Do you suffer from common-man’s morning sickness? And no, you don’t have to be carrying a baby inside to experience it. This type of morning sickness occurs when, even after a sufficient night’s rest, you still wake up in the morning feeling slow, groggy, and unready to start the day.
Surely this unpleasant awakening happens to all of us at some point or another, but there are ways to reduce its occurrence. Try some (or all) of these lifestyle techniques to help you feel refreshed and revitalized every morning.
Abide by your sleep cycles
It has been said that we sleep in 90 – 110 min intervals. Therefore, unnaturally waking up halfway through the cycle can lead to an unprepared start to the day. Want to wake up ready to take on the day’s challenges? Then listen to your body, and wake up naturally whenever possible. Obviously, alarms are necessary when there is an early morning obligation, but an obnoxious morning alarm can yank you out of the natural flow of your cycle leaving you in a morning daze.
Try this: When you find yourself waking up naturally before your alarm sounds, do your best to leave your cozy blankets behind, and get up naturally to start the day. Hitting the snooze button will only restart you into a new sleep cycle that will be impossible to finish.
Avoid late night binges
Although many of us have busy schedules and can’t avoid it, late night eating can be hazardous to a lively morning routine. Not only will late night binges have you feeling full and slow in the morning, but filling up t night and not eating a proper breakfast can completely throw off your morning liveliness by stalling your metabolism.
Try this: When you feel late night binges coming on, try drinking a cup of decaffeinated tea with milk. The warm tea will relax your body and the milk will give you a feeling of fullness.
Avoid alcohol and marijuana
We know that alcohol can lead to painfully slow mornings, but is there anything that can be said about marijuana consumption right before bed? Sure, an evening toke may help us relax and fall asleep more soundly, but studies have shown that going to sleep high can disrupt your REM cycles and leave you feeling “stoned to your bed” in the morning. And since REM sleep is important for proper dream cycles, Marijuana users report less vivid dreams (or not remembering them at all).
Try this: If you are an avid pre-sleep smoker, don’t smoke for a few nights and notice the intensity of your dreams. This phenomenon is known as an REM Rebound and can lead to an extremely vivid dream life. You will wake up feeling more refreshed as well.
Drink water with lemon first thing
This method has been published time and time again and keeps coming up as one of the best morning routines for a refreshing morning start. With a wide range of health benefits, this simple morning cocktail will improve your mornings, days, and even life.
Try this: Have a glass (or bottle) of room temperature water waiting for you in the morning. Right when you wake up, squeeze a half lemon (or a whole lemon if you weigh more than 150 lbs) into the room temperature water and witness the results. Some of the benefits include: constipation relief, prevents UTIs, fights battle breath, helps weight loss, freshens your skin, boosts the immune system, helps recovery from a workout, helps with aches and pains, reduces phlegm, strengthens the brain, cleanses the liver.
Happy sleeping and let us know how these tips went in the comments.
