{"id":167850,"date":"2021-03-23T02:00:15","date_gmt":"2021-03-23T09:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/?p=167850"},"modified":"2021-04-05T08:13:28","modified_gmt":"2021-04-05T15:13:28","slug":"how-to-set-morning-routine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/how-to-set-morning-routine\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Tips for Setting a Solid Morning Routine"},"content":{"rendered":"

Just like breakfast is famed for being <\/span>the most important meal of the day, <\/span>other morning rituals can be vital to setting the tone for a successful day, week, and life! There is no one-size-fits-all formula since individual preferences and needs vary so greatly, but here are a few ideas to get you started.<\/span><\/p>\n

Be patient<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The first step in setting a morning routine is being patient while you figure out what works for you. Some will spring out of bed at 6 a.m., ready for a five-mile run, while others prefer to start slow, with <\/span>meditation<\/span><\/a>,\u00a0and lots of coffee<\/a><\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Getting frustrated because you\u2019ve set <\/span>expectations<\/span> for yourself and aren\u2019t meeting them is maybe the easiest way to ensure you\u2019ll give up and just stay in bed forever.\u00a0<\/span>In short, get creative with your methods and be patient with your timeline.<\/span><\/p>\n

Get on a consistent sleep schedule<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A good morning starts with a good night\u2019s sleep — or, even better, consistently good sleep, over time. Science says that solid rest contributes to overall <\/span>mood balance<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>physical health<\/span><\/a>. Think of sleep like the prequel to your morning routine, priming your brain and body for the tasks ahead.<\/span><\/p>\n

Be careful what you read<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Consuming news is not a novel addition to the morning ritual game, but these days, with many people (especially <\/span>millennials<\/span><\/a> and Gen Z) getting their news from easily accessible outlets, like social media, it\u2019s more difficult to control what content gets in — and <\/span>when<\/span><\/i>. Opening Instagram is much easier than collecting and thumbing through the morning paper, after all.<\/span><\/p>\n

At least <\/span>one study<\/span><\/a> has shown that reading just three minutes of troubling news in the morning can make you 27% more likely to report having a bad day six to eight hours later<\/span>! By contrast, the same study revealed that reading a bit of uplifting news made participants 88% more likely to report having a good day.<\/span><\/p>\n

Move your body<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Our bodies are <\/span>really, really busy<\/span><\/a> when we\u2019re sleeping (which includes muscle repair) but physically taxing days (or regular physical <\/span>in<\/span>activity), weird sleeping postures, and mental stress (among other things) can all contribute to tense muscles in the morning.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Light <\/span>mobility exercises<\/span><\/a>, stretching*, and foam rolling wake up your circulation and respiration, loosen muscles, and jumpstart the body\u2019s cells with an invigorating boost of oxygen.<\/span><\/p>\n

*<\/span><\/i>Dynamic stretching<\/span><\/i><\/a> is best unless you have time for a proper warm-up. Static stretching cold muscles can lead to injury.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Get in tune with yourself<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Taking time to set an intention or ask yourself what you need first thing in the morning gives you something to come back to throughout the day. Think of a single word or a short phrase that describes what you want to focus on, and write it down somewhere you\u2019ll see it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Word to the wise: focus less on <\/span>physical<\/span><\/i> tasks (\u201cgo to the grocery store\u201d is <\/span>an <\/span><\/i>intention, but not the best kind for this exercise) and more on<\/span> internal <\/span><\/i>tasks. For example: \u201cI will be intentional with my time\u201d or \u201cI will be extra careful to redirect negative self-talk.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Learn something<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Did you know that spider webs <\/span>have been used as bandages<\/span><\/a> since the first century A.D.? How about that more than a quarter of the bones in your body reside in your feet? (206 bones in the human body, 52 bones between both feet. 52 is more than 25% of 206. Math!)<\/span><\/p>\n

These are, of course, silly examples, but learning new things wakes up the brain in the same way that physical activity wakes up the body, making it the perfect morning-time activity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Bonus points: consistent learning doesn\u2019t just make you a better conversationalist (because you\u2019ll be able to speak comfortably about a wide range of topics) — it can actually <\/span>extend your life<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here’s to great mornings! Do you have a set morning routine? Let us know in the comments below!<\/p>\n

xx, the FabFitFun Team<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":"Just like breakfast is famed for being the most important meal of the day, other ...","author":7532754,"featured_media":167946,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4,260],"tags":[],"thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/static.fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/25150458\/morning-routine.jpg","thumbnail_url_middle_card":"https:\/\/static.fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/25150458\/morning-routine-386x200.jpg","formated_date":"March 23, 2021","category_name":"Life","category_icon":"https:\/\/d3vodd1ws13xud.cloudfront.net\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/10113832\/entertainment.svg","author_name":"Emma Cloutier","trending":false,"sponsored":false,"random_color":"#f98bf6","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167850"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7532754"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=167850"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167850\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/167946"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=167850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=167850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=167850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}