I don’t want to be a morning person – a gentle approach to waking up
I hate
mornings. Yes, even sunrises. They are cold – literally and figuratively, and
definitely don’t evoke any kind of fuzzy, hopeful feelings in my heart. On the
flip side, my favourite and most productive parts of the day are evenings and
late afternoons. For this reason, I’ve never felt too excited about all those
extremely popular „How to be a morning person” articles, since I know that I’m
ridiculously ineffective at anything before 10 am, be it exercise or studying.
Since my ideal sleeping habits – at least 9 hours from around midnight – don’t
match how society works, and I’ll probably never master the art of napping, I
had to come up with a few ways to preserve my energy till the hours my brain is
actually capable of functioning.
So here
are few insights on how I manage my mornings, for everyone who prefer a slow
start to their days.
I drink something warm – usually black tea with honey and
almond milk, sometimes coffee, but I tend to reserve that for the afternoons,
since it feels dehydrating, and doesn’t do much for me in terms of waking up.
Warm drinks are they key signal to my system that it’s time to get started, and
I seriously miss my morning mug, when I happen to not have access to it
(although I always pack a few teabags whenever I travel).
If you
feel like your caffeine consumption is getting a bit overboard, or drives you
back into a crash after a few hours, try to exchange one of your cups for any
other warm drink. You may notice that after a few weeks, your body will get
used to respond to lower doses of caffeine, and a mug of tea or hot cocoa will
put you in a cosy mood, while waking you up in a gentle, non-buzzy way.
No breakfast for me – I got tired of the mainstream
advice, that you should be eating in the morning no matter what. If you crave
it, then go ahead, but for me it takes time for my system to wake up, and any
kind of breakfast takes away my appetite for the day, and puts me in a food
coma right off. The aforementioned hot drink is just right for me to get my
digestion going, and I’m ready to grab a sandwich or an oatmeal by 10.
A light stretch– I carry a lot of stress in my
back and shoulders, so a little stretching in the morning and before bed sets a
nice calm mood for the day. Spine twisting yoga poses are great for all purposes,
from relaxing that „I just woke up” stiffness to supporting a good posture
throughout the day. Forward bending, like downward facing dog, helps with
circulation and feeling more alive, as a result. Also, don’t ignore your feet! Walk
on tiptoes and make small circles with them in a sitting position – it’s
surprisingly satisfying.
I like to
combine these exercises with some deep
breathing techniques (I’ll write about my meditation and breathing
practises in an upcoming post), to bring some mindfulness to my morning
routine, and ensure that I’m in touch with how I feel physically and
emotionally that day.
Warm water on my face – another popular hack is to
splash ice cold water on your face, and I honestly can’t imagine anything more
horrible in the morning. I like to do the contrary, and wash my face with hot
water. It gives a huge boost to my circulation, plumps my skin, and is so
relaxing. If your eyes are puffy, you can always finish off with a few splashes
of colder water, or keeping your skincare products in the fridge.
I give myself time, and don’t aim
for a super effective morning –
this is less of a hack, but rather a mindset. I try to make everything as
enjoyable as I can, and don’t stress the „getting everything done” aspect. I
concentrate on fewer things, no exercise - bullet journaling – smoothie – 10
step skincare, but instead I accept that I’m not a morning person, schedule the
important tasks after lunch, take my time to be present in every step of my
routine, and don’t have anything set in stone. I try to be flexible, and
accommodate my routine to the way I feel that specific day. I prepare my drink
to go, apply whatever makeup I feel like wearing, read while sipping my tea,
and pick out my outfit depending on my mood. These are the things that get me
over the fact, that I didn’t had to spend that time in my bed, and get me
excited for the day. I don’t desire to prepare and pack everything the night
before, as I really don’t care whether my mornings are effective or not.
- Anna
Hi there, just wanted to say, I loved this article.
ReplyDeleteIt was practical. Keep on posting!
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