Starting your day relaxed and centered will set the trend for how the rest of the day unravels. Too many of us launch out of bed, instantly check our phones, and dive headfirst into a crazy routine that gets us stressed out before we even leave the house. But instead, envision starting each day with a sense of tranquility, clarity, and calm. You will be able to make chaotic mornings peaceful with just a few simple habits added into your morning routine and leave you feeling balanced and in control throughout the day.
In this article, we enumerate eight habits that one can inculcate to start off the day relaxed yet energized. These are minor changes, yet might powerfully affect one’s mood, mental health, and productivity to handle challenges with a cool head and clear mind.
1. Wake Up an Hour or Two Earlier
One of the easiest ways to start your day relaxed is simply to give yourself some extra time in the morning. Rushing through your routine creates stress and anxiety. Just get up 15-30 minutes earlier, and the morning will be more spacious-you can easily slide into the day.
Why it works: Waking up earlier allows time for more movement at a slower, more intentional clip. You are able to avoid the stress of being late and overwhelmed. More time every morning may be used for extra calming activities that would work into setting a positive tone for the day.
How to do it: Set your alarm 15 minutes earlier than usual, and use that time for something that brings you peace-whether its stretching, sipping tea, or journaling. As your body adjusts, extend it another 30 minutes, or more, as needed.
Example: Sarah used to wake up at 7:30 AM and was always in rush in the morning. She started setting her alarm at 7:00 AM and spent that extra 30 minutes doing some breathing exercises and stretching so she could be more relaxed and composed.
2. Practice Mindful Breathing or Meditation
Mindfulness breathing and meditation provide an excellent means of calming down the self every morning so that calmness and clarity could be established for the rest of the day. It helps quiet the mind, reduces stress, and places a peaceful tone for the rest of the day by focusing on your breath. Meditation aids in cleansing all the mental clutter to make space inside you for calmness and focus.
Why It Works: When you are meditating or doing some mindful breathing, you turn on your parasympathetic nervous system, which engages your body’s response to stress in such a way that your body relaxes. Even as short as a few minutes meditation may reduce anxiety, improve focus, and raise your mood.
HOW TO DO IT Start your day with 5-10 minutes of meditation or mindful breathing. Find a quiet place where you can be comfortably seated, focus on your breathing, and not let your mind wander. Or an application that can help guide you through meditation can be used.
Example: Mark had problems with stress and anxiety during the morning hours. Then every day, after he got up, he started spending 10 minutes meditating, and soon the morning started to get really smooth so he could go about the rest of his day in such a manner it would be much better and easier.
3. Try Not to Immediately Check Your Phone
This could explain why most of them, right after waking up, immediately resort to checking their email, social media, or updating themselves with news. Perhaps that stirs the fire of stress, information overdose, or chains of negative feelings, inviting chaos into the tone of the day.
Why It Works: Your morning is a fragile time when your mind is just getting into the right zone. The digital noise can be over-sensory. And that’s why, when you wait to get on your phone, you wake up lighter and more purposefully, without crowding your mind with someone else’s stuff.
How to do it: Challenge yourself to not check your phone first thing for up to an hour after waking. Within that time frame, do something a little more soothing, such as stretching, journaling, or being intentionally present while drinking coffee. Place boundaries on phone use during the entire morning if you’re able to.
Example: Maria would immediately reach for her phone upon waking up and became anxious right away about work and the news. She decided that her phone would be on airplane mode for the first 30 minutes of her day, giving her time to wake up peacefully and start her day sans stress.
4. Hydrate First Thing in the Morning
Rehydration is one of those things that always gets overlooked in the casual morning routine. Thus, after a few hours of sleep, dehydration starts to creep in, but with a very subtle effect on vitality and mood. Drinking water as the first thing every day has a strategic effect on rehydrating your body and helping your metabolism get going to make you feel refreshed and energized.
Why it works: Drinking water in the morning helps the body function right, improves mental clarity, and just elevates your mood. It is also a great way to start your day without sluggishness and fatigue, keeping energy and calmness.
How It’s Done: Drink one full glass of water upon rising just before your cup of coffee or tea. Place a glass on your night stand or in the kitchen to remind you. To add more flavor and vitamin C, drop a slice of lemon into the water.
Example: John noticed he woke up groggy every morning and learned to establish a pattern in drinking an entire glass of water before doing anything else. Fortunately, this little change made quite the difference in his energy and mood to help him start off the day with more wakefulness and refreshness.
5. Stretch or Do Light Movement
Mild stretches or light movements in the morning clear the built-up tension of the body; it gets the blood flowing, loosens up stiff muscles, and boosts your mood, thus making you all relaxed but full of energy for the rest of the day.
Why it works: Some light stretching or exercise in the morning releases endorphins, so vital in lessening stress and simply putting you in a better mood. It also oxygenates the blood and gets it circulating, making your body more wakeful and ready for whatever the day has in store.
How to do it: Spend 5-10 minutes stretching or moving into yoga poses, bringing awareness to common areas of tension in your neck, shoulders, and back. Alternatively, take a short walk around the block or do light exercises like jumping jacks or bodyweight squats.
Example: Emily started doing 10 minutes of yoga every morning to shake off the stiffness of sleep. The little mobilization would make her feel more energized and relaxed, hence taking the stress off rushed mornings and making it peaceful.
6. Make a Morning Playlist
It elevates your mood and can even turn morning into a peaceful or playful one. You can make a playlist that you like, either with relaxing or energetic music to help in creating an environment propitious for relaxation and focus.
Why It Works: Research has shown that music decreases cortisol levels. Whether using a soothing melody or an energetic tune, you set the tone for an environment that controls and regulates your mood, so you can have a serene and joyful start to the day.
How to do it: Create a playlist of songs that help you feel relaxed, happy, or motivated. Make the sound your accompanist while you’re doing your routines in the morning-like making breakfast, dressing up, or simply just sitting with your cup of coffee. The right kind of music sets the tone for the whole day.
Example: Lisa made a playlist entitled “morning calm” that included acoustic songs and peaceful instrumental music. She would play this while she had breakfast and got ready for the day. This helped her not to feel as rushed every morning and just feel more centered.
7. Practice Gratitude
Starting your day with thanks in an instant will flip any stressed and worried mood into a positive day. Gratitude makes you think of things you are grateful for; hence, this makes you more optimistic and relaxed toward the day ahead.
Why it works: Research has actually demonstrated that, yes indeed, appreciation does advance mental well-being through lower stress levels and more happiness and contentment. You face challenges with more ease once you start thinking of what went right in your life at the beginning of each day.
How to do it: Take a minute or two each morning to reflect on three things you are grateful for. You can write those things down in your journal or just think about them as you wake up. This tiny practice helps reshape the way you think and sets the tone for the rest of the day.
Example: Every morning, Jack would write down in a notebook three things he was thankful for. It got him off to a more centered and appreciative start, putting him in better spirits generally. It also allowed him to stay calm even when the days didn’t work out quite as well as he might have liked.
8. Eat a Leisurely Breakfast
How you fuel your body in the morning makes a real difference throughout the day. Ditch the fast food or the forgoing of breakfast altogether and take the time to sit down to a balanced, nutritionally rich meal.
Why it works: A leisurely cool breakfast gives your body the nutrition you need to energize and focus. You are also eating slow and deliberately, which puts you in the now to minimize the rapid pace and pressure of frenzied mornings.
How to Do It: Take a seat and spend 10 to 15 minutes in the morning chewing your breakfast without distraction. Give presence to eating: take small bites slowly, and remain present as you chew. Take a healthy meal full of protein, healthy fats, and whole grains that will keep you satiated and energetic throughout your day.
For instance, instead of having a quick granola bar on the go, Rachel started getting up just a little bit earlier so she could have some oatmeal, fruits, and a cup of tea. This quiet nurturing breakfast helped her connect and feel less rushed at the beginning of her day.
Conclusion
And no matter how crazy things get, you can have a calm and serene start of your day. Each of these eight easy practices can be completed in under an hour and help someone work in waking up earlier, box breathing, not immediately reaching for their phone, hydration, stretching, calming music, gratitude, and a mindful breakfast-all habits that set someone up for psychological and physical success.
You don’t need to introduce all these habits at once; just start with one or two that really appeal to you and build up your morning routine over time. It is consistency that will pay off in the way you feel throughout the day, while morning-cultivated calmness gets you through the inevitable ups and downs of life more easily.