6 Morning Habits That Seem Healthy But Are Secretly Stressing You Out

mapodile via Getty ImagesHealthy habits in the morning are important, but even positive practices can become an issue if we push ourselves too hard.

In the productivity guru and influencer world, how people “do” their mornings is often a focus. To start your day right, you should eat this way and not that way. To be more productive, do this, not that.

Commonly recommended morning practices ― like exercising or journaling ― can be helpful and healthy. “But if we get too rigid about certain rituals in our day, that’s when they can become more toxic,” said Han Ren, a licensed psychologist, speaker and educator based in Austin.

When you put contingencies around what your morning “should” look like, this can make you anxious about doing everything perfectly ― then anxious if things don’t go as planned. Even healthy habits can stress you out if you feel you “must” do them for your day to start well.

This stress can be more pronounced if you’re a perfectionist. If you don’t achieve these self-imposed expectations, you can end up feeling like a failure or feeling like you haven’t done enough, said Athina Danilo, a licensed marriage and family therapist based in Burbank, California.

Or you may have a subconscious belief that if you don’t fully carry out your morning routine, then you won’t be in a good place at work, added Alison Nobrega, a therapist and licensed clinical social worker practicing in Oakland, California. It’s not hard to imagine how these anxiety-inducing thoughts can affect the rest of your day.

That said, it can be difficult to pinpoint which morning practices are actually causing you stress. Below, experts give some examples of how common habits can be causing you anxiety — and what you can do about it.

Eating A Slow Breakfast

This recommendation, while meant to make you relaxed and centered, can backfire if it does not fit into your current life circumstances, Ren said.

Say you have children, and as a parent, you need to prioritize getting your kids dressed, fed and ready for school in the mornings. Trying to fit in a long breakfast during the chaos is probably going to be challenging and increase your stress.

Even without children, you may value an extra 30 minutes of sleep in the morning before getting ready for work, and you’ll feel more rewarded and in a better mental state by doing this instead of sitting down for a longer meal.

Snoozing Your Alarm

On the flip side, sometimes the way we prolong our sleep isn’t ideal. Pressing snooze multiple times can send you into a state of stress.

“Hearing that snooze button over and over is a reminder of all the things we have to do during the day,” Nobrega said. “Essentially, we’re procrastinating getting up because we don’t want to do those things.”

“Procrastination feels good in the moment, then doesn’t really feel good when it adds up,” Ren added. “Pushing the emotional or physical discomfort down the line puts you in a sense of urgency or time crunch later on.”

Not to mention the fact that you’re not getting quality sleep during this time, anyway. Snoozing actually makes you more tired when you finally do get out of bed. It’s probably better to set the alarm for half an hour later and savor the uninterrupted, deeper sleep. You’ll also save yourself from the mindset that you’re already delayed when you first wake up.

Adam Kuylenstierna / EyeEm via Getty ImagesSnoozing your alarm actually makes you more tired when you finally do get out of bed.

Journaling

A lot of experts will tell you that journaling in the morning is a good way to start your day, and that can be true. But if you tell yourself you “need to do” the activity when you wake up, Nobrega said you may experience stress — particularly if you don’t do it as you intended to (for example, “I need to journal for 30 minutes every day and to write this specific way.”)

Also take into consideration that journaling may not fit your life at this time. “If you’re more of a verbal processor, it might actually stress you out, because you’re having to sit with your own thoughts and write them down,” Nobrega said.

It may also be stressful if you believe the journaling needs to achieve something or that there has to be an end result to the journaling exercise when really, it’s just a way to process your experiences and emotions.

Writing A To-Do List

There are certainly benefits to taking your floating thoughts and jotting them on a notepad to free up brain space. These thoughts are commonly in the form of to-do lists. Such lists can be helpful to manage anxiety, but you may want to gauge your perception of them to see whether they actually do the opposite for you.

“It could be stressful if you’re overly ambitious and have written down more things than you can realistically do,” Ren said. You may even copy over things you didn’t get to from yesterday’s list, and then the to-do list functions as a tangible confirmation of your worldview that you are unable to reach the perfectionistic standard you’re setting for yourself.

Ren said it almost becomes a “way [for some people] to punish themselves for what they didn’t get done the previous day.” If that’s the case for you, try creating a “done” list instead. It’ll help you recognize what you’ve accomplished.

PeopleImages via Getty ImagesTo-do lists have a way of causing more stress than relieving it.

Eating Breakfast With Your Family

While the benefits of sharing meals with your loved ones cannot be overstated, forcing this to happen first thing every morning may not be right for everyone. This is especially true if mornings in your household are busy and people may not be ready for amicable social interaction yet.

You may find it depleting instead of energizing, Danilo said. If so, quality time and bonding can happen at another time, like dinner, when there’s less pressure on the duration of the meal.

Getting Right Out Of Bed

There is merit in reserving your bed for sleeping and sex only and avoiding other activities like checking your emails or scrolling social media. But when you become rigid around this “rule,” that’s when things go awry.

Holding this rule too tightly can create pressure on you to bolt out of bed the minute you wake, Danilo said, even if you may want to laze around for a few minutes.

Ask yourself whether looking through your phone in bed leaves you feeling energized and in a good mental state, or if it causes some nervousness and stress, Danilo said. Then, choose the practice that best supports your well-being.

10 Science-Backed Benefits of a Morning Routine

Just the thought of mornings is enough to make many people cringe. Whereas some of you may be able to jump right out of bed and start being productive, the majority of us struggle. There’s no need for mornings to be painful, though — all you need is a morning routine. In fact, there are numerous benefits of having a morning routine.

What Is a Morning Routine?

From the moment you wake up, your mind is flooded with all the things you need to do. This can feel so overwhelming that you end up wasting time. A morning routine means you perform the same basic tasks in the same order every day.

Science-Backed Benefits of a Morning Routine

Morning routine benefits are both psychological and physical.

1. Prepare Yourself for the Rest of the Day

How you spend the morning will influence the rest of your day. If you start feeling rushed or lazy, expect that sensation to remain with you. A morning routine, however, gets you on track from the moment you wake up and puts you in the right frame of mind.

2. Increase Your Productivity

With a morning routine, you start the day right. You spend every moment of your time on something valuable and productive from the moment you wake up.

Maintain this feeling throughout the day to avoid wasting time. You’ll find that you’re able to focus and are more likely to finish tasks — as opposed to starting several and leaving half of them incomplete. When you reach the end of the workday, you’ll know you achieved all that you could and can relax in the evening without worries.

3. Feel in Control

When you have many commitments, it can feel like you’re rushing through one task to the next. Your day starts to control you, rather than the other way around. A morning routine may cover just a small part of your day, but it could be a step toward helping you regain control.

4. Lower Stress

Stress often occurs when you feel like you lack enough time to complete all your responsibilities or you worry about what needs doing next. When you have a routine, you always know exactly what you should be doing and what follows. You can complete your entire routine without even thinking. Plus, you’ll know that you have enough time to finish everything without rushing.

When you avoid stress, you improve both your emotional and physical health. For instance, it may decrease your risk of developing depression and anxiety along with illnesses like high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes.

5. Develop Healthy Habits

It may be tempting to hit the snooze button or to stay in bed with your phone instead of getting up immediately, but these habits waste your time. When you have a routine, it’s much easier to avoid bad habits and to develop healthy ones. You may start eating a substantial breakfast, practice mindfulness, or even make time to exercise in your morning routine before work.

Such healthy habits will carry over into the rest of your life. You may well find that you start eating better, exercising more often, or wasting less time on your phone in general.

6. Boost Your Energy Levels

The reason many people hate mornings is because their energy levels are low early in the day. A great thing about a morning routine is that it can increase your energy, especially when you give yourself no time to be lazy and dedicate all your time to your scheduled activities.

If you want an extra energy boost, include a high-intensity workout, meditation, or a cold shower in your morning routine.

7. Improve Relationships

There are several ways something as simple as a morning routine can impact your relationships. The big one is lowering stress. It is common to take out stress on a loved one, even though the person may have nothing to do with your frustrations. When you reduce stress, you’re less likely to snap at someone.

A morning routine will also mean that you’re more accessible to your family, which is critical for improving relationships. When you’re better organized, you have more spare time to spend with family members.

Developing a morning routine is most important for improving relationships with the people you live with. When your family or roommates know your schedule for the morning, they can work around you. There will be no disputes about who gets to use the bathroom and no problems with two or more people trying to share the kitchen at the same time.

8. Combat Forgetfulness

When you have the same routine every day, it’s much more unlikely you’ll forget something. Without even thinking, you’ll go through the motions of getting ready for work. The chances are slim that you’ll arrive to work and realize you left something you need at home. There will also be a lower risk that you forget to do an important chore, like taking the trash out or closing the door to your bedroom to stop your dog sleeping on your bed.

9. Improve Your Confidence

When you’re calm and collected, you naturally feel more confident. Plus, better time management will mean you accomplish more, which can also improve your self-esteem.

Finally, giving yourself enough time for personal care in the morning can improve your self-confidence. When you set aside a portion of time just for personal care, there’s no need to rush. You can spend time carefully doing your hair and choosing clothes that make you feel good.

10. Learn to Be Flexible

Your morning routine is just the beginning of your schedule. It’s normal that things won’t always go exactly as you hoped, meaning you’ll need to adapt. Sticking to your morning routine as often as possible is great, but you’ll also need to learn to be flexible if something unexpected happens. Learning to adapt your morning routine around such events will train you to be flexible in other aspects of your life.

How to Start a Morning Routine

Starting a morning routine is simple. Just create a short schedule for the morning, beginning with the moment you wake up. Experiment with different orders of activities to find out what works best for you.

Examples of Winning Morning Routines of Successful People

Need some inspiration for your morning schedule? Consider including some of the activities from the morning routines of these successful people.

1. Tony Robbins: Cold Plunge Pool

As we mentioned above, a cold shower is great for increasing your energy levels for the day. Life coach Tony Robbins takes this a step further: he plunges into a 57-degree Fahrenheit pool for a “radical change in temperature.” If (like most people) you’re not lucky enough to have a plunge pool, a cold shower will give you much the same result.

2. Tim Draper: Play Basketball

Venture capital investor Tim Draper starts his day early with a game of basketball. He says he does this for the release of endorphins exercise brings. He follows the workout with a breakfast of three eggs (for their high levels of protein), which keeps his appetite in check and helps him stay focused.

3. Muhammad Ali: Read Inspiring Content

Boxer Muhammad Ali would start his day by reading empowering affirmations. His idea was that repeatedly reading the same affirmations would change his beliefs, subsequently changing his behavior and thoughts. You can do the same to prepare for success.

4. Dr. Nick Zyrowski: Meditation

Lifestyle expert Dr. Nick Zyrowski wakes up before the rest of his family and spends 30 minutes meditating. This puts him in the right state of mind and gives him the chance to set goals for the day.

5. Elle Russ: Mindfulness

Best-selling author Elle Russ starts her mindfulness practice before she even gets out of bed. She gives herself a few moments to stretch and express gratitude for her body and health. She then chooses an intention for the day, saying it out loud to solidify it.

6. Payal Kadakia: Talk to Loved Ones

Founder of ClassPass, Payal Kadakia makes sure to chat with her husband every morning. She even makes the effort to call him in the morning when she is traveling. As well as helping her feel positive for the rest of the day, it ensures her relationship always stays top priority, no matter what else she has going on.

7. Arianna Huffington: Leave the Phone Alone

Perfect Your Morning Routine With 10 Research Backed Steps

Your morning routine sets you up for success — for the rest of the day, week and year!

So we need to make each morning count. And chances are, we’ve already wasted quite a few… 

In order to kick-start our mornings with the best possible routine, let’s look at the science behind routines and some famous examples to inspire us:

• Jane Austen

 would wake up and immediately play the piano, make breakfast with her family, then write.

• President Obam
• a

 always does his cardio and weight routine, followed by breakfast with his daughters.

• Arianna Huffingto
• n

 begins each day with yoga and meditation.

• Steve Job

s would contemplate this philosophical question, “If today were my last day on earth what would I do differently?”

10 Ways to Make Your Morning Routine Awesome

What’s your intention

?

Not all morning routines are created equal. You see so many articles about morning routines circulating through social media, many of them arguing that “every morning you should drink lemon water!” or “every morning you should work out!”

These may be great ideas for some, but before you start buying lemons and dumbbells, you should actually set your intention first: What do you want more of in your day? More productivity? Better health? Happiness? Figure out what your goals are, and move from there.

Think about what you want out of your morning routine. Here are some ideas we will discuss:

• Choose a time to wake up at every day.
•  This helps your body establish  rhythm so it’s easier to get up in the morning.
• Have a set of easy breakfast options
•  so you’re not

 wondering what to eat.

• Create a hierarchy for getting ready.

 This eliminates mundane decisions like whether you should brush your teeth before or after getting dressed and when you should take the dog out.

• Leave at the same time every day.

 This, combined with waking up at the same time, gives your morning routine a set time frame.

What’s on your NOT To Do List? 

This may seem a little counter-intuitive, but your next step is to create a NOT To Do List. We all have our normal To Do Lists for the day, but it’s important to check off what you should not be doing as well. After all, it’s easier to stop doing things, than to start doing new ones.

Riddle me this: what are the things that you do that take away from your goals or intentions for the day?

Whether you want to stop checking email first thing, not eat right away, keep off social media, stay away from mindless busy work, make sure this NOT list aligns with your intentions from #1.

Set-Up Barriers

Now that you have your intentions and your work to avoid, it’s time to reinforce those things you shouldn’t be doing. Set up time or space barriers to keep you from those items on your Not To Do List.

• Charge your phone across the room, so getting out of your warm and snuggly bed to check social media seems too daunting a task to complete.
• Set your phone to “Do Not Disturb” so those pesky app and messaging notifications won’t keep disrupting your otherwise peaceful morning.
• Set a timer for answering emails so you can give yourself a break and maintain your sanity.
• Sleep in your gym clothes, or keep them next to your bed so you wake up and are immediately on the go.

The options and barriers are endless — and I promise, they’re not as scary as they seem.

Choose Replacements

Let’s replace the bad, boring, draining things you no longer want to do with some that can be helpful ways to start your day! What do you want to do instead, what kind of tasks would help you reach your goals? Some ideas that you may benefit from:

• Bed Yoga Stretches 
• Journaling
• Reading a chapter of a book
• Exercise
• Drinking Tea or Coffee
• Family Time
• Walking your dog
• Gardening
• Meditation
• Listening to Music/Podcasts
• Painting or Coloring

Make a list of the things you’d like to try and slowly start incorporating them into your morning routine!

And I hate to be the bearer of bad news….but if you’re addicted to coffee and rely on a caffeine boost (or several) to get you through your day, you should postpone your morning cup until after you get to work. 

Research shows that your cortisol levels are naturally higher for the first one-two hours after you wake up. Higher cortisol levels increase your alertness already and minimize some of the effects of the caffeine. By the time you get to work, your cortisol will usually drop to normal levels, making it the perfect time for an energy boost.

Stop Snoozin

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Don’t you hit that snooze button. Board-certified sleep medicine physician W. Christopher Winter says that every time you wake up, hit snooze and then roll back over, you enter a brand-new new sleep cycle. And the extra sleep you do get from snoozing is light and fragmented, which could actually leave you feeling more tired.

You’ll feel much more rested if you just get up with your first alarm — so either intentionally sleep later, or use an alarm with no snooze button.

Before you groggily drag yourself out of bed, spend a few moments making sure you get off on the right foot. Researchers at the University of British Columbia found that when athletes win a race, the more expansive their body language and when athletes lose a race, the more defeated their body language.

Instead of hitting the snooze button – try to stretch out in your bed. The expansiveness might give you a jolt of energy. Then when you step out of bed, put your body in the right position by stretching. The cartoon of someone lifting their arms up above their head is actually a GREAT idea for a morning routine!

Get Your Mind Righ

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Here are three things you should try to get first thing (nope not coffee!) breath, sun and stretching. Why should you add these to your morning routine? Here’s the science:

Sun: Living in Portland, Oregon where we are under almost constant cloud cover all winter, I understand that this step isn’t always possible but, when the sun is shining, take advantage. Before electricity and alarm clocks, the sun was our body’s natural wake up call. Just fifteen minutes of sunlight on your skin in the morning can eliminate your sleep hormones and leave you feeling awake and refreshed.

Water: We usually don’t think about drinking water until way later in the day, but one of the best things you can do is make sure you’re drinking water first thing in the morning!

Oxygen

: Do you take a BIG deep breath as a part of your morning routine? Yes this may sound crazy, but researchers have looked at breathing patterns and found that our bodies are actually running low on oxygen first thing in the morning. So if you take a few deep breaths, it can be like a ‘semi-coffee’ for your soul — getting you up, keeping you more awake, and oxygenating your blood.

Get Your Back Righ

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Roll over right! Chiropractors have found that when people get out of bed without rolling over first, they are at risk of straining their neck or back.

To prevent this, roll over onto your right side, then push yourself up into a sitting position before standing with a straight back (no hunching). It’s the gentlest way to get up, takes the pressure off your heart and back, and is a great, easy ritual to start your morning right.

Get Your Eyes Righ

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Be gentle on your eyes. Have you ever tried looking at your phone first thing in the morning and found yourself squinting in pain? In those early hours, our eyes haven’t quite adjusted to the light, and phone screens are far too bright to stare at when first waking up. It’s recommended that you wait 20 minutes before subjecting your eyes to screen time.

In the meantime, ease this transition by opening up your curtains to let some soothing, natural light in!

Multi-Task Your Morning

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Hit two birds with one stone in your mornings by working out while catching up on podcasts, meditating while cooking, or even catching up with a friend on your commute. This will leave you feeling both happier and more productive — and who doesn’t want that?

And if you can…wake up packed or pack while you chat.

Research shows that stress is detrimental to your productivity and overall well-being. From making it almost impossible to fully focus on the day’s tasks to leaving you feeling emotionally weary, having stressful mornings is the worst way to start your day. The easiest way to have stress-free mornings is to prepare everything the night before. When you have all of your day’s supplies ready and lunches made, you can get ready and leave without hastily running through your to-do list.

Need even more ideas? Science of People friend, Craig Kulyk has created a list of 127