It’s Monday afternoon. How are you feeling right now? Feeling drained, exhausted, counting the minutes until the end of the day, and thinking “crap…it’s only Monday”? If so, the good news is that Mondays don’t have to suck…or any other day for that matter! Here are 3 simple and highly effective tips to make your morning really good, and get you feeling awake, happy, inspired, and full of energy.
Try them tomorrow morning! (or perhaps you are already doing them)
Drink a BIG glass of water when you first wake up
When you wake up, it’s typically been 7 to 8 hours (or more) since you had any water. By this point, you are mild to moderately dehydrated.
Your body needs water to function at its best, so topping up your hydration is essential. Drink 400-700ml within minutes of waking up.
Continue drinking 250-500ml at regular intervals throughout the day. The great thing is this also reduces hunger pangs and makes it less likely you will overeat.
WAIT until you have your first cup of coffee
If you just felt nauseous at the thought of delaying your morning cup of coffee, you probably need this tip more than most people. Here’s why.
Our circadian rhythms shift our hormone profiles throughout the day. Upon waking, our body produces cortisol so we can take on the day more effectively. Many people think cortisol is bad since it’s been labeled a “stress” hormone, but there is much more to it than that.
Cortisol production is normal and natural throughout the day. So is stress!
Cortisol begins being produced immediately upon waking (and for some people stress). It helps us shake off the sleepiness and fatigue after sleeping all night. Cortisol enables us to be alert enough to get things done in life.
The main issue for most people is the inability to shut down cortisol production and shift into rest, regeneration, and recovery at night and key times during the day.
The caffeine in coffee suppresses cortisol production and makes us rely on our morning java to wake up. Additionally, our tolerance to caffeine builds up over time so we need more and more coffee to achieve the same feeling of “alertness”
If you wait 60-90 minutes before having your cup of coffee, cortisol will have peaked naturally and the benefits of the caffeine will have maximum effect, plus, you won’t need as much.
Try it out and let me know how it goes!
Soak up the sun
Direct sunlight is a great way to accelerate our body’s natural “wake-up process”. Sunlight has the full spectrum of light and signals our body to stop producing sleep hormones. This wakes us up faster and provides a wide range of physical and mental benefits. Only a few minutes are needed. Our house lights do not cover the full UV spectrum.
Or at least get some fresh air
Depending on where you live and how early you wake up, the sun may not be shining. That’s OK. A bit of fresh air is another great alternative.
Getting outside for some fresh air wakes you up quickly and signals your body that the day has started.
Combine this with some movement, exercise, stretching, and/or meditation and you can further increase the benefits.
You see, it’s actually pretty simple to kick off your morning in a positive way. Wake up, drink a big glass of water, find some sunshine or fresh air (ideally with a bit of movement/exercise), and wait 90 minutes before having your coffee.
Doing these 3 tips each morning are great way to kick start a healthy, happy, and really good morning, and carry that momentum into the rest of the day.
HERE’S A BONUS TIP
A really good morning starts the night before. If you’ve been up late, ate poorly in the evening, or had a restless sleep, then the morning will always be more challenging.
If you want to know more about the power of morning and evening routines for health, fitness, weight loss, and high-performance living, book your free Success Coaching Session.
Or check out my book The Fitness Curveball.
The second section of the book lays out a step-by-step plan for rocking your morning and evening so you can also have an amazing workday.
I wish you a really good morning and an amazing week!
Expert Personal Training and Lifestyle Coaching To Help You Thrive
Comments
I love all of these suggestions and follow them religiously. I appreciate your suggesting of waiting on having caffeine first thing in the morning since I wasn’t aware of the whole cortisol thing. I’m a LCSW and all about having good habits and routines so I put together 10 tips on the best morning routine for health and happiness https://pantearahimian.com/the-best-morning-routine-for-success-and-happiness/
Great to hear that Pantea. We could colaborate in the future. Thanks for the feedback.
A morning walk without sun glasses on can really supercharge your morning 🙂
I’m doing this frequently and it is definitely an awesome thing to do!
Thank you for sharing!
Awesome to hear that Andy. Good job! Thanks for the feedback!
So interesting! I need to consider changing out my morning routine (and bedtime) some! 🙂
Good luck with that Laurie. If you need any help just send us an email.
These are great tips! I think that I will be implementing all three starting tomorrow. Thanks!
Glad that you find our tips useful. And good luck with implementing them. If you need help just shout 🙂
These are amazing tips and super helpful to me. I will start putting them into practice. Thanks for sharing!
Glad we can help! Thank you for commenting Valentina!
These are all really great tips! I’m surely gonna keep these in mind. Thanks for sharing this with us
You are most welcome Nikki!
These are great tips. I’ll start implementing them immediately.
Glad you like it!
I usually start my morning with a quick bite to eat and a cold drink. Then, I step outside and make my way to the office. The coffee comes later.
Glad to hear that Bryan! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much for sharing these. If my morning doesn’t get off on the right foot, my entire day will be off!
Yes, exactly true Beth. Thats why we all need a realy good morning!
I need to give these tips a try. My mornings are total chaos, and it affects my entire day.
Sorry to hear that Ben. Hopefully our tips will help!
Oh, wow! I had no idea you weren’t supposed to drink your coffee first thing in the morning. Isn’t that what coffee is for? I need to give that a try. I practically mainline my coffee as soon as my eyes open up.
Give it a try Vanessa and let us know how it goes 🙂
Great tips and information! Having a glass of water in the morning is a great idea, it can really help your system through out the day.
Exactly Luna. Thanks for commenting!
It makes sense that everything is so connected. If I eat junk at night, I am feeling it the day after. These are great tips for starting off on the right note.
We are glad you like the tips Marysa! Thanks for commenting!
These are all really great and simple tips for a better morning. I like the idea to drink some water first thing.
Thanks for commenting Debbie!
I love short lists of useful tips. Your list is great. I love my morning coffee and the fresh air from my kitchen window too.
Yes, fresh air! Thanks for commenting Olga!
I love drinking water in the morning and going for a walk to the park. It really helps increase my productivity through out the day.
Exactly Sonia! Thanks for the feedback!
These are great tips, I love the idea of waiting until to have coffee because I love coffee and this is something I want.
Glad we can help! Thanks for the feedback!
All very solid suggestions!
Thank you!
great information! 🙂
Thank you!
These are some awesome tips! Definitely needed these reminders! Great post!
Thank you. We are glad you like it!
Love these 3 daily habits that can really set your tone for the rest of the day 🙂
Thanks for the feedback!
Great tips for a great morning routine.
Exactly Jane. Thanks!
Great tips! Thank you!
Thank you!
Eek! I definitely need to work on drinking more water. It’s important to your body for sure!
Yes, it is Jennifer!
Really good article……
Thank you!
Really great tips! So simple yet so effective!
Thanks for the feedback!
Thanks for sharing your tips! We don’t drink coffee in our house, but have cup of tea instead…
Thanks for reading!