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

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.

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:

1. 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.

   • 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).

2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
   • A Body Ecology soup eaten along with our recommended grain-like seeds and sea vegetables is a satisfying breakfast that provides your body with liquids and important nutrients.
   • Try Claire’s Creamy Curried Carrot and Cauliflower Soup with your favorite Body Ecology grain-like seed dish (like quinoa.)
5. 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.)