Waking up in a good mood isn’t as easy as it sounds. Often, it’s our habits that get in the way of starting the day off right.
If you’re like me, you’ve probably found yourself groggy and grumpy more mornings than you’d like to admit. And I bet you’re wondering if there’s a better way to start the day.
Well, there is. It’s all about letting go of those habits that are holding you back.
If you’re ready to start waking up feeling refreshed and optimistic, it’s time to say goodbye to these 8 habits.
Let’s get started.
1) Hitting the snooze button
Ah, the allure of those extra few minutes in bed. We’ve all been there. But believe it or not, hitting that snooze button is doing more harm than good.
You see, when you hit snooze and drift back to sleep, your body starts a new sleep cycle. But since you’re only asleep for a few minutes more, you’re likely to wake up in the middle of this cycle, which leaves you feeling groggy and disoriented.
Worse still, this groggy feeling can last for hours into your day. It’s called sleep inertia, and it’s not a great way to start your morning.
If you’re serious about waking up in a good mood every morning, start by saying goodbye to that snooze button. It might be tough at first, but trust me, your future self will thank you.
2) Late-night screen time
You may not want to hear this, but your late-night Netflix binge might be standing between you and a good morning.
I used to be the same – I spent hours scrolling through social media or watching my favorite shows before bed. But then I noticed a pattern. The later I stayed up in front of the screen, the worse my mood was the next morning.
Research backs this up too. The blue light emitted by screens messes with your melatonin production, the hormone responsible for regulating sleep.
Once I swapped my late-night screen time for a book or some calming music, I started waking up feeling a lot more refreshed and ready to take on the day.
3) Skipping breakfast
When you’re rushing around in the morning, it’s easy to forget about breakfast. But skipping the most important meal of the day isn’t just bad for your health, it’s bad for your mood too.
Your body needs fuel to get started in the morning. Without it, you’ll feel sluggish and irritable – hardly the right mindset for a productive day.
A study found that people who ate a protein-rich breakfast reported feeling more satiated and had fewer cravings throughout the day than those who skipped breakfast.
4) Getting caught up in negative thoughts
It’s all too easy to start the day with a mind full of worries and what-ifs. But if you want to wake up in a good mood, it’s important to learn how to let go of these negative thoughts.
Buddhism offers a powerful tool for this: mindfulness. Mindfulness is all about staying present and focusing on the here and now, rather than getting caught up in your thoughts.
In my book, Hidden Secrets of Buddhism: How To Live With Maximum Impact and Minimum Ego, I delve into the power of mindfulness and how it can transform your life. One chapter focuses specifically on how to use mindfulness to start your day in a positive way.
By incorporating mindfulness into your morning routine, you can learn to observe your thoughts without getting tangled up in them. This can help set a more positive tone for your day, allowing you to wake up in a better mood, ready to tackle whatever comes your way.
5) Neglecting hydration
Water is more important than you might think for getting your day off to a good start. I used to wake up feeling sluggish and groggy, no matter how much sleep I got the night before. It was frustrating, and it took me a while to figure out why I felt that way.
Turns out, I was dehydrated. We lose a lot of water while sleeping through respiration and perspiration. If we don’t replenish these fluids first thing in the morning, it can lead to dehydration, which in turn can cause feelings of fatigue, irritability, and even confusion.
Now, the first thing I do when I wake up is drink a full glass of water. It’s a simple habit, but it’s made a big difference in my mood and energy levels throughout the day.
If you’re not already doing so, try drinking a glass of water first thing in the morning. It may be just what you need to start waking up in a good mood every day.
6) Sticking to the same routine
Routines can be helpful, but sometimes, they can also contribute to a stale and uninspiring start to the day. If you’ve been following the same morning routine for years, it might be time to shake things up a bit.
You see, our brains thrive on novelty. New experiences stimulate our minds and can help us feel more energized and alert.
Even though it might seem counter-intuitive, changing your morning routine could be exactly what you need to start waking up in a better mood.
This could be as simple as taking a new route on your morning walk, trying a different type of exercise, or swapping your usual breakfast for something new and exciting. A little change can go a long way in invigorating your mornings.
7) Ignoring your body’s natural rhythms
We live in a world that’s increasingly disconnected from natural rhythms. We stay up late, wake up early, and often ignore our body’s signals of tiredness.
But our bodies have their own internal clock, known as the circadian rhythm. This rhythm regulates our sleep-wake cycle, and when we ignore it, it can lead to poor sleep and grumpy mornings.
If you’re a night owl forced to wake up early for work, or a morning lark staying up late to socialize, you’re likely disrupting your natural sleep-wake cycle.
Listening to your body and aligning your sleep schedule with its natural rhythms can help improve the quality of your sleep and make waking up a much more pleasant experience. So, it might be time to say goodbye to late nights or overly early mornings, if you want to start waking up in a good mood every day.
8) Neglecting self-care
At the heart of waking up in a good mood every morning is practicing self-care. This means taking time for yourself, doing things that make you feel good, and taking care of your mental, physical, and emotional health.
Whether it’s reading a book, practicing yoga, meditating, or just sitting quietly with a cup of tea, it’s important to carve out some time for yourself each day.
It’s not selfish to prioritize your own well-being. In fact, by taking care of yourself, you’ll be better equipped to handle whatever the day throws at you and wake up in a good mood every day.
Final thoughts: It’s about self-awareness
The journey to waking up in a good mood every morning isn’t just about changing habits. It’s about understanding yourself and how your mind and body work together.
You see, our mood and well-being are deeply connected to how we take care of ourselves. By being mindful of our habits, from the way we start our day to how we end it, we can make small changes that significantly impact our mood.
In my book, Hidden Secrets of Buddhism: How To Live With Maximum Impact and Minimum Ego, I explore the concept of self-awareness and how it can be a tool for transformation. This awareness isn’t just limited to our spiritual life; it extends to all aspects of our lives, including our morning routines.
Whether it’s understanding your body’s natural rhythms, learning to let go of negative thoughts, or realizing the importance of hydration, it’s these small acts of self-awareness that can lead to big shifts in your mood.
So as you go forth and experiment with saying goodbye to these 8 habits, remember that it’s not just about ticking off a checklist. It’s about listening to yourself, understanding what works for you, and making conscious choices to start every day in a good mood.
