It’s September and the start of a new academic year, so you may be looking for a reset following the summer. Have you wondered: What is the best daily morning routine?
If so, we have 7 recommendations related to the perfect way to start your day, which can also help your sleep the following night. Take a read of Dr Lindsay’s Browning’s suggestions and recommendations.
7 recommendations for the best daily morning routine
1. Choose your wake up time
You should choose a wake up time that allows you to get the most amount of sleep possible…without making you late for work or any other important commitments. There is no “optimum” wake up time. Set your wake up time depending on:
- when you go to bed
- what time you need to be up
- how much sleep you need.
Typically, adults will need somewhere between 7-9 hours sleep per night. The exact amount of sleep that you need depends on things like your activity levels, genetics, and age.
Therefore, I recommend working back from your needed wake up time (depending on work commitments, childcare and other activities, such as a gym class before work) and going to bed at a time that will allow you to get enough sleep.
As people typically take 10-20 minutes to fall asleep and it is not unusual to wake for a few minutes during the night or a few minutes before your alarm, you should factor in extra time for this. For example, if you need 8 hours’ sleep and need to be awake at 7am, you might want to be in bed with the lights off at least 8 1/2 hours before then (i.e. by 10:30pm).
Having a consistent wake time helps strengthen your circadian rhythm. If you get up at vastly different times during the working week versus the weekend (aka ‘social jet lag’), it can cause issues with poor sleep.
2. Set an alarm and commit
It is always a good idea to set a morning alarm, typically for the latest time you need to wake up, to allow maximum sleep. If you don’t set an alarm, then you will need to check the time when you wake, to see if it is time to get up yet, which could actually make it less likely that you sleep later.
Many of my clients who struggle with waking too early in the morning never set an alarm because they are always awake too early. However, this may be part of the problem as they may be unknowingly waking themselves up to check if it’s morning yet, rather than trusting they can stay sleeping until their alarm. It’s important you feel committed to your wake up time and use your alarm as an authority. You can move your alarm clock away from your bedside table so you can’t turn it off without getting up.
3. Don’t press snooze
Although some people may feel less groggy by repeatedly pressing snooze, I always recommend that people never press snooze.
When you press snooze, you fragment your sleep. This means that any sleep for that last snoozing period will likely be poorer quality, as it’s disrupted by the repeating alarm. Also, if you get used to pressing snooze then it can lead to sleeping through alarms. This is because you are training yourself to quickly hit snooze and return to sleep, rather than getting up.
As mentioned above, it is much better to set an alarm for the latest possible time you need to get up, rather than setting it earlier with snoozing-time factored in. Although you may feel slightly groggy on waking (because you may have been woken from a deeper part of sleep), once you are up, that grogginess (known as sleep inertia) typically fades, within around 10-20 minutes, and you will feel ready for the day. Plus, you would have had more good quality, restorative sleep by not wasting that last 1/2 an hour of sleep repeatedly pressing snooze.
4. Get bright light exposure
As long as you are not waking much earlier than your ideal wake-up time, then aiming to get bright light exposure soon after waking can help boost alertness, as well as helping shift melatonin production earlier in the evening to help you fall asleep that night.
However, if you find that you are waking too early, such as at 4am, and are unable to get back to sleep, you might want to avoid bright light first thing, as that may exacerbate the early awaking.
As it is helpful to get bright light exposure soon after waking (by going outside and getting natural daylight), you might think reaching for your bright phone might also be helpful. However, the light levels from your phone are nowhere near as effective as natural daylight. Also, if you reach immediately for your phone upon waking you might start reading stressful emails or scrolling through social media which could cause stress and spike your cortisol. When you wake up, cortisol levels are generally at their peak, therefore, it is a better idea to start the day with something a little more relaxing.
4. Try an alertness and mood boost technique
Starting the day with some movement (such as some stretching or even some light exercise) can help boost alertness. Also, drinking water soon after waking can help rehydrate you after overnight fasting.
You could also start the day by writing down a plan of the top 5 things you want to achieve that day and/or some things you are grateful for. This can help with mindset and keeping you focused for the day. It’s nice to add something to your daily morning routine which makes you feel good.
6. Eat breakfast
Eating within an hour or two of waking can be helpful as you have been “fasting” all night. Also, eating food in the morning helps cue your circadian rhythm that it is morning.
However, there are some nutritionists who advocate time restricted eating, so actually it’s a very individual thing.
If you find that you are particularly sluggish in the morning but you are not used to regularly eating breakfast, you might want to try eating something within an hour or two of waking up and see if that helps your energy levels and alertness.
7. Delay your caffeine intake
As cortisol levels tend to be at a peak first thing in the morning, it’s a good idea to wait an hour or so for your first cup of coffee, once cortisol levels start to decline. Instead, drink a glass of water soon after waking and save the coffee for a little later.
Some recommend drinking lemon water as part of a good daily morning routine. However, I am not a nutritionist, so cannot comment fully on the virtues and pitfalls of lemon water. Drinking lemon juice mixed with water first thing in the morning would give you some vitamin C. But be aware that you don’t have too much citric acid to damage your tooth enamel and also that the acid does not upset an empty stomach.
Plan your best daily morning routine today
To give yourself the best chance of starting the day feeling energised and ready, it’s important to have prioritised your sleep and given yourself enough time in bed to get the right amount of sleep that you need. Your perfect daily morning routine starts the night before!
Also, consistent bedtime and wake times help to ensure that you start the day feeling ready rather than jetlagged. And finally, remember that getting bright light soon after waking will help boost your energy levels.
Want to know about the best bedtime routines too? We’ve got you covered: