How to Wake Up Healthy
HEALTHY IS HAPPY
There’s nothing like waking up and feeling healthy, well rested, full of energy and ready to take on the world.
Each new morning is a new day and each new day has the possibility of being your best day yet.
My top 12 tips for waking up healthy
1. Get a decent sleep
An adult needs a minimum of 7 and a half hours sleep per night, while a teenager needs a minimum of 8 and a half. To get the most out of your sleeping time you should try to sleep between the same hours per night, for example: 11pm-6:30am, because our bodies love sleep routines. Science has proven that the most important time to get sleep is between 11pm and 2am- no matter where you are in the world or what your routine is like. Also, invest in a good set of earplugs or an eye mask if you are a light sleeper to ensure a good rest.
2. Get organised before you hit the pillow
Try to get your world in order before you go to sleep so that you can wake up with peace with time to simply ready yourself for a new day – feeling prepared.
3. Drink green tea
I swear by drinking green tea every morning. Plain green tea made simply with hot water is so refreshing and re-hydrating while it also contains a small amount of caffeine to help you kick start your day. There are so many health benefits in drinking green tea, and almost everyone that I have spoken to agrees that it really does leave your “aura” feeling peaceful and your body feeling clean and refreshed.
4. Drink water
Re-hydrate after your sleep time with a big glass of pure water and keep drinking good quality water (at least 8 glasses a day) throughout the day to ensure feeling great every morning.
5. Make your bed
Take a minute to make your bed. It may seem like a silly and monotonous chore, but it has been proven that people who make their beds feel more organised and ready to take on their day than those who don’t.
6. Pass on the drinks
Drinking alcohol in the evenings or before you go to sleep disturbs your sleep cycle, it also dehydrates your body and sends your blood sugar levels sky high before crashing. Pass on the drinks and you will sleep better and feel better in the morning.
7. Breathe
Wake up, open your window or walk outside and take a deep breath of fresh air. This will help you to feel refreshed, revived and full of life.
8. Eat healthy
Find a healthy and well balanced diet that works best for you and your body. Find what works for you and eat what makes your body feel good. A well balanced diet will ensure a healthy morning every morning. Start to listen to what your body needs and how different food affects it. Eat what you feel like your body needs and over time you will become more ‘in-tune’ with your body.
9. Exercise
Exercise is not only good for your heart, the daily function of your organs and your body – it also increases your metabolism, helps you to sleep better, aids in weight loss, lowers stress levels and boosts immunity. Wake up feeling fit enough to take on the day by exercising regularly.
10. Meditate and find your peace
Meditate for 3 minutes (or up to 10 minutes if you like) when you wake up every morning. You don’t have to make this super spiritual if you don’t want to, but you can if you would like to. When I “meditate”, I usually just spend 3-10 minutes giving thanks for everything I am grateful for in my life (it doesn’t have to be a complicated thing). Meditate on your day ahead, think about all the great possibilities ahead of you, focus on being happy, focus on being positive and practice smiling for a few minutes. Focus on your breathing and relax, fill your inner world with peace. It has been proven that daily meditation (even 3 minutes every morning), whether it is for spiritual/religious purposes or just to relax, is especially beneficial for ones overall health. It reduces stress and anxiety and promotes balance and organisation of the mind – which enhances the health of your body, mind, heart, soul and spirit.
11. Do breathing exercises
If you feel stressed out and anxious every morning, then try doing these quick breathing exercise routine every morning – shown here by Patrick Holford – to help one to feel centred, balanced and to “promote vital energy though the whole body with extraordinary results in terms of vitality, flexibility and well being”. Here’s a link to his short video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRoN3g3QOgA
12. Give thanks
Be grateful for all that you have in life and give thanks. It is amazing how simply having a heart that is full of gratitude and a mindset that is positive can change the outcome of your day no matter how bad it seems to be going. Change your mindset and change your life.
These are my top 10 tips for waking up feeling healthy – or my top 10 tips for when you wake up not feeling so good, and you’d like to feel healthier!
What are your tips for waking up feeling healthy?
Liezl Jayne xo
Photos by Liezl Jayne Strydom – for liezljayne.com
