Originally published on yankeejournal.com
When mornings become a drag and hitting the snooze one too many times starts to be a daily occurrence, wellness endorser, Bryn Carden, suggests adopting a healthy habit when it is time to rise and shine. There is more than one way to healthily start your day and boost energy levels to avoid morning lag. Carden provides a few of her favorite AM activities that help her kick off the day on the right foot:
Beat the Sun
Learning to love the hours before the sun rises allows one to experience the magic of waking up before the world. It is the perfect time to get ahead of the day before the sunlight breaks and lights up the sky. To aid when setting the habit of beating the sunrise, incorporate an activity that you look forward to getting out of bed for, such as reading, journaling, or dedicating the time to a passion project.
Drink Water First
Drinking water first thing after waking up is a simple habit to implement when it is time to rise for the day. The action of downing a glass of water in the morning is not time-consuming, so the commitment to success boils down to remembering. Many people do not drink enough water, so proper hydration can elevate energy levels in addition to a healthy practice.
Get Moving
Creating space between you and the bed is the best way to avoid accidentally oversleeping by continuing to lie in bed after your first alarm. Planning a workout or stretch session to wake up to is a proactive strategy for getting a move-on in the morning. However, if a busy work schedule prevents time to exercise, simply walking into another room as soon as you open your eyes wakes up the brain. Strategically placing an alarm in a different room to be loud enough to wake you from sleeping is an effective way to get your body up and moving by having to get up to turn off the alarm.
Morning Meditation
Rather than waking up to scroll through your phone, consider approaching the morning more carefully; that will fuel your brain, not deplete it. Using the first waking minutes to find quietness during the day to practice self-care through meditation helps decrease stress, build awareness, and support clear thinking while navigating what the day presents. Apps such as Calm can help guide those new to meditation to spark a new, beneficial habit and stick to it.
Picture Seizing the Day
The brain tends to focus on the negative, so positively visualizing the day can have a lasting effect if continuously practiced. Pairing this activity with a memory-triggering action already set in your morning routine, such as brushing your teeth or taking a shower, with help remind you when to close your eyes and picture how you imagine yourself conquering the day that is about to unfold. Creating a vision board and hanging it in a place that is hard to miss in the morning is also a motivating tool to help ingrain the habit of visualizing the day.
About Bryn Carden
Bryn Carden is a versatile young entrepreneur with a deep sense of compassion and the desire to help make the world a better place. In 2017, she founded Styles for Smiles – a company selling bracelets to support the Smile Train Organization. The proceeds from selling Bryn’s designs have already helped fund cleft palate repairs for 16 children in developing countries. BF Hats, another design brand Bryn is engaged in, donates a portion from every purchase to Ronald McDonald House of Dallas – combining Bryn’s passion for style and philanthropy.