4 Things to Incorporate into Your Morning Routine

A morning routine helps to set the tone for your day, and depending on the practices you incorporate, it can also enhance your health in general. It acts as a guide that enables one to control their day-to-day activities. A morning routine can consist of various practices. This article outlines essential things that should be in your morning routine checklist. They are all meant to enhance your mental, emotional and physical wellbeing.

Do Some Exercise

Any physical activity you do helps you to improve muscle strength and boost your body’s endurance. A morning exercise such as jogging is a good example of such an activity. Doing morning exercises ensures your cardiovascular system works more efficiently and delivers nutrients and oxygen to the body tissues. Morning exercise also triggers the release of a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BNDF). The BNDF protein helps to boost cognitive function in the body. The protein also promotes the survival of neurons by playing its role in the growth, differentiation, and maintenance of these cells. Again, a regular morning exercise routine acts as a depression remedy. The release of serotonin as you exercise boosts one’s mood, reducing the feeling of depression and anxiety.

Take a Cold Shower

You might get cold chills with even the thought of taking a cold shower at 5:30 am. Still, according to popular news articles and health studies, it has been discovered that cold showers increase blood flow, release dopamine into the body and help to burn unhealthy fat. Increasing blood flow when you take a cold shower is an interesting process. The body gets cold as you shower, and as a result, more blood is pumped to cold parts of the body to keep them at a constant internal temperature. Morning cold showers are similar to ice baths which are taken by athletes though less frigid. Cold showers have also been known to have antidepressant effects.

Practice the Wim Hof Method

The Wim Hof Method entails a combination of breathing exercises, meditation, and stretching. The breathing exercise is called diaphragmatic breathing. Wim Hof is one of the most basic breathing techniques. Diaphragmatic breathing in the morning will help to boost your metabolism, reduce stress and anxiety, strengthen the diaphragm and lower the heart rate. There are easy steps to follow to do a diaphragmatic breathing exercise successfully. The six steps are:

• Lie or sit flat back in a comfortable position.
• Relax your shoulders.
• Position your hand on your stomach area and the other on your chest.
• Inhale deeply through the nose for 3 seconds making your belly expand and keeping your chest still.
• Exhale through pursed lips slowly for 2 seconds while gently pressing your belly to push all air out.
• Repeat these steps severally.

Meditating after the breathing exercises will help you to clear your mind, then finally, stretching helps you to get the blood moving in the body.

Rehydration

Rehydration should be the easiest thing to add to your morning routine. It might seem like a minor thing to do, but the benefits of rehydrating in the morning are endless. These benefits include the fact that rehydration detoxes the body and hydrates the cells. Water is a natural detox that flushes out impurities and toxins. Water also helps to purify the large intestines, thus improving the nutrient absorption process. Drinking water also helps to improve your skins’ health and keeps the skin clear. Other benefits of drinking water in the morning are:

• It aids in weight loss
• It prevents sicknesses

For morning rehydration, lemon juice can also be used as a substitute for water. Taking lemon juice adds to the benefits of morning rehydration by adding vital nutrients such as vitamin C.

Contrary to popular belief, morning routines are for everyone. If you do not consider yourself as a morning person naturally, you can still develop and implement a morning routine. A proper morning routine can go a long way towards improving your productivity in the course of the day. Faithfully following your routine also improves your health. To attain the full benefits of your morning routine, you should be consistent and committed to it.