Today’s post is a double whammy, because we have 2 posts on the docket. Of course they are both related to making your mornings easier, and starting your day off right. This is an area that I personally struggle with for many reasons. For one, I like to stay socially active, and many of my friends don’t have the same hours that I do. Whats worse is that my wife is a college student and she is never up in the morning, and gets home around my bed time. So if I want to spend time with her I need to push my physical limits to make it happen (which I am always happy I do). If these examples sound familiar then you know how much beds can resemble quick sand in the morning. The more you struggle to get out, the more it seems to suck you right back in.
So without a doubt mornings can suck, but they don’t have to. In fact mornings can be the best time of the day, especially when its your exercise time. So the two blogs that I am featuring today include why the TV is bad for bed time, and ways to make morning exercise happen happily.
So the first step to making mornings better is to get enough sleep. Since we can’t really add hours to the day and make our wake up time later, we need to make sure that we go to bed on time. Here are a few times to make it happen:
1. Sleep Debt.
Even if you stay up later by only a few minutes a night due to screen time, you can develop a “sleep debt” by not getting the rest the brain needs. And until that debt is paid off you will suffer the consequences of feeling tired all day long.
2. Altered Brain Bedtime Habits.
Believe it or not the brain learns habits and behaviors of falling asleep. Making the TV a part of the habit can create a positive feedback loop that exacerbates issue #1.
3. TV Makes You Take Longer to Fall Asleep, and Wake Up Earlier.
This is bad for obvious reasons, and happens because the stories and dramas on TV can raise stress levels.
4. Wakes You Up More Often.
This is because the stimulating effect of light tells our brains “go!”
5. Poorer Sleep Quality.
Because of the reasons above it’s obvious why the quality of what little sleep you get is poorer
The second post is a list of 24 hacks to make waking up to exercise easier. I’ll cover my top 5 favorites, but I highly suggest you check out the whole blog post.
1. Pack accordingly and get in bed early.
The most important thing for me to do when I get home is unpack from the day, and repack for tomorrow. No one wants to scramble around in the morning so make life easier and make it happen before you go to bed at a reasonable hour.
2. Make it a habit.
There’s that “H” word again! If it is a morning task, rather than a habit, you are more likely to not do it. So do workout 2-3 times per week in the morning, do it every day to make harder to skip out on.
3. Think about how you’ll feel afterward.
Have you ever dreaded going to the gym or doing a workout, but once your done exercising feel great? I do. All the time pretty much. I sometimes hate the thought of exercise, but once I buckle down and get started I know that I will feel like a million bucks. Keeping that thought in the back of my mind can be the difference between actually getting it done or not.
4. Schedule brunch.
We all know nutrition is important, so have a daily meal scheduled after your workout. Have a continuous appointment set with a friend, family, or pet to eat after you workout to get you through the day, and get protein to those muscles! More importantly, it will be another habit that you won’t want to break by skipping a workout.
5. Do it no matter what.
Even if you just get up and piddle around for a little bit, it’s better than doing nothing at all. I’d rather go through the motions than feel like I let my self down later in the day.
All Me Fitness 