How to Wake Up in
the Morning: 5 Key Steps to a Healthy Morning Ritual
Oh no, is it really THAT time? There's nothing more disappointing than waking
to the jarring sounds of an alarm clock early in the morning. If you only
had 2 more hours to sleep...
Our fast-paced lives often mean we are burning the candle at both ends.
Most of the time, we go to bed too late and hit the snooze button all morning,
leaving just enough time to dash to work or school.
Did you know that experts are finding that sleep deprivation could be
linked to obesity, hypertension, diabetes, stroke, depression and heart attacks?1
Clearly, getting enough sleep is important. In the article, Want
to Sleep Better? First Reduce Your Cortisol Levels Then Follow these 6 Key
Tips, we shared how to get your zzz's.
In this article, you'll learn how to create your healthy wake up routine,
with tips for your physical and emotional health. As you incorporate these
new habits into your life, you may find the rhythm of sleeping AND waking
up becomes a natural, beneficial part of your life.
Support Healthy Sleep with a Healthy Wake- Up Routine
Your overall health improves when you treat your body to habits that stave
off stress and support wellbeing. Here are 5 tips for your morning wake up
routine:
- Go to Bed and Wake Up at the Same Time - Yes, what you've always
heard is true. Sleeping, like every other bodily function, is a habit. In
fact, your body has circadian rhythms, which control your biological "clock."
- The sunlight is actually a strong biological cue, so going to bed
early and waking early is natural for your body.
-
Imagine starting your day with beautiful Tibetan bell-like
chimes. Say goodbye to jarring alarm clocks that stress your
body and wake up gently with the Zen
Alarm Clock.
|
If it FEELS unnatural to wake early, it's often due to staying up late
in front of the computer or TV or in brightly lit rooms. Find out how
to sleep better by reading: Why
You Should Say No to Nightlights (& Other Top Recommendations to
Sleep Well).
- Wake Up Gently - Good news: time to trash your alarm clock - because waking
to a jarring alarm actually causes stress to your body. There are better
ways to wake up.
- The best way would be to wake up naturally, simply because your body
has had all the rest it needs. Since that's not usually the case these
days, there are gentler options for waking up, like the Zen
Alarm Clock. The Zen Alarm Clock has a gentle series of beautiful
Tibetan bell-like chimes to gradually wake you up - on time - and in
a much better mood!
- If you can, plan to stay in bed for 30 minutes upon waking. Read
an inspiring book, listen to soft music or even better, meditate. This
brings your body gently into the day, supports your adrenal health and
gives you time to become more grounded and focused.
- Re-hydrate - Your body needs to re-hydrate, especially after being
without fluids all night. Re-hydrating in the morning is an age-old way
to add peristaltic action to your colon. Try to have at least half your
water intake by mid-morning, it really revitalizes your system. Upon waking
one glass of water could contain lemon juice. The sour tastes stimulates
parastalic action in your digestive tract.
- Also have something fermented to drink and send a new group of friendly
microflora down inside your intestines each morning. A glass of young
coconut kefir with black currant juice and stevia makes a great "adrenal
tonic".
- Follow that with Vitality
SuperGreen to alkalinize your blood. During the night when you are
sleeping, your blood becomes more acidic. When you wake up, having an
all-alkaline, high water content, expansive drink like Vitality SuperGreen
is very energizing and may replace your need for coffee (coffee is acidic).
A scoop or two of whey protein concentrate makes an excellent addition
to our Vitality.
- Replace Cereal with Soup for Breakfast - You'll notice a difference
in your energy and health if you choose a hydrating, nutritious soup for
breakfast.
- Focus on the Positive - Our thoughts create our experiences. If
we are waking up tired to the sound of a jangling alarm clock, hitting the
snooze button and then rushing to work, it's hard to have positive thoughts
about the day ahead. And yet, just the act of focusing with gratitude on
the fact that you are alive and then using those positive thoughts to create
a happy, productive day could calm your mind and create energy for your
day ahead.
- As you follow the tips in this article, you'll soon find that you
are naturally becoming more and more positive. You'll certainly feel
physically stronger as you reduce stress, get the necessary sleep and
nutrients your body needs. Feeling good is a natural result of building
more energy.
- If you want to speed up your results and start releasing negative
thoughts today, try the Emotional
Freedom Technique (EFT). Gary Craig, creator of the Emotional
Freedom Techniques, has many free resources on his website,
including how to do EFT, how to sleep better and how to release negative
thoughts.
What About Exercise?
While you'd think exercise would be part of our recommended morning routine,
experts are now finding that exercise in the afternoon is the best way to
prevent injury and improve performance. 1
However, many also agree that exercising any time of day is better than none
at all, and most people seem to be able to stick to the habit of exercise
when done in the morning.
Listen to your body and do what feels right for you. If you do exercise in
the morning, consider yoga and/or walking to gently get your heart moving,
stimulate your digestive system and build energy for the day ahead.
Habits Worth Having
The 5 steps above are great building blocks for a morning routine that supports
your physical and emotional health.
Just like everything else we recommend, implement your new morning routine
step by step (an important Body Ecology Principle.)
Adding one thing at a time is better than doing nothing at all. Pretty soon,
you may find that these guidelines become your new habits. Any habits that
support your wellbeing are habits worth having!
Sources
1 Sleep Disorders and Sleep Deprivation:
An Unmet Public Health Problem. The National Academies Press. December 2006.
http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11617&page=55
2 Smith, Stephanie. Experts disagree on
ideal time of day to exercise. CNN.com. January, 2004.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/HEALTH/diet.fitness/05/27/exercise.time/index.html
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