This is the Ideal Way to Start Your Morning Right, As Recommended by A Neuroscientist

Mornings are, arguably, the time in our days when most battles are fought. Starting with contemplating whether you should hit the snooze of your alarm clock, what breakfast you should prepare for yourself, or what your to-do’s are, the mornings are where the most important decisions are made. Unfortunately for most of us, we often wake up feeling unprepared— either due to controllable conditions, such as lack of sleep, or uncontrollable ones like the cold weather. However, we virtually have no choice but to follow through our day and just prime ourselves for the battle ahead.

In this regard, an American neuroscientist and Stanford University School of Medicine professor in neurobiology and ophthalmology, Dr. Andrew Huberman, recommends one of the best science-based morning routines that could help you feel more energized for the day.

1. Wake up 2-3 hours earlier than your usual waking hours

It may sound extremely difficult, but waking up 2-3 hours earlier is possible with “pre-sleep” conditions. Such conditions include, preparing yourself to go to bed 2-3 hours earlier than your sleeping hours, setting your room temperature to cold (but not cold enough that you would wake up shivering), turning off all your electronic screens two hours before bed (ideally, also turning off overhead white lights and opting out to use yellow-shaded lamps), eating your last meal of the day 2-3 hours before sleeping, and then sleeping in complete dark.

2. Avoid immediate consumption of caffeine

Caffeine had been a widely known morning companion. It is important to note that one should delay consuming caffeine until 90-120 minutes upon waking up. This is to allow your cortisol, the primary glucose-increasing and stress hormone, to “shine” by naturally providing your body the energy it needs in the morning. Based on personal observations, to maximize the effects of caffeine, which takes effect as quickly as 15-60 minutes (peaking at 45 minutes), it is better to take it before the “mid-morning slump” which occurs around 11 am to 1 pm (where cortisol levels decrease).

Ideally, the first liquid you should be reaching for in the morning should be a glass of water mixed with a pinch of salt (which includes one of the most important electrolytes in the body, sodium). This would provide the immediate hydration your body needs after sleeping.

3. Engage in physical activities such as exercising

It is common knowledge that exercise, especially cardio, provides hormones which generally improve our mood. These hormones are serotonin, which is known as the “mood-stabilizing” hormone; endorphins, which provide a post-exercise euphoria known as the “runners’ high”; and dopamine, which is popularly known as the “reward” hormone due to its mental effects of providing a sense of accomplishment. Not only that but exercising increases your body temperature, which as a rule of thumb in biology, increases your general alertness.

4. Shower in cold water

As opposed to a popular belief, showering in cold water makes your core temperature warmer. It is because your body is equipped with a natural adaptation response called the homeostasis, where it usually acts by doing what is the opposite of the environment. This is why you shiver after a cold shower, you become warmer than your environment. And, as stated earlier, warm body temperature makes you more alert.

5. Expose yourself to sunlight

Getting morning sunlight in your eyes (the healthiest and least harmful being at sunrise until 6:30 in the morning) is the best way to naturally wake yourself up. This, supported by cortisol, will provide energy better than caffeine would. Huberman recommends getting sunlight by pairing it with morning walks. Besides regulation of cortisol, sunlight also regulates our circadian rhythm as it stimulates the pineal gland through our eyes. The pineal gland is the gland responsible for regulating our natural body clock, through the release of melatonin, the “sleep hormone”. Once it “recognizes” sunlight, it suppresses melatonin release to allow your body to come to full wakefulness.

During days when the sky is cloudy or you cannot possibly go outside to directly face the sunlight, Huberman still recommends staring up to the sky or staring through your window, respectively, as there would still be sunrays, albeit a little weaker, that can still evoke a response to the pineal gland.

Huberman had said that he himself had days when he would hit the snooze button of his alarm clock, as we humans are not always capable of showing up with our one hundred percent. However, he gently reminded that in snoozing the alarm, it is important to not go beyond 30 minutes so as not to disrupt building your body clock. Additionally, he recommends preparing a protein-rich breakfast, avoiding simple carbs such as white rice and white bread, instead swapping it with wheat, whole oats, and brown rice, as well as minimizing sugar intake to fruits.

Building a routine would take practice and self-discipline. There would, inevitably, be days where sleeping in and giving up the day sounds wonderful. Some days would feel stressful even before it starts, but it is important to begin optimizing your physical health first, as reforming your mindset would, then, follow naturally.

As what Marcus Aurelius said, “At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: ‘I must go to work — as a human being. What do I have to complain about if I’m going to do what I was born for — the things I was brought into the world to do? Or is this what I was created for? To huddle under the blankets and stay warm?” With this, refuse to be defined as a lazy person and start your morning right.