7 Healthy Habits to

Start Your Day

7 Healthy Habits to Start Your Day

Do You Start Your Day with Healthy Habits?

Healthy habits are an essential way to start your day and set the tone for a happy, positive, and productive day.

Everyone starts their day with ingrained habits, some good and some not so good. Some of us have habits that start us off on the right foot, and some of us have habits that sabotage us from the get-go.

Then there are those of us who wake up and just wing it, reacting to whatever the day throws at us.

Guess what – that’s a habit too! 

Have you ever noticed that if you start your day frantically reacting to each moment, you end up feeling like the day just doesn’t get any better? Or you’re chasing your tail all day with a list of things that just don’t get done. Do you have a knot in the pit of your stomach thinking about all you have to do with no idea where to start (anxiety)?

Well, you’re not alone. Too many of us start our day with unhealthy habits, but it can be different! 

Starting your day with good healthy habits is very important.

Why? Because good habits promote good physical and mental health. And when you start your day with healthy habits you are creating momentum for a powerful, “take-on-the-world” kind of day.

Healthy morning habits can change your life.

 

What are Habits?

Habits are mostly unconscious actions you do without thinking. Research has shown that over 40% of what we do is determined not by our decisions but by our unconscious habits.

This book from Wendy Wood – Good Habits, Bad Habits is a great read on the science of habits and how to make them stick.

So let’s have a look at some unhealthy habits most people have.

 

  • Reaching for Your Phone as Soon as You Wake Up

This is one of the most self-destructive things you can do.

When we come out of a restful slumber our brain is rested and ready take on whatever the day holds. By picking up your phone and scrolling through news or social media, you are giving control of your thoughts and emotions to the outside world.

 

  • Hitting the Snooze Button

When you use an alarm to wake up you are bringing your brain out of REM sleep, and when you hit the snooze button you fall back into REM sleep. The problem with that is REM cycles usually last around 45 minutes, so when your alarm goes off for the second (or third) time at 9 minute intervals you are pulling your brain out of an REM state and confusing it. The result is you are likely to be more tired than you would have been had you gotten up the first time.

 

  • Having Coffee as Your First Drink of the Day

First thing in the morning your body is dehydrated. Every cell in your body, including your brain, needs a good hydrating drink, and coffee is not it.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a morning coffee as much as anyone, but the body needs more.

 

  • Starting Your Day Without Intention

Most days you wake up with a basic idea of where you are going and what you are doing. Going to work or school, going shopping, or doing the housework. These are things you know you are going to do, but do you wake with the intention to make your day the best it can be?

Are you choosing your thoughts and emotions, or are you on auto-pilot, going through the motions?

 

Breaking Out of Old Unhealthy Habits

Imagine, if you can eliminate just one bad morning habit, you are on the way to changing your life for the better.

And the best way to break out of a bad habit is to replace it with a new, good habit. It takes time and effort to instill a new habit, and it starts as a conscious action. But as you persist, that conscious action becomes an unconscious habit! 

According to studies, it takes anything from 18 to 254 days for a person to form a new habit and it takes 66 days for a new habit to become automatic. 

If you start your day with good, healthy habits, you feel calm and in control. Then the rest of your day is set up for success. 

So, let’s have a look at 7 healthy morning habits you can instill to start your day off right.

7 Healthy Habits to Start Your Day

  • Plan Your Day

Your first healthy habit isn’t a morning habit at all. It’s one to do the night before, and it sets you up for an intentional start to the day to come.

Sit down for 5 to 10 minutes at the end of the day and work out what you want to achieve the next day. Is there something that needs to be addressed? Do you have a list of things you want to tick off before the day ends? Or was there something you didn’t get to today that you want to finish tomorrow?

 Use a planner, a calendar, or a to-do list, and plan the day ahead.

Because with so much to do, and so much going on, waking up with a plan reduces anxiety about where to start your day. 

An added bonus is you’ll sleep better. Because you’ve cleared the inner chatter and worries of unfinished business, you’ll fall into a peaceful slumber, awakening tomorrow with a plan and intention. 

  • Wake Up Grateful

Healthy habit No.2 is gratitude. The many benefits of gratitude are well-researched and proven to improve physical and mental health. So starting your day with gratitude is essential.

When the alarm goes off do not hit the snooze button. Instead, stretch and think of at least 3 things to be grateful for. Feel the smile on your face start as you think of the good in your life.

It can be as simple as being grateful for the sun shining outside your window, or for the love of family and friends. You can be grateful for the roof over your head, or the food in your cupboard. These are the simple things we sometimes forget not everyone has.

Research shows that the more you are grateful for the more you find to be grateful for. That when you practice gratitude, you are signaling your brain to release the feel-good neurotransmitters (dopamine, endorphins, and serotonin).

Gratitude lifts your mood, relaxes your body, and lowers your heart rate. It’s much better than letting the thoughts of yesterday or the worries of tomorrow dictate your emotions.

  • Get Up

Your next healthy habit is to get up. After you’ve found 3 things to be grateful for, get up!

Don’t lay in bed and read your emails, catch up on news, or scroll through social media. By doing that you are immediately allowing outside influences to determine how your day will start. You are reacting to others before taking care of yourself. You’re laying in bed overthinking or worrying about what is going to happen in your day.

Get up with intent, even if you don’t feel like it. And when your feet hit the floor, take that first step. The first step into a new day where you get to create the day you want. You get to go through your healthy morning routine, setting yourself up for an amazing day.

If you are having trouble finding the motivation to get up, read “The 5 Second Rule” by Mel Robbins. It’s all about how to overcome procrastination and act now.

  • Meditate

The many benefits of meditation are well-researched and recommended, especially in the morning. The morning mind is coming out of slumber and is yet to be bombarded by outer influences. Subsequent;y, it is more receptive to meditation practices and gives you a platform for a wonderful day.

So before you start to deal with your day and tackle the “to-do list” you wrote last night. Before you pick up your phone, open your laptop, or turn on the news – Meditate.

Because as soon as you let the outer world in, your mind and your thoughts will be under attack.

Morning meditation helps you to deal with what’s to come. By taking just 5 to 15 minutes each morning to meditate you will set yourself up to take on the day. It creates clarity and focus, ensuring you are ready to take on anything the day brings. 

Meditation will also help you start your day relaxed and calm, and able to handle the stresses of daily life.  

Here is a guide to meditation I used to learn the practice. 

How to Meditate – Mindful 

As part of your meditation practice try adding positive affirmations. Affirmations are a powerful tool to start your day with positive intention. 

 I like to start my day with: 

  • I am enough 
  • I can do anything I set my mind to 
  • I am healthy, energetic and optimistic 
  • I am the architect of my life. I am the creator of my reality 
  • I have faith in myself 
  • Today will be a fabulous day 

Meditation Moments is an app I use for guided meditation, positive affirmations and gratitude practices. 

  • Drink Warm Lemon Water

We all know that starting your day with a glass of water helps rehydrate your body after sleep. But it is said that by adding lemon to warm water as your first drink of the day you receive additional benefits. 

Lemons are an excellent source of Vitamin C which is a powerful antioxidant and is important for the immune system. Lemons are also rich in flavonoids, compounds that have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. Also, antioxidants help protect the body’s cells from damage, reducing the risk of many health conditions.   

A glass of warm lemon water first thing in the morning is also said to aid the digestive system and help flush out toxins. It helps maintain the immune system, and some even say assists in weight loss. 

All you need to do is add the juice of half a lemon to a cup of warm water and you’re all good to go! 

Healthy Habits to start your day No 5 - Drink Warm Lemon Water
  • Exercise

Exercise is probably the hardest healthy habit to stick to. But it’s one of the most beneficial things you can do for your health, in the morning or any time of the day. 

Exercise has so many physical and mental health benefits that it’s a must-do. Along with the physical benefits of a healthy body, it’s also proven to reduce stress and anxiety. Because starting your day with exercise gets the blood flowing to your brain and sets you up for an energised, positive day.

Additionally, when you exercise the body releases the “Happy Chemicals” Endorphins, Serotonin, and Dopamine that improve your mood.

It doesn’t have to be an intense 2 hour workout at the gym, just 30 minutes of activity per morning. Try yoga at home, a walk around the park, or a light gym session.

Every bit counts, so just make sure you get moving.

  • Journal

There are so many benefits of journaling and including it in your morning routine is a great way to turn journaling into a daily habit.  

It doesn’t have to be pages long or a novel, 5 to 10 minutes is all you need. It’s up to you how much time you want to give to your journaling habit, and it will help you set yourself up for a good day ahead. Journaling helps with clarity, creates mindfulness and sets you up for a productive, creative day.

Here is our article on the benefits of journaling and how to start. 

Starting Your Day with Healthy Habits is Worth the Effort

Now that you’ve created healthy habits to start your day you’re ready to take on the world and anything it throws at you! 

You may have to get up a bit earlier to make sure you have time for your new habits, and your daily routine will change.  

Sometimes you’ll want to sleep in or miss the exercise just this once. Or you’ll make excuses for not having the time to meditate. But that’s where turning these actions into habits is key.  

 So, keep going, don’t give up! If you persist, you’ll reap the benefits of a day that starts with a calm and positive mind, and a healthier body. 

It will be 100% totally worth it! Good Luck!

 

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