How did you feel this morning? Was it a frantic rush to get out the door? Did you struggle to get yourself, your kids, your partner, and/or your life organized in time?

Mornings can set the tone for our whole day, and for most of us, the tone we set is “struggle”.

I’m naturally a morning person. I’m one of those annoying people who wake up cheerful and ready to go. And, if I have to get up super duper early (earlier than 5am), I also wake up singing. Literally. I think it’s good for my general survival that I live alone, no one wants to hear someone singing “good morning!” at 4:30am.

But, mornings have begun to be a struggle even for me. That made me think, if I’m feeling frantic and stressed in the morning (and I wake up happy), what is happening in houses of non-morning people?

So last year I decided to experiment with my morning routine and see if I could find some easy ways to start my day off on the right foot. Or at least on a better foot.

My goal: they had to be easy, doable, and take very little time.

These are some healthy lifestyle tips that I found worked really well and were so easy that I continued doing them all year. My mornings are SO much nicer now!

Wake up gently 

rolling out of bed and jumping right into our morning routine is hard on our body, especially our adrenals. It takes a few minutes (usually 15 – 20 mins) for our body to fully wake up. Be gentle and slower in these first few minutes for a nicer morning.

Idea:

• spend 10 mins while you’re still in bed to do something that brings you some happiness. I think of (or better yet write down) 5 things I’m grateful for or spend the 10 mins meditating (I set a timer in case I slip back into sleep).
• Have the “right” amount of sleep – I spent a few months experimenting with how much sleep I need, and I found out something interesting. I need a lot of sleep (10 hours!), but I need less if I’m in bed by 10pm (only 9). Now I know why I felt so tired and groggy after 8 hours of sleep.
  Idea: try going to bed by 10pm for 1 week and see if you feel more rested.
• Hydrate – it may seem too easy, but hydrating when we first wake up can increase our energy and will get our digestion started for the day.
  Idea: start your morning with ½ – 1 litre of room temp water (or warm, not boiling). Add a squeeze of fresh lemon to help to support your liver.

Have a good breakfast, preferably one that includes veggies (or at least fruit) – this habit is an important step to balance our blood sugar and kick-start our day. By skipping breakfast we ask our adrenal glands to use stress hormones (cortisol and adrenaline) to keep our blood sugar from collapsing. A great breakfast will taste good and include healthy fat (like coconut oil) and protein to keep you full for at least 3 hours.

Not hungry? Try an easy-to-digest antioxidant smoothie and sip on it throughout the morning. Here’s my favourite recipe:

• 1 cup frozen blueberries
• 1 banana
• 1 handful of spinach or a scoop of your fave green food powder
• 1 scoop of Botanica’s Perfect Protein Vanilla
• 1 tbsp virgin coconut oil

Cover with water or coconut milk or almond milk (or a combo)

Blend and enjoy!

Have you tried any of these ideas before? What works best to elevate your day? Tweet, Facebook, Snapchat, or Instagram your fave idea with the #bwell and let’s start a conversation!