Bad Morning Habits You Need To Change Immediately

What’s the first thing you want in the morning? A cup of coffee? Food? A warm shower? Sure, we all want those things. But before any of that, there’s usually one thing that trumps it all:

Five more minutes.

And so we hit the snooze button. Maybe we hit it twice. Maybe we turn the damn thing off and wake up 20 minutes later than we’re supposed to, brush our teeth while we’re taking a shower. Then get dressed while we’re making coffee and zip out the door like a tornado, hoping that you didn’t forget to turn the lights off and surely forgetting to eat something.

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For most successful people though, the morning is the most critical time of the day. In fact, it’s the time when you set yourself up to be your most productive, your most efficient, before you’ve taken a single step into the office.

But for some of us, it’s the worst time. It’s when you’re waking up before the sun, drowsy and hungry and a little cranky. It’s a time when your email inbox is the most annoying, when flipping on the lights are an assault on your senses and you would rather not speak to anyone until a sufficient amount of caffeine is consumed. It’s time we change that.

It’s time to start winning the morning. So let’s talk about some of the things that might hold you back.

Hitting the snooze button

Confession: I set my alarm earlier than needed for the purpose of hitting the snooze button. If I need to wake up at 7am, I’ll set the alarm for 6am. That’s two built-in snooze taps. It’s an addiction. There’s a button there and we need to press it. But really we just want to delay the day and usually the work that lies ahead.

But science says even planning your snooze peruse is a bad call. When you hit snooze, you’re actually making yourself more tired. The research says that you’re only disrupting your sleep cycle and leaving yourself more groggy and less alert. That’s why it’s even harder to wake up the second time.

Set your alarm for when you actually need to get up. And then actually get up. Keep your alarm clock out of arm’s reach. If you use your cell phone as an alarm, try putting it in another room (if you can still hear it). That way you will need to get out of bed to halt that blasted beeping noise. Be strong. Fight every urge to hit snooze and walk right back to your bed.

If you want to start waking up earlier, try setting the alarm 15 minutes earlier than normal for a week. The next week, shave another 15 minutes.

Not turning the lights on

When it’s dark, our bodies still think it’s bedtime. Try sleeping with the blinds open. Research shows that natural light in the morning can help reset your body clock, letting you know it’s time to get things done. Brush your teeth by the window or go ahead and turn on the lights at home. One 2014 study at Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark showed that morning light can actually reduce anxiety in the brain's fear centre.

Skipping breakfast

You may not feel hungry, but if you’ve gotten eight hours of sleep -- you lucky bastard – that’s eight hours of fasting. Your body is depleted and feasting on glucose. You’re going to need to replace that. Having breakfast in the morning has proven to give you a sharper focused, boost your metabolism and keep you from overeating later in the day. Just beware of pounding empty carbs in the morning like bagels and muffins that might give you a short-lived burst of energy. Opt for protein or slow-burning fiber like oats in the morning.

Think you don’t have enough time? Grab some Greek yogurt and mix it with some fruit like blueberries and add some granola between you settle at your desk.

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Failing to prep

Preparing the night before can totally change the outlook of your morning. Few things can distract you more than trying to figure out what you’re going to wear to work in the morning, packing a bag for the gym and having to still prep your lunch. Try packing your bag and even your lunch the night before. Plan what you’ll wear to work. When you wake up in the morning, take some time to make a to-list before you get into the office.

Checking your cell phone

When you check your phone first thing in the morning, two things can happen: you can waste a bunch of time scrolling through your social feeds when you should be getting ready for the day or you can get lost in a sea of emails, texts or voicemails that can have you feeling flustered and rather than feeling prepared. You also run the risk of comparing yourself to the rest of your feed. You just woke up and your buddy has already run five miles, posted three times and is at his desk already. And now you’ve awaken your stress sensors before you’ve even brushed your teeth.

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