You know the 5 a.m., “that girl” morning routine. The ones that female social media influencers have made us all obsess about? The “ultimate routine for success.”
It goes a little something like this: wake up around 5 a.m., drink a liter of water, meditate, write in a gratitude journal, work out, make a smoothie and do an expensive skincare routine all before starting a productive day of work.Â
Motivating, right? The goal of this trend that is all over TikTok is trying to promote a physically healthy and well-balanced mindset with a Lululemon set and an iced coffee. While this is not influencing anything negative, it’s a little over the top.Â
Many have pointed out that for many, this is a privileged routine. Not everyone has the financial means or time to maintain this romanticized lifestyle. It’s also not a one size fits all routine. Personally, I have never been a morning person but am most productive at night and in the early hours of the morning. I work out, do my schoolwork and am the most creative at nighttime. The world is just as quiet and non-distracting at night as it is in the wee hours of the morning. I got inspired to write this article at midnight. Does sleeping in make me a lazy person? Unproductive? I will argue not.Â
Let’s break down the highlights of the “that girl” routine and dig deeper into why these habits could provide positive results.
Waking Up Early
Our internal clock is a real thing! According to sleepadvisor.org, maintaining a sleep schedule helps our circadian rhythm to stay consistent so our bodies naturally fall asleep and wake up at the same time each day. Planning out a productive morning routine may start the day on a good note and usually produces efficiency. Waking up early could give you extra time to think about all the things that have to be done that day like exercising, meal prepping, schoolwork and house chores.
Working Out in the Morning
Morning exercise has been promoted to be better for quality of sleep and increasing overall performance for physical and mental tasks as opposed to working out at night. Night exercise can negatively impact a restful night’s sleep, according to this source.
Practicing Gratitude
Writing down what you are appreciative of is another way to try to improve your overall mood and positive outlook on life. Studies show that starting your day with gratitude can improve social relationships because you may exude an optimistic attitude and encourage the people around you to feel the same way.
Self-discipline is admirable but does it matter how or what you do to achieve that? A frequent idea these sources stress is that waking up early allows you extra time to make a healthy breakfast or spend extra time doing the things you want to do before you are scheduled to go to work or school. These things can be tweaked with meal prepping and prioritizing parts of the afternoon to achieve the same goals. The New Year is always a heavy-pressure time because you see many people that are hitting the gym every day and others that have not been able to keep a routine or healthy habits. Don’t feel like a failure if you are not doing the things that others are promoting- especially on social media. I encourage you all to try different routines, enforce better habits, and practice gratitude more often. See what works best for you and keep trying until you’ve found a comfortable routine.
While we cannot control everything in our lives, taking care of our bodies physically and mentally is something to always prioritize. The self-help books and expensive shampoos can come later.
xoxo,
Ari