Morning hacks to help you jump-start your day

HOW you start your morning can have a huge impact on the rest of your day. Here are the traps to avoid, and some simple hacks to give you the edge.

Morning hacks to jump-start your day

SOME of us are morning people and some of us are not.

Regardless of whether you’re a morning person or not, you need to understand that how you start your morning can have a huge impact on the rest of your day — hence people using the saying “Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed” when someone is acting grumpy.

If you’re not a morning person, you shouldn’t have to dread mornings. You should look forward to them, as they are the beginning of a potentially great day. Here are some clever hacks you can use to jump-start your day and wake up on the right side of the bed.

PUT YOUR ALARM CLOCK OUT OF REACH

Whether you have an alarm clock or you are using your phone, you should set it a couple of feet out of reach before going to bed. Shake the habit of keeping your phone next to you on your bed or on a bed stand, as you’ll be much more likely to keep clicking the snooze button. The snooze button is the enemy. According to sleep specialists, pressing snooze screws with your REM sleep and can cause you to be foggy all day and less productive.

WASH YOUR FACE FIRST

As soon as you get out of bed, head to the bathroom and splash some cold water on your face. This should be the first thing that you do before anything else. The refreshing feeling you will get from the water hitting your face will act as a trigger that it is now time for your body to get up and start moving. If you don’t wash your face first thing in the morning, you will be walking around like a zombie for a much longer period of time.

SHOWER IN THE MORNING, NOT AT NIGHT

If you’re a night shower person, you need to switch over to being a morning shower person. Showering in the morning doesn’t just help you start the day refreshed and clean, but it can also help you stimulate your metabolism. Studies show if you really want a good pick-up, turn the water temperature to cold for the last few minutes in the shower. This will increase your metabolic rate and shock your body into being more awake.

EAT BREAKFAST

As you’ve probably already heard, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Breakfast provides you with the energy and nutrients that you need to thrive throughout the day. A good choice is eggs; their whites stimulate orexin, a neurochemical released during REM sleep that controls wakefulness. Many people skip breakfast due to not having time or wanting to lose weight. The truth is that breakfast skippers tend to eat more food than usual at their next meal, or nibble on high-calorie snacks to fight off being hungry.

GET PHYSICAL

If you have an opportunity to work out in the morning, you will definitely feel the benefits throughout the day. According to the Mayo Clinic, working out in the morning causes your whole cardiovascular system to work more efficiently, upping your energy for the whole day. When you work out early in the morning, you’ll start the day off with a feeling of accomplishment and you’ll be setting the tone for the rest of the day.

LISTEN TO MUSIC

If you don’t live with other people who sleep in later than you, then I’d advise listening to music. Music can help wake you up and get started for the day. Listen to music while getting out of bed, listen to music while taking a shower; just listen. Music has been proven in studies to assist with “dopaminergic neurotransmission,” which basically means it can cause a giant dopamine release in your brain, which will make you more mentally responsive.

MEDITATE

Even if meditation is not normally your thing, you need to give Headspace a try. Headspace is a gym for the mind; it’s a meditation app that works. Headspace ran an experiment where they found that just four days of 20-minute training can help make you more focused. I took the 10-day challenge when I was in a start-up accelerator. For 10 mornings, I woke up and did a 10-minute meditation session. I’d suggest using it to anyone who wants to get a nice pick-up in the morning and feel more focused throughout the day.

GO OUTSIDE

Before you leave for the day, take a small break to go outside while getting ready and catch some sun rays. Sunshine helps to boost levels of vitamin D, and research suggests that adequate amounts may play a role in sustaining energy by enhancing the activity of mitochondria (the batteries of your cells). Bright light also helps to wake you up and releases hormones that keep you much more alert throughout the day.

WRITE A TO-DO LIST

The first thing I do before I start work is write out a to-do list in my moleskin notebook. Usually, I will already have items on the list that rolled over from the day before, but I almost always add at least one new task each morning. Writing your goals down will make you much more likely to accomplish them throughout the day. Some research suggests writing information by hand helps us to remember it better.

FIND A 15- TO 30-MINUTE ACTIVITY

Studies show that we are more creative in the morning because creative activity is highest during and immediately after sleep. You should find a productive activity that takes advantage of this time. Examples include writing a blog post, catching up on news, looking for content to share on your social media, etc. Setting this short amount of time aside in the morning will allow you to get into a fixed routine and become more productive.

This article originally appeared on AskMen.