It can be difficult to grasp the idea that a good night’s sleep starts the minute you hit your morning alarm, but it's true. “Get up at the same time daily,” says Kennedy. “This sets the body’s clock and helps us feel more energised—and less prone to behaviors that undermine sleep, like overdoing caffeine intake.”
Breus suggests setting a scheduled wake-up time (yes, that includes weekends), which means you can’t push your beloved snooze button over and over.
“Snoozing tends to make us groggier," adds Kennedy. "It also disrupts the body clock if done to excess and can lead to difficulty falling asleep the next night.”
Instead of trying to catch those few extra ZZZ’s, Breus recommends starting your day with five minutes of calming meditation.
During your first hour of the day, Breus believes that it’s key to drink water. He says, “Drink 400 to 500ml of water and walk over to the window to get 15 minutes of sunlight.”
In fact, exposure to sunlight is vital when you first wake up. Robbins says, “Natural sunlight is important. If you’re fortunate to live in a naturally bright place, try to walk or exercise outside as soon as you wake up. This can kick-start the awake phase of your circadian rhythm.” Kennedy also says that light provides a signal to the brain to shut down melatonin production and boost alertness.
Exercise is best spent in sunlight, but whether it’s indoors or outdoors, it’s a key component of good sleep. Breus suggests 20 to 60 minutes of exercise every day, and Robbins says, “People who regularly exercise stand to benefit from reduced inflammation, and overall improved general health. Regular exercisers also report better sleep quality than non-regular exercisers.”
Although it can be tempting to skip breakfast on your way out to work, it’s imperative to eat a morning meal for optimal health. Breus proposes a breakfast that’s high in “good fats” (i.e. avocados), and Robbins says that from a sleep perspective, “it is best to structure your day to allow for a heavier meal early in the day—never skip breakfast.”
When you sit down to your desk first thing in the morning, your next move might be to pour yourself a cup of coffee. Coffee could be a part of your natural routine, but if you’ve woken up within the last couple hours, you might want to rethink that caffeine fix. Caffeine can prevent your body from waking up naturally, so Breus says, “Do not drink coffee until 90 minutes after you get up.”
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As you’re digging into your emails, you’re likely not thinking about your water intake. But as Robbins says, it’s critical to think about hydrating your body throughout the day, especially if your goal is a restful night’s sleep. (Pick up one of these
8 cute, functional water bottles to stay hydrated all day long.)
If you couldn’t score that burst of morning sunlight or if it’s cloudy where you are, Robbins says that you should give some thought to light therapy devices while you work. “These are readily available, and can be worn as glasses or can be found in small handheld devices that emit bright light that has a similar effect as the sun,” she says. Morning is the best time to use these devices—using them in the afternoon can disturb sleep.
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Even if you’re having a busy day, take some time to have a hearty, filling lunch. Breus says if you can, try to have lunch outside to grab more sunlight. (
Meal prep these 8 healthy lunches that will last all week.)