5 Benefits of Morning Rituals

Start your day on the right foot by taking a few minutes to do something for yourself in the morning. Incorporating rituals into your mornings can help reduce stress and increase productivity!

From setting intentions, writing down goals, or giving yourself some time with nature – there are plenty of ways to set up positive habits that will impact not only today but also tomorrow. It doesn't have to be complicated or involve waking up at 5 am; even simple small things like sipping coffee while reflecting, putting on tunes as you get dressed, and being intentional about how you start your day matter too!

Benefits of Morning Rituals

Evidence-based research has proven that a morning ritual can bring many advantages.

More Productive Days

Taking a few moments at the beginning of the day to organize your thoughts and plan your day can go a long way regarding productivity. Going into work groggy, grumpy, and unprepared can leave you feeling unfulfilled and unaccomplished. Having a productive day is not just about making a to-do list either.

Having a morning ritual that makes you feel good about yourself and start the day off in a relaxed mood will also help you be more productive. Instead of rushing into all the tasks you must complete with a scrambled mind.

Less Stress

Stress is a normal human reaction to having too much to do in too little time. There are a lot of physical and mental ways that stress can affect you over time. This includes increased anxiety, developing depression, fatigue, headaches, and even body pains from tension.

One of the ways that having a morning ritual benefits you is that you know what to expect every morning and so your brain has less to worry about. Self-care rituals like exercise, journaling, or meditation can reduce stress levels throughout the day because you can approach challenges with a clear mindset.

Live Healthier

Suppose your morning rituals include pressing the snooze button multiple times, scrolling on social media while chugging a boiling cup of coffee, skipping breakfast, and violating several traffic laws as you speed to work…well. In that case, that’s not great, but you are not alone. Many people get into bad habits and do not know how to break them. Having a morning ritual is a great way to implement healthy habits into your life.

Having a schedule in the morning can help you make time in your day for working out and eating a healthy breakfast. These healthy habits will make you feel more energized and productive throughout the day and benefit your long-term health. It is tempting to hit the snooze button (we have all been there), but once you get into a routine, your body will adjust to waking up at a specific time. Having morning rituals that you enjoy looking forward to will motivate you to get out of bed in the mornings.

Better Memory

Have you ever taken a long commute to work and settled into your work when you suddenly groan and realize you forgot to complete an important task at home? Having a morning routine can help to prevent you from forgetting important things. Imagine working all night on writing a paper to forget it at home on the due date. Instances like that are avoidable by using morning rituals to take time to reflect on the day ahead of you and prepare.

Getting into a regular morning routine means that you do the same tasks every morning, which makes it harder to forget things. Creating a to-do list is a morning ritual that will have a huge benefit in helping you to remember all the important things you have to get done that day. Being clear-headed in the morning helps to improve memory.

Make More Time for Yourself

Morning routines save time because you do not waste time thinking about what to do next. This means you can get more sleep or get more things done in the morning. Having time for yourself in the morning means you can spend more time getting ready for the day. You can plan out your outfits and spend more time on your appearance, making you feel confident and more put together.

For many people, the morning hours are a sacred time. Families with children will appreciate the quiet and calm before the kids wake up. Take time for yourself in the morning to walk outside and smell the fresh air. Write in your journal, burn a candle, meditate, take a bath, and pamper yourself, and you will feel better all day. There are many ways that you can pamper yourself in the morning.

Why Morning Routines Are Important

All the listed benefits have one thing in common: they will help you be a more successful person with a more positive attitude. Both your career and personal life can benefit from morning rituals.

For Your Career

People who work in sales or management know how far a positive attitude can go. Being in a leadership position is a lot of responsibility, and coming to work every morning in “pre-coffee mode” can be off-putting for your future career prospects.

• Improved leadership skills
• Improved decision-making
• Look better by spending more time on your appearance
• Inspire others to be like you
• Positive mood
• Increased productivity
• More confidence

Having a confident attitude can go a long way in the professional world. If you can’t manage to brush your hair or lint roll the cat hair from your slacks before work, then why should you be trusted to manage important clients and projects? Appearance is less important than your work ethic and performance, but they both affect how successful you can be in your career field.

For Your Relationships

Having a lot of stress and a rushed schedule can lead to less fulfilling relationships. Morning rituals allow you to take time for yourself so that you can make time for them. Spending quality time with your significant other or spouse in the morning instead of silently bumping shoulders in the kitchen as you get ready for work in a frenzy can help your relationship be more loving and healthier.

• Less morning grumpiness
• Spend more quality time
• Talk about your plans
• Less stress means fewer arguments
• Get more done as a couple or a family

The same thing goes for spending time with your children. Having an organized routine for the morning allows you to spend extra time with the kids by cooking them breakfast, going over their homework assignments, or simply seeing them off to school with a smile. Being grumpy in the morning because of stress and lack of sleep can affect the people you love. Some people get snappy or distant when they are under stress which can make significant others and children avoid you completely in the morning.

Start using morning rituals right away to get control of your time. Even if you are completely single and childless, your relationships can benefit from a morning ritual. You could check up on an older relative or parent, text a friend, or meet up with a coworker for coffee and a morning stroll with the extra time you make in the mornings.

For Your Mental Health

The importance of mental health has become more obvious to society in recent times. In the past, many people neglected their mental health when trying to be more productive or handle a heavy workload/responsibility. We know now that mental health plays an important role in how productive and successful we can be. Morning rituals make time for you to do things that improve your mental health.

• Journalling
• Self-care
• Meditation
• Exercise
• Less stress

Being too stressed out is bad for you in all aspects. Creating a morning routine that benefits your mental health will have positive benefits that spill out into other areas of your life. People who struggle with anxiety, ADHD, and depression can improve their mental health and reduce the severity of their symptoms by using healthy morning rituals.

Of course, burning a candle in the morning is not a replacement for seeing a mental health professional if you need one, but taking time to focus on your mental health can certainly help. Therapists, life coaches, and doctors all recommend having a routine in place.

For Your Physical Health

We have already discussed in detail why stress is bad for your health and how morning rituals can reduce stress, but what are the other ways morning rituals can benefit your physical health? Having a routine will free up the time in the morning that you would usually spend scrolling on your phone or trying to decide what to do first (procrastinating). Structured daily schedules are an effective way to be more productive overall, including for your health.

• Exercise more
• Eat healthier
• Get more sleep
• Wake up with more energy

You do not have to wake up earlier to have a morning routine. When you have a list of things that you need to do each morning, it becomes easier to take care of the necessary tasks in a shorter amount of time. This way you can catch a few minutes of extra sleep. Your body will naturally fall into a rhythm of going to sleep and waking up at a certain time which will make you feel more rested when the dreaded alarm clock goes off. The alarm clock may not be so dreaded when you have a healthy breakfast and self-care routine to look forward to. It will eventually become effortless to wake up at the same time every day.

One of the best times to exercise is in the morning because it gives you a rush of endorphins and promotes energy levels to start the day. A lot of people have difficulty finding the motivation to work out first thing in the morning, but with a daily routine, it will become easier. A simple walk around the block while you drink your coffee and watch the sunrise is a great way to get your blood flowing first thing in the morning.

Self-Care for Mornings

Morning rituals are a routine of doing the same thing every morning until you get into a natural habit. You can use the mornings to get things done, care for yourself, and spend time with loved ones. The quiet hours of the morning are great for journaling and reflecting on the day you have ahead of you.

Many areas of your life can benefit from having a routine of morning rituals. You can be more productive and successful at work, have more fulfilling relationships with your loved ones, and take better care of your mental/physical health. Each day starts with a morning, so why not start it on a positive note? Leave bad habits in the past and introduce new, healthier habits with a morning routine.

Studies have shown that morning rituals promote higher energy levels and less stress during the day. They also can free up time to spend on yourself, such as pampering your skin and hair, dressing nicely, writing, meditating, or just enjoying a cup of coffee in peace. Healthy habits like cooking breakfast instead of getting drive-thru fast food or taking a morning walk can improve your health for years to come.

It may take some time to get used to a new morning routine, so don’t be too hard on yourself if you mess up at first. Before you know it, your morning rituals will flow so naturally that you will forget that you ever used to have chaotic, rushed mornings in the past.