The Perfect Morning Routine

Whether you’re a seasoned snoozer, a pro at lie-ins, or an early-riser extraordinaire, everyone has their own preferences when it comes to waking up on a morning. But did you know how you go about waking up can have a big impact on the rest of your day? Setting a few morning rituals can have you up and running in no time. Here we break down a few habits that might just make your mornings better.

Get up! …At the same time each day, that is. While it’s bad news for weekend snoozers, keeping a routine get up time can actually make it easier to get out of bed in the week. After a while, your body’s internal clock learns when wake up time is, so you might find you’re bright eyed before your alarm starts to ring after a while!

Keeping up with this habit can set your body’s sleep/wake rhythm in stone, so soon enough you’ll be your own alarm clock – although we wouldn’t recommend ditching an actual alarm, just in case. Get that sunshine Sunshine? Every morning? Unfortunately, sunshine in the morning is something of a pipe dream for most of us in the UK, but being exposed to natural light can help you wake up on a morning.

Thankfully, there are ways around this. Daylight lamps that replicate the sun’s light can be a great alternative to natural light on a morning. They’ve even been known to help with problems such as seasonal affective disorder.

Don’t hit that snooze button It’s tempting, we know, but hitting that snooze button can actually leave you feeling worse than if you got out of bed when you first wake up. When you wake up on a morning, you’re usually at the end of one of your REM sleep cycles, which makes physically waking up easier as your body is prepared for it.

However, hitting snooze allows your body to dip in and out of REM sleep, meaning the next time you wake up you won’t have reached the end of the full 45-minute REM cycle you’d normally go through. This is what leaves you with a horrible groggy feeling that can be tough to shake. You can read more about the cycles of sleep in our blog post on the main stages of sleep.

A shower a day… When you get up on a morning, incorporating a shower into your morning routine is an excellent way to get in the right mindset for the day. It can help you feel both mentally and physically prepared for what’s to come – physically, you get yourself clean and feeling good, and mentally, you can map out your tasks and objectives for the day (or have a little sing). So whether you spend your morning shower mentally going over your to do list, ensuring your skin is looking and feeling fresh, or belting out Tom Jones to your heart’s content, showers are a great way to feel up and ready for the day. Breakfast vs no breakfast It’s a meal that divides us. Some people live by it, some people can’t stand it, but we certainly think it should have a place in your morning routine, even if it’s just a tiny one. There’s a reason people say it’s the most important meal of the day. As you’ve slept for the last eight or so hours, your body will be in need of some fuel to get it going. Try and have your breakfast within the first two hours of being awake in the day, and see what a difference it makes! Now you’ve got your morning routine sorted, get a few tips on making sure your evening routine is geared up for a good night’s rest with our guide to the perfect bedtime routine. We also have a handy guide on creating the best morning routine for couples too! Images: ©iStock.com/oastawa, ©iStock.com/megaflopp.