Mindful Morning Routine for Mental Wellness
The sun doesn’t just magically pop to high noon. It awakens slowly and intentionally. Sometimes with pops of color or pools of fog, but always on schedule. Ticking up the sky until fulling awake and revealed.
Calm from the Start: Stress Reducing Morning Routine
Establishing a healthy morning routine is essential for sound mental wellness. Mindful routine, and at the very least, intention, reduces overall stress and anxiety. The problem for those that suffer from anxiety is that we can get stuck in unhealthy ruts that turn into unhealthy routines. Stressful morning rumination and state-of-the-world news feeds can suck us down an anxious rabbit hole, compounding on itself, and snowballing in size. Stressful thoughts send our mind into overdrive, which then manifest as stress on the body, kicking off a vicious cycle of HPA axis signaling. The main offender? Cortisol. A stress hormone that signals the flight or fight response. Good for running away from tigers, not so good for keeping internal peace. When our brain receives the message to release cortisol, our body goes on high alert. Elevated cortisol leads to blood sugar dysregulation, hormone imbalance, digestive dysfunction, and mental unrest. Not a great way to kick off the day, and often hard to shake.
So how do we keep our internal waters calm from the start? We slowly build morning habits that mimic the unfolding of dawn. The sun doesn’t just magically pop to high noon. It awakens slowly and intentionally. Sometimes with pops of color or pools of fog, but always on schedule. Ticking up the sky until fulling awake and revealed.
Mindful Morning Habits
1. Catch Sunrise or Sleep In
We sleep to recharge. One of the biggest assets of any health plan is getting enough sleep. Whether you are waking at the crack of dawn or mid-morning, make sleep a priority. Sometimes that means sacrificing a night time or morning time habit. Aim for at least 7 hours, with a goal of 8 or 9. Make your bedroom a room for sleep by limiting screens and busyness, and business. There are times when you need to prioritize sleeping in over everything else to allow the body to heal - and that is ok!
2. No Screens
If you are a member of this modern society, then you are probably somewhat dependent on screens – alarms, communication, work, news, updates, tracking, etc. Screens consume our days, but we do not need them to consume our mornings. Buy an alarm clock, charge your phone across the room or in another room, move the TV out of the bedroom, and turn off the WiFi before bed. If this is a hard habit to break, commit to completing at least 3 things on the following list before checking your phone. We live in the age of information. Whatever it is, it can wait.
3. Ground
Spending a few moments to fully wake up and ground yourself. Allow your mind to drop back into your body. Keep the monkey brain at bay with simple techniques. Process a dream. Focus your energy. Plant your feet. Breathe. Read. Meditate. Journal. These habits will ultimately reduce overwhelm and anxiety, creating more clarity of thought.
4. Daily Intention
What’s your goal for the day? Create your own mantra. Keep it positive. Get specific. Something that will empower and make you smile. Announce it: speak it out loud or write it down. Wash, rinse, repeat until you believe the words. Need inspiration? Flip through a book of art or poems, card deck of intentions, or seasonal offerings calendar. It might sound silly if you have never tried it, but setting an intention for the day can create positive focus, repelling anxious rumination.
5. Movement
Morning exercise can take many forms. Whatever your time and body allow, be sure to incorporate movement into your morning routine. For some it means training for a marathon, for others simply walking the dog around the block. If you live close to the office, try walking or biking to work 2-3x/ week. If there is little time, try a gentle stretch or sun salutation when you get out of bed. Even just 5 – 10 minutes allows you to drop into your body and connect, releasing both physical and mental tension.
6. Warming Beverage
Sipping on a warm beverage is a good way to slowly wake up your system. Coffee and other caffeinated beverages have their place, but if you are prone to stress and anxiety I would recommend weening off for 4-6 weeks and see what comes of it. Many people put weight on needing caffeine in coffee to stay regular, when in fact it’s the warmth of the coffee that does most of the stimulating. To start, try having a warm, caffeine-free beverage before your morning coffee. If you are not hungry from the get-go, try sipping on a cup of hot lemon water to stimulate digestion and alkalinize the system. Gentle digestive teas like peppermint, ginger, and licorice are good for calming an upset stomach in the morning. You can also try sipping on a mineral or bone broth to ease your body into the day. In the cooler months I like to wake up with a cup of Nourishing Mineral Broth with a teaspoon of miso and sliced green onion.
7. Fueling Breakfast
Taking the time to prepare a fueling breakfast is worth the extra 5 – 10 minutes. Sitting down to eat your prepared breakfast feels like heaven. For so many of us, especially those rushing to complete our to-do’s and beating the AM traffic, enjoying breakfast is laughable. A good rule of thumb is to eat a well-rounded breakfast within 2 hours of waking. Maybe this means taking some time once you get to work to enjoy your meal, or stopping at a park or café to have a mindful moment before the clock-in. Aim for about 20 grams of Protein, a source of fat, and a complex carbohydrate for your morning meal. Include some Good Mood Foods to support mental wellness, digestion, and energy. Skip the sugary, refined flour cereals and pastries and opt for something with more substance (protein and fat). A good pastry or donut is fine every once in a while, but relying on them to rev your engine for the day will lead to an energy crash later on.
8. Excite the Mind and Body
Work can be mundane and tedious. Life does not have to be. Create space in your morning to try new things and have a spontaneous moment of fun. What brings you pleasure and fill in the blank? Read a chapter. Write a postcard. Make love. Make a funny face with blueberries on your oatmeal. Go for a swim. Do a crossword. Listen to your weird, thoughtful podcast. Try a new class. Walk your dog on a new route. Meet a friend at the new breakfast place that opened up. Keep it exciting!
Fresh Start: How to Make a Change
Establishing to a new routine in best done with the change of the seasons. If you find a major life adjustment (new job, big move, new school, newborns) is forcing a new routine on you, remember the importance of making space for what YOU need to maintain good physical and mental health. Try adopting 1 Mindful Morning Habit week by week. Notice how your mornings, and days, improve overtime: reduced morning stress, more clarity of thought, stable energy, and overall enjoyment of “the little things” that make life so special.
MKN Wellness Workshop:
Eating for Health Program
Fall 2019: October 22nd - November 12th
Better your Energy, Digestion, and Mood in just 4 weeks. This self-guided, online program meets you where you are, teaching you step-by-step how to incorporate positive nutrition practices into your daily life. This is not a fad diet or latest trend, but a sustainable approach to nutrition.