We’ve already told you about all the things you should do to have a better morning, but what about what you shouldn’t do? From taking steamy showers to—dun, dun dun—drinking coffee, read on for seven morning habits you’d be better off breaking.
STOP HITTING SNOOZE
We’ll admit this one takes some getting used to, but training yourself to actually get up when your alarm goes off is so worth it. Reason being, every time you hit snooze and drift back to sleep, you start a new sleep cycle that will be interrupted in a few minutes anyway. Since that cycle will end before it’s truly finished, chances are you’ll feel even more tired when you wake up for good.
STOP TAKING LONG, HOT SHOWERS
Sure, standing under near-boiling water for 15 minutes is luxurious, but long, hot showers are a bit too relaxing for the morning. This type of shower will lower your heart rate and make you feel way more ready for a nap than an energetic start to the day. Instead, take a shorter shower verging on
STOP DRINKING COFFEE
No, not altogether. Just first thing in the morning. For most people, the ideal time to drink coffee is after 9:30 a.m. If you caffeinate too early, you’re slowing your body’s natural cortisol production, which naturally wakes you up.
STOP MAKING BREAKFAST
We don’t mean stop eating breakfast, silly. We just mean you can save yourself a lot of time and energy by prepping your first meal of the day the night before. And if the thought of that gives you visions of soggy cereal and cold pancakes, know that there are a ton of breakfast recipes—like these egg sandwiches—that were designed to be made in advance.
STOP CHECKING EMAILS
It doesn’t seem like there’d be any harm in a quick scroll through your new messages while in bed, but checking emails before you’ve gotten ready for the day is typically a waste of time—and a stressful one. Most attempts at “just checking in” morph into responding to things that definitely could’ve waited another 30 minutes, and getting worked up over everything you have to accomplish before having a chance to really wake up.
STOP CHECKING SOCIAL MEDIA
What starts as an innocent click into the Instagram app all too often turns into an hour of mindlessly scrolling down bread-making-video rabbit holes, all because you made the fatal mistake of clicking into the “Explore” tab. Just wait until lunch. It’ll still be there, we promise.
STOP STRESSING OVER YOUR OUTFIT
Fretting over what to wear is a massive morning time suck that can be totally avoided by just choosing what you want to wear the night before. And if you’re someone who dresses according to your mood, pull two outfits and go with whichever one you’re feeling more come 7 a.m. This one’s a game changer.
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