Maybe you don’t consider yourself a morning person. Or you’re always rushing out the door and barely make it on time for work. Maybe you’re the opposite– you read the daily newspaper at the kitchen table while the sun rises. Needless to say, we all have a morning routine to some degree. While many of you have already established and enjoy your routine, I invite you to consider incorporating some aspects of my routine found below:

1. Make Your Bed

While this may seem like a small task, this act lays out your intention to accomplish things early in the morning. Research presented by The National Sleep Foundation, shows that doing so improves your bedroom environment and instills a small sense of pride within us encouraging us to complete more tasks.

2. Expose Yourself To Sunlight

Sunlight aids in breaking our sleep cycle by stimulating the serotonin receptors in our brain, putting us in a better mood and making us more alert. Moreover, waking up with the sun also allows your body to wake up gradually and naturally, which is much more pleasant than being startled out of REM sleep (which your brain requires to learn, store memories, and regulate your emotions) by a loud alarm. 

3. Pray Or Meditate

Having grown up in a Southern Baptist family prayer was a ritual that was already ingrained in my routine. Despite your religious beliefs, I highly recommend taking just five to ten minutes a day to practice mindfulness by consciously reflecting and setting good intentions for your day.

4. Drink 16oz of Water

We lose a lot of water in the six to eight hours we spend sleeping in the night. A good way to quickly replenish ourselves is to drink water upon waking up. I personally also add apple cider vinegar as it has several benefits, such as boosting metabolism, helping with inflammation and detox. Studies show that apple cider vinegar helps our body to create the enzyme, Pepsin which helps break down proteins.

5. Consume Probiotics

I usually follow with a probiotic to assist in detoxing the liver and supporting the immune system and general digestive function. You might not know but having a bowel movement in the morning is especially important. Consuming probiotics will help detox the waste from the food that our small intestines and colon have spent all night vigorously processing.

6. Breathing and Mobility Exercises

As you may know, I spend a lot of my day standing in Robinson Pharmacy. Unfortunately, I am also flatfooted so this is quite hard on both my feet and back. However, having worked with a physiotherapist in the past, I’ve been able to implement mobility and breathing exercises that promote diaphragmatic breathing, which consequently helps in resetting the core function. It also signals the parasympathetic nervous system to kick in, which in turn allows me to walk better, stand for longer periods of time, and move more efficiently in general. I do these exercises every morning and sometimes after returning home from work to alleviate stiffness I may have accumulated over the course of the day.

7. Drink Adaptogenic Tea or Coffee

Many people are unaware that adaptogenic tea or coffee, such as Organo coffee exists but it has become a staple in my morning routine. Its beneficial properties come from the reishi mushroom, which has been used in Chinese medicine for over five thousand years to support the adrenal gland, decrease inflammation, increase metabolism and detoxify the gut. You can adaptogenic tea or coffee at Robinson Rx, and it will also be featured on my online store soon.   

I usually drink it in the car on the way to work in lieu of a solid breakfast. At lunchtime I break my intermittent fast with a small meal such as a salad or a home-prepped meal. While fasting is not an option I recommend to all clients, I caution you against fasting for longer than 13 hours as studies show that longer durations lead to increased muscle breakdown. With the appropriate fasting plan however, I’ve found that I have better endurance, motor coordination and improved sleep. 

Some of you might already execute some of the tasks listed above in your current morning routine, and some of you might not give much thought to what you do in the morning. With that said, I encourage you all to introduce and explore the listed actions as a part of your morning. I guarantee you will see how a good morning routine can positively impact the rest of your day.