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Recent research has shown that having a regular morning routine can reduce the impact of stress exposure on mental health. As things like depression are caused by continuous bouts of stress, a regular morning routine can help us with our mental health.
These past few months, I have gone on a journey to find the best morning routine.
Meditations, writing in a journal, cold showers, all of it.
You name it, I’ve done it.
And while most of them seemed like they would work for me… I ALWAYS had trouble sticking with the routine.
After a week or so of it, I couldn’t stick with them.
If I decided not to do one of the tasks on that morning routine, the whole routine would fall apart.
I was frustrated with myself because I would be on a streak, and then my high-energy self would not have the patience to sit down and meditate.
I would fail because of that.
I thought about why that was, and I realized something: these routines did not excite me.
They didn’t make me happy.
So I decided to focus on creating a Morning Happiness Routine.
I told myself the following: “If I could only do ONE thing to set the tone for a great morning, that would lift my mood, what would it be?”
And it all fell into place after that.
While my Morning Happiness Routine has a few other parts to it, they all help with the completion of my ONE thing.
So with that, let’s explore parts of the routine that I have made.
The morning is one of the biggest parts of our day that we have the most control over.
In understanding this, we have to have to make sure we have some sort of routine or plan that can help us set the tone for a damn good morning.
The following is a rundown on how you can go about this.
Firstly, state what time you want to go to bed and what time you will wake up. This will allow you to build a consistent sleep and wake schedule.
Secondly, write down the ONE thing that you can do upon waking that will LIFT Your Mood. For our Mood Lifters, it is 10–15 minutes of physical activity first thing in the morning. For others, it’s writing, playing an instrument, singing, anything you enjoy.
Thirdly, write down TWO activities that will help prepare you for that one thing. One of my activities is a “Brain Recharge” activity in which I drink a few cups of water first thing in the morning (yours can be coffee, tea, etc). My second is a “Mind Right” activity in which I listen to a song or a workout playlist to hype myself up. These two things help me do my ONE mood-lifting thing.
Lastly, create a Mental Health Plan for yourself. If you want to be more productive, write down how you plan on being productive, and what makes you non-productive. If you want to eat better, write down how you would like to eat, and how you would not like to eat.
If you want to improve your sleep, create a sleep ritual one hour before bed that limits electronics, allows you to take a nice hot bath and shower, and helps you prepare for the morning ahead so you don’t have to stress out about it.
In just following these steps, you can create a simple morning routine that can make you a little happier.
If you are someone who is not typically active and is feeling depressed, stressed, or anxious, we created a free morning routine course for you.
Our LIFT Your Morning Mood Program is a 30-day transformation period in which you focus on lifting your mood with ONE thing: physical activity every morning.
Research has shown that as little as 2.5 hours of moderate-intensity physical activity (including two muscle-strengthening days) has been shown to help with depression, anxiety, and other stressors.
Essentially, a combination of cardiovascular activity and weights for 150 minutes every week can help with mental health.
This will equate to ~20 minutes of physical activity daily.
If you ONLY get 10–15 minutes of that done in the morning, you’ll only need to do an additional 5–10 minutes afterward.
THIS is exactly what we will be focusing on in this program.
This free program comes with a daily video course and also a digital eBook that provide you with supporting content while you’re on your journey.
While we require you to hit a physical activity goal every morning, the other things we recommend in the video course and book are optional.
Our LIFT Your Morning Mood Program officially starts on May 30th.
If you would like to participate for free, you can join here.
We would love to see you here.
Until next time!
Exercise can feel like a chore, and even if you know it’s good for your health, the motivation to get moving sometimes just isn’t there.
But it doesn’t have to be a burden - by making exercise meaningful to you, it can become something fun and rewarding!
Here are five ways to make exercise more meaningful!
Men, I know what it is like to be overweight and depressed.
Not having the energy to do anything but relax and sleep.
While relaxation and sleep are incredibly important, they can make us feel like we are not making progress in our lives.
And when depression hits, it’s very difficult to push through with exercise and weight loss.
But did you know that even though it takes time and some effort, you don’t need to get obsessively crazy over it?
In fact, with just a few small adjustments, you can lose weight, fight back against depression, and take your life back.
If you're serious about shedding pounds and pushing away those depression demons, here are five tips that can help get you started.
A few weeks ago, my buddy Grant and I talked about nutrition.
We talked about how he's lost over 120 pounds so far with the weight loss progress he's been making.
This is all because he has been making healthier decisions over time.
One of the newest challenges he's facing right now is he's got a new job. He's working 10 to 12 hour days with physical demanding labor.
And what's been happening for him is that he's been super exhausted, he's not motivated to meal prep, he's having trouble trying to sit down and cook foods doesn't have the energy doesn't have the time.
So what I propose is five tips that you can use to live a more on the go fast food healthy eating lifestyle.