This Morning Routine Will Improve Your Mood

Morning routines for people who press the snooze button

It all begins the night before.

Many of us struggle to wind down in the evening and actually get to sleep at a decent hour. This of course makes it difficult to get up in the morning. So - here’s my common sense advice. Give yourself an “Aim” bed time that has at least 30 minutes slack in it. If I want to be lights out at 10pm, my Aim bed time is 930pm. That’s the time I aim to turn off electronics, head upstairs, brush my teeth, etc etc. That way - I’ve got a decent chance of going to sleep around 10. My second evening tip is to write out what you want to do in the morning and put it on your bed side table. For me, the knowledge that there’s a little list beside my head eliminates my morning foggy thought of “Oh, I don’t really need to get up”.

Assuming that’s worked, and you’ve gotten your necessary (for most people) 6-8 hours of sleep, what do you do in the morning? The alarm goes off, and…?

Do your best to get up and do a few stretches. Grab a glass of water, with or without lemon juice, and then follow your list from the night before. My list usually includes meditation, exercise, breakfast, shower, and if I have time, some reading or playing music. I’m happy if I get most of these done on a given morning. For me, days are more satisfying when they’ve started off well.

All that said, a number of my friends are experiencing perimenopause/menopause, and that sometimes comes with a large side dish of sleep disturbance. If that’s your situation, my view is that if it helps to grab extra sleep time in the morning to make up for the night before, then do so. The energy of always pushing - to stick to routines, to get things done, to achieve - it isn’t right for us in every season and situation. Learning to listen deeply to your body is an important skill to gain or refine in times of transition.

What do you think about morning routines?