7 Healthy Tips
When you wake up each day you have a unique opportunity to set the course of how you will feel for the rest of your day. It is your morning rituals, the little habits that you develop, that can make all the difference in setting your attitude will not only help you start your day on a positive note, but can help you manage pitfalls and stressors that come at you throughout the course of your day. When you’re in the right frame of mind, with the right energy, it’s much easier to forge ahead with a positive attitude that reduces the impact of any negativity you may face.
Combined with the daily morning habits that most adults have already developed like showering, brushing your teeth and flossing, etc, here are additional rituals to add to your arsenal to boost results to start your day:
-
- Warm Lemon Water: Drinking a glass of warm lemon water every morning with the juice of a half of a fresh lemon will help boost your digestion, help hydrate you, provides a boost of vitamin C and supports an alkaline system in your body that can prevent disease.
-
- A Piece of Fruit: Whether it’s an apple, grapefruit, pineapple slices, avocado (yes, technically an avocado is a fruit) it’s a great way to boost your digestive system first thing in the morning. Eat a piece of fruit at least an hour before breakfast, and at least fifteen minutes before your morning workout.
-
- Working Out: Doing some vigorous physical activity in the morning will rev up your metabolism, increase your energy and release feel good chemicals in your brain like serotonin and endorphins to help you stay alert, positive and happy.
-
- Gratitude: Take a moment in silence to feel grateful—maybe for your health, your family, your job, friends, pet, nature, anything. It’s not enough to say that you’re grateful but to really spend a moment feeling gratitude. Consider meditating for 15 minutes to a half hour to focus your energy on gratitude, setting your intention for the day.
-
- Create Lists: Begin the activity of your day through mindful organization. Develop one or more lists to help you map out priorities, appointments and tasks that you plan to accomplish during the day. This will prevent you from worrying that you might miss something and help you focus on what you intend to do and begin thinking about strategies of how to do them.
-
- Breakfast: Eat a protein rich breakfast every morning. Eggs, veggie omelets, low- or no-sugar nut butters with whole grain toast, smoothies, breakfast pitas, whole grain cereals with nuts or seeds, etc. are all great breakfast options, but don’t feel like you have to eat traditional American breakfast foods every morning, you can try something less ordinary if you wish. In some countries beans, vegetables and rice are common breakfast foods as is soup with a light broth and maybe bean noodles. The main point is to make sure it’s filling and includes protein and energy boosting nutrients.
- Happiness: Beyond gratitude, think of small things that you can do that will make you happy. Write a simple love note to your spouse; turn up the radio and listen to your favorite music on your way to work; sing in the shower; dance for your workout routine today; call a dear friend and remind them that they are important to you; go buy a piece of art for your office to keep you company; send an email to your boss or coworker thanking them and letting them know you appreciate them (praise doesn’t always have to come from the top down to matter); remember to find opportunities to laugh and smile, and make it a priority to do so.
Take the time to set the course of your day every morning, and you’ll find that the difficulties of the day seem to matter much less and your creativity and productivity will be equal to the level of peace and positive energy you bring with you wherever you go.