It’s easy to underestimate the importance of a good morning routine. Many people will give themselves just enough time to wake up, slug back a cup of coffee, dress for the day, and hit the road. And while this tight and bare-bones routine may work for some, it won’t work for everyone.

A good morning routine that works for you will not only boost your energy and productivity for the day, but will also give you an opportunity to take care of things you may not otherwise have the time for. On top of this, it just feels good. Whether you’re an early bird or a night owl, here are some basic steps you can take to ensure that you’re primed and ready for your day.

Prepare the Night Before

Did you know that a good morning routine starts the night before? After all, your nighttime habits don’t just impact your morning—they affect your whole day. You should establish a healthy end-of-day routine to calm your mind and ready yourself for a good night’s sleep.

For starters, avoid eating within 2-3 hours before going to bed. This will give your body enough time to digest your food, thereby calming your stomach so it doesn’t bother you throughout the night. You definitely need to watch out for sugar, caffeine, and alcohol, as these can be very disruptive to your sleep.

Similarly, you should avoid using your phone or watching TV 2-3 hours before bedtime. Not only do these devices keep your mind stimulated with an unending stream of engaging content, but the blue light they emit inhibits the body’s ability to produce sleep-inducing melatonin.

Lastly, develop some habits to let your brain know that it’s time to go to sleep. Whether it’s putting on a comfortable set of pajamas, brewing a calming herbal tea, or spending an hour reading your favorite book, establishing a healthy pattern for ending your day reminds your brain that it’s time to go to bed.

Get a Good Night of Sleep

A good night’s sleep is essential to your health and well-being. For one, good sleep improves your mood, focus, and productivity going into the day.

But more importantly, sleep is critical for your mental and physical health. A good night of sleep keeps your heart healthy, your immune system strong, and your metabolism in excellent condition. Furthermore, good sleep helps in managing depression and anxiety.

Make sure your bedroom is conducive to good sleep. Keep the room dark and at a regulated temperature, around 65°F (18.3°C) for adults. Also, you ought to keep your phone, laptop, and other similar electronics in another room. If you use your phone as your alarm, you may want to consider purchasing a standalone alarm clock.

Avoid the Snooze Button

You’ve likely heard this advice a thousand times over, but you’d be surprised how risky hitting snooze can be. You may be in a state of deep sleep right when your alarm wakes you. Although you may intend to get an extra five minutes by hitting snooze, your body is determined to get more and you may end up sleeping a lot longer than you intended.

But even if you avoid oversleeping, staying in bed longer than necessary can induce grogginess and fatigue that you’ll have to carry with you through the whole day. On top of this, you may be disturbing your body’s natural sleep cycle and setting yourself up for sleep deprivation later that night.

Drink Some Water

There’s nothing wrong with a hot cup of coffee or tea to start your day. In fact, many will tell you that the warm beverage and spot of caffeine helps to wake you up and stimulate your mind. However, you should consider chasing that hot cup with a refreshing glass of water.

Firstly, a glass of water helps to replenish your body’s fluids. Throughout the night, your natural bodily functions will slowly but surely dehydrate you. This dehydration is compounded by nighttime visits to the bathroom or a round of drinks the night before. Restoring your bodily fluids keeps the fatigue that dehydration induces at bay.

Additionally, water in the morning helps to stimulate your mind and digestive system. For more information on the health benefits of a glass of water in the morning, check out this article from Real Simple.

Breakfast or Not?

Is it the most important meal of the day? This is actually quite the subject of debate, with supporters on either side making their case.

Those in favor of breakfast in the morning proclaim that it jumpstarts the body’s metabolism, literally “breaking the fast”, and giving the body the vitamins and nutrients it needs to have that energy boost early in the day. Furthermore, those who regularly start their day with breakfast are reported to be at a lower risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, and stroke.

However, an increasing percentage of adults are choosing to skip breakfast. These people often participate in intermittent fasting, where they restrict themselves to eating during a designated period of the day, then fasting for the majority of it. Intermittent fasting reportedly boosts fat burning, repairs damaged cells, fights inflammation, and help manage symptoms of type 2 diabetes.

In the end, there’s no clear-cut answer. If you think eating breakfast helps start your day, stick with it. If not, skip it. If you want, you can try starting some days with breakfast and some days without and see what works for you.

Get Moving

When you’re fresh out of bed in the morning, you may not enjoy the thought of moving around all that much, let alone a full-on workout. But a session of light exercise can do wonders for waking you up and getting you ready for the day.

Exercising early in the day increases your body’s blood flow and quickly delivers oxygen to the brain, which promptly kickstarts your metabolism and cardiovascular system and fights off the morning grog. Furthermore, morning exercise encourages a healthy and active lifestyle.

If you can afford the time, a morning jog or yoga session is a great way to start the day. However, if you’re crunched for time, try out this 10-minute exercise routine from HealthXchange.

Meditate

Mornings seem to be focused on the “get up and go”, but our mornings can also be a moment to briefly stop and breathe. Practicing stillness and mindfulness at the start of the day can go on to lower your stress, focus your thoughts, and manage your emotions.

Your morning meditation can be as simple as putting on some calming music and going over some positive affirmations (I am enough, I am grateful for the life I have, I have the power to achieve my dreams). There are also countless guided meditations on YouTube and mindfulness apps like Calm and Headspace that you can try.

At the same time, you may want to avoid the news and social media in the early morning. These can be sources of carefully curated negativity that can greatly impact your mental state going into your day.

Plan Your Day

“Plan your work and work your plan”, as they say. Planning for the day ahead of you gives you a sense of purpose and a set of tasks to focus on, whether you’re at work or you have the day off. Is there an important project you need to chip away at? Is there something you’ve been putting off? Is there an idea you’ve had for a while? This is the time to decide what your day will look like.

Making a to-do list can help to regiment your day. With this list, you can assign certain parts of the day to certain tasks, helping you both stay on schedule and give you a concrete sense of accomplishment. It can also deal with more frivolous decision-making, such as when you’re taking your coffee break or what you’re going to have for lunch.

“Eat the Frog”

No, we’re not asking you to literally eat frogs, unless you’re a professional connoisseur of frog legs. This phrase comes from a quote by the author Mark Twain: “If it's your job to eat a frog, it's best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it's your job to eat two frogs, it's best to eat the biggest one first.”

Frogs, in this instance, are tasks and responsibilities. In essence, Twain declares that it’s best to do your hardest task first thing in the morning. That way, the most difficult part of your day will quickly be behind you. After waking your mind and body up with your morning routine, go ahead and tackle that burdensome report or financial statement and get it out of the way. You’ll thank yourself in the afternoon.

Rise and Shine

Mornings are something many of us don’t give much thought to—it’s simply a transitional period between night and day. However, our mornings are incredibly important. Put simply, a good or bad morning can make the difference between a good or bad day. And a strong morning routine helps us make the most of it.

We’re not all going to have the same morning routine. After all, we’re all unique individuals, mentally and physically. But that’s also the beauty of it: we can custom-tailor our mornings to meet our specific needs. Whether or not you eat breakfast, or you have a particular time of day that your body is most accustomed to waking up at, you can create a morning routine that works just for you.

For further reading on establishing a healthy lifestyle, check out our article about staying active at work.