Is there a ‘perfect morning routine’? As we all return to school runs or post-holiday work schedules, we often crave routine, but what is a good morning routine to help with waking up? What can help ensure you feel refreshed and offer the perfect start to your day?
In this blog, Dr Lindsay Browning explores the concept of a ‘perfect morning routine’ and what this may consist of for you.
Waking up
What is the optimum time to start your morning routine?
There is no single “optimum” wake up time as it depends three things:
- when you go to bed
- what time you need to be up
- how much sleep you (personally) need.
Typically, adults need somewhere between 7-9 hours sleep per night. However, the exact amount of sleep that you need depends on many variables, such as 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).
Is an alarm a good idea?
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 our 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 and so that they don’t oversleep. It many cases, it is better to trust an alarm.
Is it ok to press ‘snooze’ on your alarm, as an easy way to start the perfect morning routine?
Although some people believe they feel less groggy by repeatedly pressing snooze, I always recommend that people never press snooze.
When you press snooze, you fragment your sleep and 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 as you are training yourself to quickly hit snooze and return to sleep, rather than getting up.
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 have got up, that grogginess (known as “sleep inertia”) typically fades within around 10-20 minute. Then, 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.
Is a consistent wake up time important?
Yes, absolutely.
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 (also known as ‘social jet lag’), it can cause issues with poor sleep.
Getting up
Is natural light an important part of the perfect morning routine?
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. It also helps 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.
Should you look at your phone first thing?
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.
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.
Should you eat straight away?
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 it’s a very individual thing. This is about you finding your own ‘perfect morning routine’, after all.
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.
What is the best drink to have in the morning?
I am not a nutritionist, so will not comment fully on ‘the best drink’. However, 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 before your first cup of coffee – a common choice for many people. After an hour, this is when cortisol levels start to decline. Instead, drink a glass of water soon after waking and save the coffee for a little later. Drinking water soon after waking can help rehydrate you after overnight fasting.
Starting the day well
How can we ‘hit the ground running’?
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. In many ways the perfect morning routine (and the best days) start with the sleep the night before.
A consistent bedtime and wake times help to ensure that you start the day feeling ready rather than jetlagged. Alongside bright light, starting the day with some movement (such as some stretching or even some light exercise) can also help boost alertness. You could start the day by writing down a plan of the top 5 things you want to achieve that day, and some things you are grateful for, which can help with mindset and keeping you focused for the day.
Your perfect morning routine – what’s it going to involve?
I hope you have found this array of information and recommendations helpful for finding your own perfect morning routine. Consistency is so important, but also figuring out what is right for you.
If you know that it your sleep during the night, which is causing you to struggle in the morning or with alertness during the day, then please do reach out. We offer a free 15-minute consultation, and in some cases moved significantly forward with solving sleep issues with just this one call.