One month into classes, are you already being bombarded with assignments, quizzes, and exams? Are you feeling like Reading Week cannot come soon enough, and like you will never be able to keep up? With #bellletstalk day just recently past, everyone is talking about mental health in others, but it is essential that we look within ourselves and assess our own needs and wellbeing. Here are some simple ways to practice a self-care morning routine to enhance your mental health and keep stress at bay.
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Prepare for your day the night before. Your morning routine begins the night before. It is proven that our brain becomes fatigued by making even the simplest of decisions. To reduce the stress of your mornings, prepare your breakfast, pack your lunch, pick out your outfit, and pack your bag before you head to bed. You already are getting up early and likely not getting an optimal amount of sleep, give your body and mind a break and truly enjoy your morning. You will become better prepared for your day, eat healthier, and enjoy a better sleep with less weighing on your mind.
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Use your precious morning hours, and get to bed earlier. Waking up earlier in the morning may seem like the worst decision that you could possibly make, however the precious hours of the morning while the world is still asleep are some of the best to practice self care, prepare for your day, and begin on a productive note. That being said, you still need to get enough sleep. Try going to bed an hour earlier than usual, and in turn waking up an hour earlier as well (or fifteen minutes or thirty minutes).
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Have “unplugged time.” In today’s technological age it may seem nearly impossible to be truly unplugged. From the moment we wake up to our iPhone alarms, we are connected to technology. Try to have the first hour of your morning be technology free. Take a shower, prepare a healthy breakfast, enjoy your favourite tea or coffee (after drinking some water of course), read your favourite book, write down your dreams, thoughts or a few things that you are grateful for. Taking some time to focus on yourself before being bombarded with social media or technology can help to boost your self-esteem, and set your day on track to be positive and productivity-focused.
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Make your bed. If you make your bed every morning, then even if you get nothing done for the rest of the day, then you had one success-action that day. Little, rewarding actions that we can check off of our to-do list can set us on our way to an amazing day of productivity and success, or if you need a day for yourself, you got something done that day that you can look at and be proud of. When we start our days with success, it makes us hungry to see more success.
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Move your body. We sleep for (hopefully) six to nine hours per night and during that time our body is primarily still, therefore we often associate stillness with sleepiness. If we start our morning with even some simple movement – stretching, foam rolling, running, walking, biking, swimming, etc- we begin to teach our body that once we start moving it is time to wake up and get things done.
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Hydrate first, Coffee/Tea second. It is okay to have something to encourage you to get out of bed and get your day started, and for many people that might be coffee or tea. It is essential that before we caffeinate, we hydrate. Drinking water in the morning re-hydrates us after the long night without water, kick-starts our bodily systems (including metabolism), wakes us up, and has so many other benefits. Aim to drink at least a glass of water in the morning, but more importantly, drink until you feel refreshed and re-hydrated.
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Make the morning routine a habit that works for you. You can get as many tips and tricks as you’d like regarding making your morning routine, but ultimately you have to be the one to execute it. Add parts that you will enjoy and that are realistic for you. Stick to your routine and make it a habit, and it will become easier to get up in the morning. There is no such thing as a “perfect morning routine,” just choose to do the things that make you feel great, that get you up in the morning, and that start your day on a productive note!
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