The Perfect Morning in 30min:
Give yourself one perfect 30min morning and I guarantee you'll change something significant in your morning routine for a positive impact on your health. Not 2 months, not 2 weeks, not even 2 hours... 30 minutes. Here is my 30min morning routine which is the culmination of recommendations from no less than a dozen masters of health, wellness and athletic performance. This is for everyone and can be done by anyone, need not be a boundary pushing athlete
Wake up properly... Sleep and wake as closely linked to the sun as possible and, after 8hrs sleep. Few lifestyle risk factors are as dangerous as too little sleep. Decreased sleep causes drastic spikes in metabolic diseases (stroke, heart attack, diabetes, and cancer) rates. In fact, the morning after spring daylight savings time adjustment, where we lose an hour of sleep, has the highest rate of heart attack compared to any other day of the year. Deresased sleep also leads to increased risk of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Dementia and Parkinson's. Also expect increases in the fat around the abdominal area. Fat in this area has the most detrimental impact on health due to the proximity of the vital organs. Sleep is not only one of the 3 pillars of health along with physical activity and nutrition, sleep is actually the foundation of good health.
Immediately drink a tall glass (500ml-ish) of water with a squeeze of lemon and pinch of sea salt. Himalayan pink salt is the gold standard and one of the most nutrient dense substances you can put in your food hole. This is like a shower to wake up all your internal organs and has a major impact on normalizing the vital functions of these organs. Start your organs before you start your day.
Get out of bed and make it. If you make your bed it's the days first completed task, and a victory for the day. Jocko Willink, author of Extreme Ownership and Discipline Equals Freedom and all around bad ass navy seal, links the victory of the made bed to momentum, which breeds motivation, which in turn builds increased momentum. Make your bed and your day has started with positive momentum. All proactive self discipline, nothing reactive. Which brings me to my next point, no phone first thing in the morning.
NO CELL PHONE, NO EMAIL for the first 30min upon waking. Or until you complete your perfect 30min morning. You wanna be proactive and get the jump on the day. Not be reactive and see some frustration inducing email or text... And zero social media. I think there's pretty strong consensus increased social media viewing time is correlated to negative mental health signs and symptoms.
Let the sun hit your skin for 5 minutes. Inside the deepest most primal part of your brain, let's call it your lizard brain, is an internal time clock called your circadian clock or rhythm. This 5 minutes causes a glorious hormonal cascade that tell's your whole body to wake up and start the day. It also does wonders when you want to try to sleep well at night and far better than a vitamin D pill. During the 5 minutes in the sun complete the following 3 elements of your perfect morning.
Practice gratitude x3... I prefer to write down, but at least say aloud, 3 very simple, but specific, things you are grateful for. Few things will bring as much happiness and joy to your life as taking a few seconds each day to remember some of the true beauty and gifts you already enjoy in life. Happiness isn't a thing to accomplish it's a state of mind entirely controlled by ones self. Happiness is a decision to appreciate and be grateful for what you have. "Comparison is the thief of joy" -Theodore Roosevelt. Also see above comment about avoiding social media to improve happiness.
Reflection journal of accomplishments (and record anything that makes you smile)... I'm gunna be forthcoming in my dishonesty on this one, you won't get this done in only 2 minutes. But to keep the spirit of the 30minute morning alive humour me. This is where you list 3 accomplishments you are proud of. The accomplishments can be in the last year, season, month, week, day this is up to you. This is an important way for you to link in to your true self. In a world where we do a lot of very big and important things for others we often forget who we are, or what it means to be whoever it is we are. This is connecting to your true passion or your true self. Self reflection and acknowledging accomplishments which bring you pride, joy and self worth give you insight to your soul or your passion and these insights are not to be ignored. Now move your body.
Push-ups and body weight squats. One minute of each or whatever you like to do to get the blood flowing a little for 2 minutes. This isn't your workout for the day but it is enough to release a little BDNF (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor) aka miracle-grow for your brain. This BDNF stuff causes some the the most beneficial outcomes for brain health and performance we can get. Increases in BDNF correlates to: Decreased incidence of neurodegenerative diseases, improves leaning by 20%, and significantly improves the type of brain power needed for planning and organizing. All fantastic boosts at the start of the day.
Shower with the last 20sec in cold water. Personal hygiene aside, there is a reason everything feels better after a shower. Ending your shower with a 20sec cold shower will also add the many benefits of cold shock proteins and a norepinephrine boost to trigger a cascade of neurological and cardiovascular protection. Increased levels of cold shock and heat shock proteins have been correlated to drastic decreases in actual damage incurred by the body due to heart attack and stroke. This means not only are you far less likely to have a heart attack or stroke, but if you do, you are far less likely to die as a result. You can read my entire BLog below that expands upon the many benefits and a how to guide for both the cold and hot thermo-therapies. Now it's time to focus.
Meditate for 10min. There are volumes of books written on all the physiological, psychology and sociological benefits of meditation. Meditation is not hippy nonsense, it is however the most powerful tool we have to improve our mental health and boost our brain power. One great book written by an ardent critic, turned reluctant meditation spokes person Dan Harris is called 10% happier. This book is an easy read and well written exploration of the power of meditation to positively change your life. 10 minutes of meditation is in fact the largest and most important element of the perfect 30min morning. Tim Ferriss is an author who has sold millions of copies of this best selling books: Tools of Titans and Tribe of Mentors. Both are 600 page books that are essentially detailed interviews with the worlds top performers is every field of interest from athletics to economics and there is one glaringly common thread connecting over 90% of these giants in their fields... MEDITATION. Yes, after interviewing hundreds if not thousands of the best humans mankind has to offer Tim, and the leaders themselves, express the absolute necessity of meditation to both their success and well being. Tim highlights meditation as the single best change a person can make to become both more successful and happy. If you are new to meditation I suggest downloading the Headspace app and trying the 10 free meditation lessons in 10 days. If that seems like too much of a commitment click this YouTube link to a single 10min meditation and play it every morning after your shower. This is how I implement my daily meditation. Headspace 10min meditation YouTube link: https://youtu.be/oVzTnS_IONU
Have a protein & fruit shake/smoothie. There is very little quality nutrition advice which works for everyone, however, protein is by far the most neglected macronutrient and the one that makes up the building blocks to every vital system in your body. Protein is the most essential nutrient for your breakfast and as Aubrey Marcus author of Own the Day, Own Your Life puts it: "if you aren't going to have a breakfast high in protein you might as well skip food all together for the morning and gain the many benefits of a morning fast and eat nothing at all until lunchtime." See my BLog below to learn about the many biological benefits to incorporating regular fasts into your life. We need about 1-1.5g of protein per pound of lean body weight (body weight - body fat %) to even maintain your basic strength and muscle mass. As athletes we need significantly more to benefit from training. If you are strength training in any way and not eating adequate protein you are wasting most of the potential benefits from your training. Most athletes and patients who are struggling to improve strength or increase lean muscle mass fail in the kitchen by not ingesting adequate levels of proteins. I don't care if it's a protein powder shake, scrambled eggs or any other quality protein just get it in your food hole in the morning. Side note on protein powders: You will hear much debate online about the ideal make-up of specific amino acids necessary for the perfect protein powder, these debates miss the most important factor, preference of taste and texture. All you need to know is the best protein powder for you is the one you like the taste of and will consume consistently. See my BLog below on the 7 Simple Dietary Truths below for a further explanation of no nonsense nutritional advise without a pitch to sell you something. Now it's time to attack the day!
That's it, the secret to having a perfect morning in 30mins. I understand the hundred excuses that went through your head about how this isn't possible for you because you have kids, or a career or a spouse or whatever else you like to cling to that allows you to avoid change in your life. Now throw all those out and give this just 30 minutes of your life. Rest assured you will not regret a single second of this perfect morning.
Dr. Brad Murray
- Helping to deliver the tools so you can be better than yesterday.