In summer, I love getting up early, but during the cold, dark months, mornings are not my happiest time of the day.
While I can easily get up at 5 AM during summer months, I sometimes sleep until 8 AM and still feel sluggish after getting up during the winter days.
I deeply admire anyone who lives in a city where the sun shines throughout the whole year. I guess my life would be much easier in one of these cities. Yet, I don’t plan to emigrate anytime soon, so I had to come up with other ideas on how to increase my energy level on cold, lazy mornings.
Here are five of my favorite morning routines to increase my energy and level up my mood:
1. Drink a cup of warm water with lemon
I am a sweet tooth, so drinking my water with lemon is quite a challenge, but it’s totally worth it.
It doesn’t only give me an energy boost and wake me up through the sour taste, but it also comes with many more benefits.
Drinking a sufficient amount of water in the morning is critical anyway as our bodies dehydrate during the night. Warm water with lemon adds up to that and helps you fight dehydration right after getting up.
But besides that, it comes with several health benefits:
- We all know that lemons are a great source of vitamin C and help to strengthen our immune system, that’s a good reason to drink your cup of warm lemon water.
- However, lemons are also rich in potassium, calcium, and magnesium.
- On top of that, lemons fight infections as they are antibacterial.
- Your digestive health will thank you too, and lemon water can even act as a detoxifying agent, especially if you practice intermittent fasting.
I guess these are enough reasons to prepare your cup of lemon water tomorrow.
Sometimes, I also add other ingredients like turmeric or ginger, as these come with additional health benefits, but on most lazy mornings, I just go for the lemon.
2. Use a dry skin brush before showering
You shouldn’t do that more than two times per week, but you can use it as a secret weapon for your super-sluggish days.
Dry brushing the skin helps with the blood circulation, and as a result, you’ll feel more energized and awake.
This one also comes with additional benefits as it helps to avoid cellulite and makes your skin softer and more radiant.
Additionally, I also find dry-brushing meditative. Even though it doesn’t take more than five to ten minutes, for me, dry brushing is a great self-care ritual when I don’t feel very well after waking up.
3. Take a cold shower
If the brushing doesn’t help to maximize your energy level, jumping under a cold shower might be the most effective way to energize your body.
Admittedly, I hate cold showers. I hate the cold in general, and putting my body under cold water is a considerable challenge. And I don’t do it too often, but when I feel too lazy, it’s the best way to give my body a quick energy boost.
There is no chance of feeling inactive or slow after taking an ice-cold shower. Promised.
And guess what? This routine also comes with additional health benefits!
For example, cold showers improve your immune system. So, if you take a cold shower and drink your warm lemon water daily, you might be able to decrease the odds of getting a cold drastically!
Additionally, cold showers strengthen your discipline and lower your stress level. As it takes lots of effort to put yourself under cold water, your emotional resilience tremendously increases through cold showering.
4. Practice yoga (or stretching exercises)
I know that many people like to meditate in the morning. For me, that’s impossible. I almost sleep-in whenever I try meditation before being fully awake and energized. It just doesn’t work for me.
However, what works perfectly is a slow yoga practice or stretching exercises.
I am not a yoga-professional. I’ve never done professional yoga at all. I just chose a YouTube video and try to follow the yoga girl on my laptop’s screen.
Of course, I can’t keep up with every exercise, but that’s not necessary. I just do what works for me and what feels good for my body.
I realized how even a 10-minute stretching routine helps me to improve my energy level and feel happier, especially if I turn some nice, slow music on.
5. Tidy up
For some reason, I find tidying up relaxing and energizing at the same time.
My boyfriend and I are living in quite a small apartment, and our living room equals our workroom. Even though he doesn’t care, I need a clean and tidy workplace in order to concentrate and get my work done efficiently.
If the room is messy, I get distracted all the time. And for some reason, I find it refreshing to tidy up before even doing my morning routine.
It gives me a sense of clarity and control, which, in return, energizes me mentally. Plus, I move my body, so I also get energized physically.
Bottom Line
I honestly admire those who wake up and start their days full of energy. Even though I’ve already read many books around morning routines and habits in general, I find it really hard to win my mornings during the cold, dark winter months.
I had to try a lot of routines until I finally found my top five that help me energize my body and mind quickly during my lazy mornings, but it was totally worth the trial and error.
1. Drink a cup of warm water with lemon: The sour taste will instantly wake you up. Additionally, the health benefits make this habit worth trying, even if you are already a morning person.
2. Use a dry skin brush before showering: It’s meditative, and it improves your circulation. However, don’t do that more than two times per week as it could irritate your skin.
3. Take a cold shower: That’s undoubtedly the quickest way to boost your energy level. Also here: Health benefits included!
4. Practice yoga (or stretching exercises): There is no right or wrong to moving your body slowly; however, I prefer doing it with the help of a YouTube video.
5. Tidy up: Especially for those of you working from home, this might have the same effects as for me: tidying up gives me a sense of control and energy. I usually do it right before my morning routine as it helps me to wake up fully and also energizes my body as I need to move around.