As that all too familiar buzzing begins when that alarm clock shrieks into life, you know it’s time to begin another day. Lying sleepily in bed, you reach out for your phone and spend the first fifteen minutes scrolling blindly through Instagram before stumbling to the shower.
Of course, you spend too long in the shower, as you do every day, and so you are now running late for work. You grab your bag and stuff a half toasted slice of bread into your mouth while simultaneously throwing a mug of coffee down your throat, close the front door and begin running for the bus.
It’s 8.27 am - and you’re already in a grouchy mood.
For many, weekday mornings are difficult but often made all the worse thanks to our poor routines. But it doesn’t need to be this way. Here are five ways to supercharge your mornings that will leave you chomping at the bit for the rest of the day.
Sleep
OK, this is technically the night before, but it has a huge bearing on your entire day. Considering how important we know sleep to be, it’s shocking that roughly 31% of the UK population is suffering from insomnia or sleep deprivation.
There are many ways to improve your sleeping so it can sometimes take time to find the best method, but this is one area that should be non-negotiable for everybody.
Time Management
Many of us believe that maximising our sleeping hours is the most important factor, and while there is some truth to this, we shouldn’t be waking an hour before we have to be at work then frantically sprinting to get there on time. This is a poor way to start the day that leaves us feeling stressed and anxious before we’ve even started work.
Giving yourself a little extra time in the morning and improving your time management can be hugely beneficial if used in the right way. That doesn’t mean you should be reading through absolutely everything on your Twitter feed or playing Candy Crush in bed. In fact, limiting screen time in the morning will not only give you more time to yourself, but it will also certainly put you in a better mood to start the day.
Choosing what to do with your morning is up to you, but should directly benefit the rest of your day. Some people meditate, journal, do breathing exercises, cook a healthy meal, exercise, or simply spend a little time with their families.
Exercise
Anybody who has ever felt that burst of energy often referred to as a runner’s high will know what a huge difference some exercise in the morning can have on the rest of your day. Quite simply it can transform the entire experience. That hurried walk to the bus stop while stressing about the day to come is replaced by an oddly serene stroll and that buzz can continue throughout the entire day.
Working out in the morning almost comes with too many benefits to mention. From feeling more alert and aiding concentration and focus to burning calories and improving your mood, putting your body through a good workout in the first few hours of the day is one of the best ways to supercharge your morning.
Fueling the body
We know that not everybody eats substantially in the mornings, but what you put into your body will have a huge bearing on the rest of the day. A full English breakfast is mighty tempting, but as we all know, that heavy gluttonous feeling that follows doesn’t exactly promote energy and focus.
There’s not a single secret about what to eat in the mornings, but there are several options that provide the body with exactly the right kind of fuel it requires. Eggs, fruits, nuts, greek yoghurt, and oatmeal are just some of the options that are both nutritional and give us that energy kick that means we can go out and win the day.
If you feel like you just don’t have the time in the morning to prepare something nice, consider what you can prepare beforehand to speed up the process. Grabbing that sausage roll just as you’re heading into work can be infinitely tempting, but your body won’t be thanking you for it.
Hydration
If you thought sleeping statistics were bad, numbers around dehydration are even worse. Remarkably, only around 8% of the UK population is consuming enough water and the effects this can have on us are often severe.
The effects of dehydration include fatigue, headaches, loss of strength, confusion, and dizziness, and often that tired feeling you get while at work is simple down to your body beginning to run low on water. It’s recommended to drink 6-8 glasses of fluid per day (roughly 1.2 litres) to maintain a healthy level of fitness and it’s always a good idea to start the day with plenty of water to get the machine humming and ready for work
Conclusion
Mornings needn’t be the time of dread that many of us feel. With the right kind of routine, along with a little bit of willpower to fight off that desire to hit the snooze button five times, there’s absolutely no reason everybody can’t supercharge their morning and use it to conquer the day before us.
