And the Sun is Shining: Making Your Mornings Happier and Healthier

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By Rachel Derry
Staff Writer LIFamilies

Everyone seems to have a preferred part of the day: some people are night owls, loving to stay up into the wee hours. Some people devour the morning, choosing to wake up extra early to embrace the day and start with a fresh outlook. These morning people can seem like aliens to the rest of us: how do they just get up and going in the morning, and why are they so darn happy? If you're anything like me, there are times that you've become frustrated with the morning people in your life and their early morning vigor. What if they have it right, though, and we just need to figure out how to have our own "good morning?" As skeptical as you may be, starting your morning with a few new strategies may just make you a morning person too.

Start your good morning with a good night. You can deter sluggish, unhappy morning moods by ensuring a rested, peaceful evening's sleep. You already know what will cause you to "not feel good at night:" maybe your stomach hurts if you get to bed full, or maybe you can't sleep without a window open. Always know your own "optimal sleeping conditions" to help get a full night's sleep. On TOP of that, however, you should also lull your psyche into a comfortable night's rest. Take the last 30 minutes before bed to unwind, ease your tension, and meditate your way into better mornings. Believe it or not, the mood you go to bed with is a good indicator of the mood you'll wake up with in the morning; take the time to take care of your emotional/psychological state today to ensure a better tomorrow. Don't choose to "let it be 'til morning."

Start every morning with a big glass of cold water. Before your take your shower or start your daily exercise regiment, stop and have a big glass of cold water. The cold water will do you wonders in multiple ways; it helps to wake up your mind and system as you feel the cold water transfer through your system, it helps jump start your metabolism for the day, and it helps take away the edge of your system being empty for 8+ hours. A glass of water can make you feel just as alert as a cup of coffee.

Help wake up your whole body with a little deep breathing. When you are officially awake, after you've turned off the alarm, take a few, deep, cleansing breaths into your stomach. The meditative moments gives your system a moment to wake up, as well as giving you that time to collect your thoughts.

Don't hit that snooze button, get up straight away! Part of that groggy feeling that we associate with getting up in the mornings is due to our own bad habits. We love the feeling of snuggling into our warm bed covers in the morning, procrastinating the inevitable. When we do, however, we cause ourselves to lull in and out of the beginning stages of sleep, causing us to feel tired and under-rested. If you get up straight away when your alarm goes off you'll feel fresher and alert; you'll feel the night's sleep that you just had, rather than the tumultuous lulling that "snoozing" causes.

Wake up in the morning excited to get going. It would be a beautiful world if we could all wake up excited about greeting our day and heading off to our dream careers, but reality isn't always fabulous, and we don't always love our daily routines. Instead of waking up to "not wanting to go to work" or "not wanting to deal with coworkers," choose to wake up to something you love. Move a regular activity to your morning routine, or find some "you" time that you can be passionate about. Give yourself something to look forward to in the morning, and you'll see the morning with brand new eyes.

Long Island Health, Fitness & Beauty Articles > And the Sun is Shining: Making Your Mornings Happier and Healthier