hour and have limited your blue light exposure one to two hours before bed. So here are few hacks to enhance your performance through the day via easily achievable day to day habits.
1.1 Sleep enough and be Happy:
An average grown up needs 7 to 9 hours of sleep to be fully functional throughout the day. On average these days, a grown up between the age of 18 to 64, enjoys 6 hours sleep per night which is one hour below the recommended amount of time. Not to mention the quality of sleep coming with these 6 hours, your body and brain don’t have a sufficient time to rest, therefore, your overall productivity decreases, impacting your performances in whatever sector you’re in.
Now, we know that both the quality and quantity of sleep are important, so here are some few hacks to improve both variants.
- Set a sleep routine.
- Regulate room temperature between 15.6 to 19.4 degree celsius (60 to 67 degree Fahrenheit)
- Keep your room dark
- Avoid caffeine during the afternoons and evenings
- Embrace a quiet atmosphere before sleep.
1.2 FIRST things FIRST:
The first couple of things you do when you’re up, can impact the waking up process. So here are things to enjoy a better awakening process:
- Drink water; this will help your organs start functioning the right way.
- Do not check your phone right after you wake up.
- Wash your face the right way.
- Stretch your muscles or have a morning ritual that helps your body wake up.
1.3 A cold shower:
When that cold spray hits your body early in the morning when you are still figuring out your day, there’s a bit of shock. This shock increases, heart rate, oxygen intake and alertness resulting in a faster wakening process, here a few benefits of cold showers:
- Boosting immune system.
- Increasing blood circulation.
- Reducing muscle soreness post-workout.
- Glowing hair and skin.
1.4 Take a time to breath:
Nowadays, many people tend to hit that snooze button to win those extra few minutes under the hot blanket, especially during cold periods of the year, but what about taking advantage of those minutes and making them count, and how can we make them useful to our daily productivity level?
As matter of fact, taking those 5 to 10 minutes to relax, meditate and breath will give you an edge through the day, it helps you stay calm and be ready to face the daily challenges, so next time you wake up and you can spare those few minutes, make sure you do a breathing exercise, read a few pages of a book, or even look at the ceiling while thinking while go through your tasks of the day, this can be very helpful and will help you be more in control over what will happen through the day, as you had the time to think about it and prepare for it.
1.5 Eat a healthy breakfast:
A healthy and consistent meal can with no doubt change the way you do things in the first 4 hours of the day, so enjoying a nutrient dense breakfast can enhance your performances, your reaction times, and regulate your mood.
Keep in mind that, the breakfast is the most important meal of the day, simply because your body and mind have been cut out of energy sources for at least 8 hours, therefore they are dying to fuel themselves and everything you eat is absorbed right away, and acts as the main source of fuel to both your body and your mind, so your first meal must include nutrient dense food and a combination of healthy proteins, fats and carbs, along with minerals, anti-oxidants, fibers and a decent amount of calories to help you stay full until lunch time, so here is a decent combination you can try for your next breakfast:
- Protein: Eggs, Greek yogurt, Cottage cheese, tofu, Black Beans, Protein powder, and Turkey Sausages.
- Carbs: fiber dense cereals with low sugar, whole grains (homemade bread, oats. . .), fruits.
- Healthy Fats: Low fat dairy products, nuts, avocados, extra virgin olive oil.
1.6 conclusion
To sum up with, a healthy morning routine can and will impact your day whether in a bad or in a good way, so why not make it count and help yourself become the best version you can be, go and smash champion.
#EMBRACEDIFFERENCE