Morning Routine Checklist: The Guide to the Perfect Morning

9 Tips for a Healthy Morning Routine

On the top of the morning routine checklist is good sleep!

If the goal is to rise and shine early in the morning, you must get a good night’s rest beforehand. You can’t expect to have a productive day if you go to sleep at random times and wake up dead tired. According to one source, adults need between seven and nine hours of sleep every night.

Otherwise, you'll feel drowsy throughout the day, have difficulty concentrating, and might even be more moody or irritable than usual. While you can sometimes compensate for a lack of sleep with a short afternoon nap, that’s still not the same as getting a good night’s rest.

You might wonder what you can do to get quality sleep that helps you enjoy the perfect morning. The good news is that there are certain things you can do to get restful, rejuvenating sleep:

1. Set a sleep schedule and stick to it. 
2. Avoid overeating food within 2-3 hours of bedtime--and limit your consumption of alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine (don’t drink or consume caffeine 5-6 hours before bed).
3. Ensure your bedroom is suited for rest by setting the right temperature and keeping the environment quiet. We recommend around 65-70 degrees fahrenheit.
4. Avoid naps longer than 60 minutes during the daytime hours or at least limit how many you take.
5. Pursue physical activity during the day, but don't do so too close to bedtime, this will raise the internal body temperature.
6. Avoid blue-light or bright overhead lighting 2 hours before bed, this lightening tells your body it should be awake and prevents natural melatonin production.
7. Manage your stress or try an evening meditation app or sleep app--and get professional help if you struggle with doing so. 

 

Only when you get into a routine and get the quality sleep you need can you move on to the next step, which is to have the perfect morning. You might have to do a bit of trial and error to achieve a bedtime routine that works for you, but it’s worth the effort.

Are you ready to learn how to accomplish this important goal? Continue reading for a morning routine checklist to ensure you have a great morning.

1. Prepare the Night Prior

Have you ever read the saying that those who fail to plan, plan to fail? It’s a truism. If you want to have the perfect morning, you need a strategy. One of the more critical things is getting to bed on time. The other aforementioned tips are crucial as well. But planning goes further. 

When you wake up in the morning, you'll get a better start to your day if you did a few things the evening before. That includes setting out your attire. No, that’s not just something parents should do for their younger children. It’s a good habit for adults, too. 

Do you like to exercise first thing in the morning? Whether you want to run, hop on your elliptical machine, or go through a rigorous workout on your treadmill, you'll want to have the right gear. Set out whatever you tend to wear in the morning so you don't have to waste time looking for stuff. That’ll be time best spent doing other things.

Here's a look at other things you should do the evening before what you hope will be a great morning:

Plan Your Day: Whether on a sheet of paper or on your phone, jot down what you plan to do the following day. If you like to wake up, take a shower, pray or meditate, go for a walk, and then eat breakfast to start your morning, jot this down. You'll get more done if you put your plan down in writing. When you wake up in the morning, you’ll know exactly what to do. Let your morning flow naturally from one thing to another to avoid any unnecessary complications.

Get Up Early: You’ve no doubt heard the old saying: “Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.” Those are the famous words of Ben Franklin, the United States' founding father and a renowned scientist, investor, writer, and political philosopher. Such an accomplished and historically relevant person lived what he preached.

If you want the perfect morning, you can’t afford to crawl out of bed at 11:00 am. By that time, most of the morning has already frittered away. That’s not the time to be yawning and rubbing the sleep from your eyes. You must go to bed on time, get enough sleep, and get up early.

Unless your body clock is synched so that you don’t need an alarm clock, set your alarm. Are you a heavy sleeper? If so, the chances are that you don’t tend to get enough sleep and therefore have a hard time pushing away the covers and peeling yourself off the mattress. But there’s an app for that. Go to your favorite app store and look for an alarm made for heavy sleepers. It’ll ring so loud at the appointed time that you’ll have no choice but to get up!

2. Don’t Grab Your Phone Right Away (Wait Until Later)

According to one source, 47% of people in the U.S. claim to be "addicted" to their phones. Ironically, people are tethered to wireless devices. Odd but true. Consider these statistics: 

• 71% of Americans check their phones within the first 10 minutes of getting up in the morning. 
• 74% of Americans are uncomfortable leaving their phones at home.
• 70% of Americans check their phones within five minutes of getting a notification.
• 45% of Americans say their phones are their most valuable possessions.
• 61% of Americans have texted people who were in the same room as them.

 

One reason for delaying the urge to pick up your phone to check messages, read email, make phone calls, or scan the headlines is that doing so could wind up taking up too much of your time. Before long, you might find that you've wasted a lot of time. Before you give in to the urge to pick up your phone and spend too much time using it, get through your morning routine. There'll be plenty of time to check your phone later on. Leave “check smartphone notifications” off your healthy morning routine checklist. You’ll be better off that way.

3. Rehydrate

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fb3IJgdtUdA

As a rule of thumb, consume between nine and 13 cups of fluids daily for optimal health. You undoubtedly know that it’s essential to drink lots of water. But did you know there are lots of benefits to drinking water first thing in the morning? Some of them may surprise you. Doing so helps rehydrate your body, boosts your alertness level, strengthens your immune system, fuels your brain, rids your body of toxins, and much more. 

But how much water should you drink first thing in the morning? Your body is made up of more than 50% of water, so you need to get enough water daily for your health. If you go without water for too long, you can encounter health issues that include, but are not limited to, kidney stones, rheumatoid arthritis, uterine cancers, and hypertension. 

How much water you drink first thing in the morning will depend on various factors:

1. Physical Activity: If you exercise early in the morning and work up a sweat, you'll need to drink more water than you'd otherwise consume. Make it a daily morning routine.
2. Location: If you're in a place where the temperatures are relatively high such that you perspire a lot, you'll want to up your water intake early in the morning. 
3. Ailments: If you're sick and are losing liquids, compensate by increasing your water intake. You’ll also find that it helps you feel better.

Your body temperature impacts how easily you can get to sleep. But it doesn’t stop there. It also factors into the amount of time you spend in various stages of sleep and the quality of the sleep you do get. In case you didn't know, the four stages of sleep are wake, light sleep, deep sleep, and rapid eye movement sleep. If you have a higher-than-optimal core body temperature, you will likely experience a lower slow-wave sleep process associated with restoration. And if there’s a significant discrepancy between your core temperature and your extremities temperature, you will likely wake up over the course of your sleep period. So, your sleep quality will be jeopardized in such circumstances.

4. Morning Sunlight Exposure

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDv4AWk0J3U

Light plays an important role in the body's natural sleep-wake cycle, also known as the circadian rhythm. The circadian rhythm is a 24-hour cycle that regulates many of the body's functions, including energy levels, hormone production, and the sleep-wake cycle. The sleep-wake cycle is the body's natural process of going from a state of wakefulness to sleep and back to wakefulness.

One of the ways the body regulates the sleep-wake cycle is through exposure to light. Sunlight is the most natural source of light, and it sends a "wakeup" signal to the body that helps to suppress melatonin production and increase cortisol production. Cortisol is a hormone that helps to regulate energy levels and stress response. Serotonin is a hormone that helps to regulate mood, and it is metabolized into melatonin, which helps to promote sleep.

Exposure to bright morning light tells the body to start the day, while exposure to darkness tells the body it's time to sleep. This is why it's important to get exposure to natural sunlight during the day, and to avoid exposure to artificial light and blue light from electronic devices in the evening.

The body's natural sleep-wake cycle can be disrupted by things like artificial light and blue light from electronic devices. Exposure to artificial light and blue light in the evening can delay the onset of sleep and reduce the quality of sleep. To help regulate the sleep-wake cycle, it's important to avoid exposure to artificial light and blue light in the evening, and to get exposure to natural sunlight during the day.

5. Make Your Bed (little daily win)

While you might feel you’re being treated like a youngster once again, it’s important that you make up your bed when you get up in the morning. It’s about tidying up so you have a comfortable and organized space to get ready before leaving your room. Add it to your daily morning routine. You can lessen stress by making your bed. Keeping your bed clean and well-ordered will reflect your state of mind and help set the stage for a more productive day.

6. Dress for the day (even if you work from home)

Now, it's time to put yourself together. If you planned the day before, then you'll just have to swap your PJs for your outfit. While you might prefer to lounge around in your PJs for the morning, you'll actually feel better if you get dressed. It'll show that you have things to do. This is even the case if you work from home. Getting dressed is about purpose. You’ve got things to do.

7. Clear Your Head or Do Something that Inspires You

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGO8IWiusJo

Now's the time to focus on getting your mind focused. Are you religious? You can set aside time to pray, read religious texts, and focus on the messages you read. Take your time. Whether or not you're religious, you can take some time to meditate. Go online and find mediation exercises that resonate with you. You just might want to make meditation a regular part of your day. 

Another idea is to write in a journal. You don't have to do it via pen and paper. You can do it on your computer or tablet. Focus on jotting down things you're grateful for, your short- and long-term goals, or anything else that inspires you. 

Do you have inspirational books that will lift your spirits and put you in the right headspace? Spend some time reading something that offers food for the mind and soul. Doing so will help you enjoy the perfect morning.

8. Get Moving

Just move! This does not mean you need to go to a HITT class or run 10 miles, just move the body. You might want to walk your dog, walk-around your block or way you live. Forward movement in the morning is all you need. This tells your body that its time to be awake and signals the brain to start to lower cortisol and start to fire many important brain and body functions. The goal is to get your body in motion. You can always do more exercise later on in the day.

9. Eat the right breakfast or skip it!

Some people skip breakfast, not a bad idea but you still need fuel! If you are skipping breakfast try adding butter and MCT oil to your coffee, commonly known as “ Bulletproof Coffee”. 

Eating breakfast will give you an excellent start to the day - when it’s the correct items your body needs. Without fuel, your body won't function properly. And fuel typically comes in the form of high-quality fats and not high carbs and sugar. Wolfing down pastries and washing them down with coffee might delight your taste buds -  but not the healthiest option. Rather, consider something like eggs and avocado or nuts, berries and yogurt. You don’t need to overeat!

Another benefit of eating a good breakfast that contains fat is better concentration. You'll be more alert, efficient, and productive if you eat a good breakfast in the morning. If you're going to have a good morning and function well during the day, your concentration needs to be as strong as possible. 

A quality breakfast will also give you a better temperament. Have you ever noticed how easy it is to be moody when hungry? That's the sort of thing that will happen if you don't have enough fuel. So, make it a point to have breakfast in the morning. Skipping breakfast and having brunch or lunch won’t cut it. You can’t have the perfect morning if you don’t have breakfast on time.

When looking at the list above, you might determine that swapping the order will work better for you. For instance, you might want to have breakfast before you get moving. You can swap those two things if you wish. But whatever you do, don’t grab your phone early in the morning. 

A Good Night’s Sleep Paves Way for a Good Morning

In order to have the perfect morning, you need a good night’s sleep. There’s no getting around that. Getting into a routine will help, but you might need a little extra help to get quality shut-eye at night. Our CBN products are trusted by thousands of sleepers every night. In fact, the results you'll get from our products are backed by research. We have natural sleep aids for all sleepers, so get in touch and allow us to help you choose the right product for your needs. It’ll be easier to stick to your morning routine checklist with our CBN products to help you sleep well at night.

Check out our official 2022 sleep study results and contact us for more information.