Why ‘good morning habits’ matter.

Why should good morning habits even matter when we have so much going on these days? It all comes down to how we FEEL and what we CHOOSE. A habit is just a pattern of behaviour that we repeat over and over again until it becomes second nature. ‘Good’ habits are what you could say, make us feel good, while we could say the opposite for…. you guessed it… the opposite! Read on if you’re intrigued.

The choices we make can ‘make’ our day

So we wake up in the morning and we could have multiple ways we could do it. The choices we then make usually make us feel good or not so good depending on our choice.

Let’s take a look at some of the choices available that are cheap and easy to create a habit out of.

Get into the habit of making the bed

It’s certainly all too easy to just jump out of bed and leave it in a mess. Making the bed is probably one of the easiest things we can do to make our room look better and it only takes a minute.

I’ve heard lots of successful people state over the years, that making the bed was in some part, a way of accomplishing something. When we think about it, it’s a way of achieving something before even leaving the room so it makes us feel more satisfied and thus more prepared for the day ahead.

If you live in a studio apartment like me, having the bed made and the room kept tidy, helps me to feel calmer overall, as there is less visual clutter. My brain functions better with tidier environments and less stuff.

Below are some ideas that can be gradually added to our daily routine to help us achieve optimal health and well-being.

I’ve gradually built up my strategies over a year. Some have taken longer to ingrain in my daily routine while others were easy to implement straight away. Build things up gradually that are within your scope of possibility and keep building on them.

Move and breathe

Movement matters. We don’t have to be a master at yoga or meditation, but first thing in the morning is a great time to either do some stretching (sun salute), meditate or do some breathing exercises.

Sometimes, depending on how we sleep, our body can be stiff and sore when we wake up. Doing gentle stretching can sort this out pretty quickly.

The same for meditation or breathing exercises. If we haven’t already bombarded our mind with social media or negative news articles, then our mind still has a chance to remain in a relaxed and calm state. Like it’s more open to positive suggestions say.

Short meditations in the morning can help us start the day in a positive way where we can be more proactive, rather than reactive.

Exercising early morning

Once we build in a new way of doing something, it then feels unnatural to not do it. For instance, when I was beginning to start my morning off with a very early, long walk, it felt like a bit of an effort.

Now that I’ve made it part of my morning routine, it now feels unnatural NOT to do it. I’d even go as far as to say it feels strange if I can’t do it due to rain or something. I had to put in the effort initially at the start to form the habit but now there’s no effort required as it’s become part of what I do. Part of who I am.

It doesn’t matter if you’re into walking, running, cycling or scootering, just being outdoors first thing in the morning seems to stimulate feelings of well-being and calm.

Drinking water straight up

When we wake up from sleep, our body is dehydrated. Drinking a glass of water is probably the easiest thing we can do but it’s often overlooked.

There are a tonne of other benefits too. Check out this article to find out more about the importance of drinking water upon rising.

Why You Should Drink Water after Waking Up

form the habit of Waking up to the sun

The more we can get our bodies in sync with the rising and setting of the sun, the better it is for us. While it may be difficult in certain parts of the world to achieve this, in my part of the world, it’s possible so I do it.

With all the screens and devices we have at our fingertips now, the temptation is always there to be glued to one of them right up until sleep. If you’re like me and struggle to sleep, staring at a screen of any type before bed is a disaster.

I now ditch my screens at least 2-3 hours before going to sleep because I know it disrupts my ability to fall asleep. Obviously, we are all different so we just have to try different things until something works. And remember…. it’s a process.

make gratitude a daily habit

It’s pretty hard to be grateful for something and be utterly miserable at the same time. In fact, it’s impossible. Every morning I wake up, I’m grateful for that fact and it sets the tone for the rest of the day.

No matter what situation I’m in, I’m always grateful for what I have because I know there is someone out there who is less fortunate than me.

If you want to read more about how gratitude can affect our health, click the image below.

Bottom line

Do what works for you. We’re all in different situations so taking a strategy and adjusting it to suit you, is key. No two situations are the same, nor should they be judged as being better or worse than another person’s situation.

If you find something that works for you, share it! Be the change as it may just help someone else along the way.