8 Tips For Structuring A Healthy Daily Routine
Today’s Topic Highlights:
Living a healthy lifestyle starts with building a structured daily routine.
Wake up early with the sunrise and get to bed by 10-10:30pm.
Drink 8 ounces of water immediately after waking up. Also be sure to stay well hydrated throughout the day.
Avoid devices just prior to sleep. The last 30-60 minutes of each day should be screen free and stress free.
Don’t try to build Rome in a day through extreme dieting or death-by-workout intense exercising. Extremes are never sustainable over the long run.
Living a healthy lifestyle starts with building a structured daily routine. Structured routines automate decision making and thus streamline what otherwise tends to be random. Do keep in mind that habits form slowly. It is best to take a brick-by-brick approach in this domain. Start with one or two of the tips below and work on incorporating them into your lifestyle until they stick. Remember, the goal here is permanency.
Tip #1: Wake up early with the sunrise
Our bodies are biologically wired to operate in accordance with the ebb and flow of daytime/nighttime cycles. These natural cycles are known as circadian rhythms. When the sun rises in the morning, the chemical activation of cortisol is triggered and we ideally have a spike in energy.
The more in tune you are with nature’s cycles, the more energy you will generally have. If you tend to feel groggy or lethargic upon waking up, chances are you need to work on tweaking your nighttime habits (see tips 7 and 8).
Tip #2: Take 5 deep breaths before getting out of bed
The best way to get out of bed in the morning is relaxed. Not stressed, hurried, rushing out of the gate after hearing a disruptive alarm go off. How you start the day primes the nervous system for the next several hours.
Before exiting the bed take five deep, calm breaths in and out of the nose. Each breath should be as slow as possible. This helps activate the “rest-and-digest” branch of the nervous system. It takes just one minute to do so and sets the tone for your morning.
Tip #3: Drink 8 ounces of water
Surprising as it may seem, sleep dehydrates the body to a significant degree. Exhalation releases small amounts of water vapor. The combination of this with a lack of hydration for several hours leaves the body in need of refueling upon waking up.
Drinking 8-10 ounces of water helps hydrate all the cells as well as the brain. This small habit is a great way to ensure focus and productivity throughout the morning. If you drink coffee, make sure you drink water first. Organic coffee has some health benefits of its own, but also further dehydrates the body.
Tip #4: Get some light exercise in
Any morning movement is good. You do not need to engage in a full blown workout - just some light motion to get the joints lubricated and muscles loosened up. Light movement also gets the metabolism going prior to eating your first meal. Of course if you do choose to get a vigorous workout in, sometime between early morning and midday is the ideal time.
Toe touches, arm swings, going up and down the stairs a couple of times, and walking outside to the mailbox and back all fit the bill here nicely. Whatever you do, DO NOT immediately head to the chair or couch to sit. Morning movement, like all the tips mentioned thus far, primes the body’s mind and metabolism for the day.