Routines are anchors amid the swirling eddies of life. Like rituals, they give shape to time, distinguishing one hour from another and one day from the next. They build habits of discipline, which is the cornerstone of every achievement. There’s a reason that successful people from Marcus Aurelius to Benjamin Franklin to Winston Churchill stuck to strict daily schedules.
Of all the possible routines, morning routines take precedence and afford the widest array of benefits. Actions taken in the morning set the course for the entire day. From a physical, emotional, and spiritual standpoint, people are freshest and most open to positive influences and impressions in the morning. Little by little, these determine the overall contours of life. It’s crucial to take advantage of this morning window to orient yourself in a positive direction.
Morning is associated with rebirth, resurrection, and new beginnings. An uplifting morning routine can synchronize your body and soul, honoring its freshness, brightness, and possibility of renewal that it offers every single day.
The Science Is Pro-Morning
Scientifically speaking, as the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) explains, establishing a morning routine can improve energy, productivity, and positivity throughout the day. And the right morning routine can literally add years to your life.
What you do at the first streak of dawn affects your physical health more than you might think. Dr. Alex Wibberley has outlined four pillars of a healthy, life-extending morning routine: cold exposure, light exposure, protein consumption, and movement. He also includes proper hydration as the necessary foundation for the four pillars.
Cold exposure first thing in the morning—such as a cold shower—triggers a biological process called hormesis. Hormesis refers to the body’s response to a mild stressor—such as cold—that actually strengthens it, much as a low dose of a germ can strengthen the immune system and a low dose of muscle tearing actually triggers muscle strengthening. The consequent release of the hormone noradrenaline has been shown to reduce inflammation in the body, which is one of the major causes of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and even cancer.
Similarly, light exposure helps set a proper circadian rhythm, which leads to better cellular health. Consuming quality protein in the morning prompts muscle growth—important for a number of reasons, including the fact that low muscle mass is a strong predictor of mortality and disability.
Almost any advice on morning routines—including Wibberley’s—recommends some form of exercise. Movement is especially important after sleep, during which blood circulation has declined. Moving in the morning stimulates blood flow, which improves overall bodily function, reduces the rate of cognitive decline, and improves mood, among other benefits.
All four pillars receive necessary support from hydration. Most people wake up in the morning in a dehydrated state, which forces the heart to pump harder and clouds the brain.
These are merely the physical benefits of a healthy morning routine. A regular morning routine produces a multitude of psychological and productivity benefits, too. As NAMI points out, a set morning routine curtails “decision fatigue.” Morning habits reduce the mental workload needed to get things done. You don’t have to think about it—you know automatically how to start your day in a productive manner.
Other practices that boost productivity and set the day on a positive trajectory include mental stimulation through music and reading. Music activates the whole brain, so queuing up a favorite song can be an excellent way to get the neurons firing while boosting your mood. Reading also stimulates the brain, but in a different way. It’s a quiet, meditative practice, perfect for the stillness of the morning as the day gently begins to bloom, and it’s a practice that calms the mind by directing it to focus on just one thing. Poems, books, uplifting articles—anything elevating and calming will fit the bill.
This reading can easily be combined with an even more important element: some form of mindfulness or spiritual exercise, such as prayer, that further deepens interior peace, soothes the soul, and reorients you toward the ultimate purposes of the day.
Advice on morning routines almost always includes a recommendation to avoid phones and social media for some time after waking. In contrast to reading a book or praying, checking your phone overstimulates the brain, scattering it in a thousand directions all at once, spiking anxiety and distraction. Beginning the day by checking email, answering texts, and generally exposing yourself to digital “noise” is cognitively wearing. And the excessive dopamine dump from technology can mess with your dopamine regulation for the rest of the day.
A few minutes of mindfulness can establish a positive direction for the entire day. (maxbelchenko/Shutterstock)Instead of entering the day calm, focused, and centered, you begin the day like a freight train careening off the tracks while exploding in slow motion.
Schedule Suggestions
This kind of approach also hinders your ability to effectively plan for the day in a focused manner. In an interview with Good Housekeeping, Laura Vanderkam, author of “What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast,” and Henna Pryor, a workplace performance expert, said that successful people strategize and set key goals early in the day. Planning, strategizing, and setting a key goal will give the day direction and order. They also suggest embracing a creative activity in the morning because your mind is fresh and the creative sap is flowing.
Putting it all together, then, NAMI provides the following sample morning routine:
6:55–7:00—Slowly wake up.
7:00–7:15—Open the curtains, turn on music, and exercise in some way.
7:15–7:30—Eat some fruit and almonds for breakfast.
7:30–8:00—Read and drink tea or water for mental stimulation and bodily hydration.
8:00–8:30—Shower and prepare for work.
8:30–9:00—Walk to work to get in some moderate exercise.
9:00–9:15—Begin work with a planning session.
Of course, this routine isn’t meant to be universal—it’s simply one iteration of these principles. Everyone will have to adapt the principles to his individual circumstances and needs.
It’s also not always possible to make use of every practice suggested here. Doing it consistently is more important than doing it all.
In an interview with Forbes, Benjamin Spall, coauthor of “My Morning Routine: How Successful People Start Every Day Inspired,” said, “The most common elements of the most successful morning routines are their ability to be simple and easy to follow.” He advises starting small; don’t begin with a two-hour workout your first morning. Maybe try 10 or 15 minutes, and build from there.
That said, there are general principles that hold true across the board. Spall’s research found that it’s important not to stay up too late (the interviewees in his book averaged a bedtime of 10:57 p.m.) or sleep in too long (the average wake-up time was 6:24 a.m.). What going to bed early or waking up early looks like for each individual will vary to some extent, but the basic premise remains the same.
Your mornings may improve if you take time to wind down the night before. (Bold Art/Freepik)With some trial and error, and by learning from science and the experience of successful individuals, anyone can formulate a peaceful, healthy, and energizing start to his day. It’s well worth the investment of thought and energy.
