Natural Morning Routines for Anxiety Relief

A large majority of people find that their mornings bring them the most amount of anxiety. When we first wake up, we often find ourselves racing from one thought to the next, worrying about what needs to be done, or simply feeling overwhelmed by whatever is coming our way.

This is known as "morning anxiety."

What happens when you first wake up has a huge impact on how you will feel throughout the rest of your day. By having certain daily habits, you can help calm your anxious mind, reduce stress hormones, and provide your mind with clarity.

Studies suggest that a healthy morning routine helps to support your body's biotic rhythms and may therefore help lower your levels of anxiety and improve your mood.

To reduce your morning anxiety, you do not need to have a complicated morning routine. Very basic daily habits, such as sunlight exposure, hydration, stretching, and mindfulness, can greatly reduce feelings of anxiety.

The purpose of this article is to discuss the following:

What specifically increases the severity of your morning anxiety?
How do morning habits influence the brain and body?
What natural morning routines relieve anxiety?
Simple daily habits to ensure a productive and relaxed day.

Why the Morning Is the Worst Time for Anxiety

People tend to be the most anxious right after waking up it is just common.

This has a lot to do with cortisol, which has a natural daily rhythm for which it would normally rise in the morning to assist our body in waking up and having energy and focus.

If a person does not typically sleep well, there is a lot of stress on their system, and this increase can be really dramatic and overwhelming.

When someone wakes up immediately checks their phone, goes to work, or drinks caffeine with an empty stomach, there is more potential for the body to go into a strong survival response.

Experts recommend creating a calming morning routine to help balance the stress hormones in your body and promote your mental wellbeing.

Morning Routine Effect on Mental Health

Your morning routine can affect a number of your body’s important biological systems, including:

Circadian Rhythm
Hormone Balance
Nervous System Regulation
Cognitive Functioning

For example, getting exposure to sunlight in the morning can help regulate the body’s internal clock and develop a better mood because it has been shown to increase the production of serotonin.

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that has been linked to happiness and emotional stability.

Another example of something that will help to counteract stress hormones is gentle physical activity, which produces endorphins, which are chemicals that improve moods naturally.

For both of these reasons, a regular morning routine will create a good, strong base.

Natural Approaches for Reducing Anxiety

The body has built-in mechanisms for dealing with stress.

Some examples of these mechanisms are as follows:

The autonomous nervous system
The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis
Neurotransmitters (e.g., serotonin and dopamine)

Because healthy habits may promote the operation of these mechanisms, they may positively affect an individual’s stress level.

For example,

performing mindfulness tools has been shown to stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system.

This will cause the individual to experience greater levels of relaxation and calmness.

Exercise reduces the level of cortisol.

Sunlight exposure has been shown to assist in regulating circadian rhythms.

According to research, even a few minutes of breathing exercises or meditation will help lower the level of stress hormones and improve the emotional balance of individuals.

This biological evidence suggests why typical morning routines are often very effective at relieving anxiety.

Morning Routines That Help Reduce Anxiety

Many common morning routines have been researched and proven to be effective.

1. Wake Up at The Same Time Each Day

The brain is most effectively wired to function when given consistent, predictable routines.

Waking at the same time each day will help keep the body’s circadian rhythms stable and help the brain regulate the release of hormones and sleep patterns.

An established sleep schedule will result in increased energy, better emotional regulation, and maximized clarity throughout the day.

Not adhering to a consistent sleep schedule will cause increased levels of stress and fatigue.

2. Drink Water Upon Awakening

After sleeping through the night, the body may be slightly dehydrated.

Drinking a glass of water in the morning may help to rehydrate the body and provide additional mental alertness.

Hydration is essential for your brain to work properly, and also decreases feelings of fatigue.

Experts recommend drinking water before caffeine drinks, as consuming caffeine without a previous food intake can increase feelings of nervousness.

3. Morning Sunlight to Reduce Anxiety

One of the most helpful habits you can incorporate into your life to decrease anxiety is getting morning sunlight.

Just 10-30 minutes of exposure to natural light in the morning can help regulate circadian rhythms, increase feelings of happiness/helplessness, and support regular sleep.

Sunlight helps your brain produce serotonin, which helps you feel more emotionally balanced and calm.

If you get up early enough (before 8AM), a simple walk outdoors can be another way to improve your mental and physical well-being.

4. Gentle Movement

Participating in physical acts to release endorphins helps reduce the amounts of stress hormones in your body.

Your morning workouts do not have to be vigorous.

Simple things such as:

stretching
yoga
walking
light workouts

are all types of gentle movement that will improve both your mood and decrease the likelihood you will feel anxious.

Research has proven that exercise helps reduce cortisol levels in your body and enhances your emotional well-being.

5. Practice Deep Breathing and Meditating

Doing breathing exercises is one of the easiest ways to help calm your nervous system.

Taking slow, deep breaths activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which decreases your heart rate and enables you to relax.

The practice of meditation or mindful breathing and/or doing either of them for five minutes or more will allow you to reduce your feelings of stress and anxiety significantly.

6. Write in Journal

Writing in a journal can be beneficial when you are trying to work through your thoughts and feelings.

Recording your anxiety, goals or positive things about yourself can help to clear your mind of excess thoughts and give you better perspective on your emotions.

Research demonstrates that writing in a journal can benefit your mental health by allowing you to organize your feelings and thoughts more clearly.

7. Eat Breakfast Alike

Breakfast is an important meal that helps to keep your energy levels balanced throughout your day.

Breakfasts should include:

Protein
Healthy fats
Complex carbohydrates

All of which will help to facilitate proper brain function and keep your blood sugar from fluctuating through the day.

When you skip breakfast or eat a breakfast full of sugar, it can lead to energy crashes throughout the day and increase your feelings of anxiousness.

8. Limit Phone Use in the Morning

Many people begin their morning by checking their social networks, emails or the news.

This habit tends to overwhelm the brain with so much information before it has even started the day.

Therefore, limiting your screen time during the first 1 hour of your day helps you maintain your emotional balance.

Research demonstrates that early morning social network use has been linked to people experiencing higher levels of stress and feeling less satisfied with their lives.

Simple Morning Routine for Reducing Anxiety

You do not need to do many activities to have a healthy morning routine.

You may want to create a simple routine, including these elements:

Waking up at the same time each day
Drinking water
Getting exposure to sunlight
Stretching or walking
Practicing deep breathing or meditation

Even a routine done for just 15 minutes can improve how you feel.

Timing is so important for developing new habits and creating long-term changes.

An example of a morning routine that reduces anxiety would be as follows:

7:00 am - Awake

Open the curtains and drink one glass of water.

7:05 am - Stretch or Light Exercise

Spend about 5 to 10 minutes stretching or walking.

7:15 am - Mindful Breathing

Breathe deeply for 5 minutes or practice meditation.

7:20 am - Enjoy a Healthy Breakfast

Eat a well-balanced breakfast.

7:30 am - Plan the Day

Create a daily schedule.

Following this routine assists in allowing your body to awake slowly, while your mind will be ready for the day.

Benefits of Developing Healthy Morning Habits Long-Term

When you regularly practice a routine you can experience the following benefits:

Decreased anxiety
Increases ability to focus
Better sleep quality
Increased energy
Improved emotional resilience

Over time these habits will provide a solid base for maintaining your mental well being.

Conclusion

Although anxiety is a normal part of many people's lives, creating daily habits to help or lessen feelings of anxiety will provide positive changes to your emotional health and well-being.

This type of natural morning routine provides an easy yet effective way to promote mental health and wellness.

By using sunlight, water, movement, mindfulness, healthy foods, you can develop a peaceful and balanced state of mind to begin your day.

Therefore creating a daily morning routine that decreases anxiety, while also increasing productivity levels, focusing better and improving your overall quality of life.

1. Why is anxiety worse in the morning?

A significant amount of people will experience an increase in their level of anxiety first thing in the morning because after waking up the body has a tendency to release a greater amount of the stress hormone known as 'Cortisol', which is a part of the body's natural way to wake up called the 'Cortisol Awakening Response'.

For those that are already experiencing higher than average levels of stress, this increase in Cortisol after waking can cause the feeling of anxiety to grow even higher.

In many cases, sleeping poorly, worrying about day-to-day life, or reading/seeing some sort of news that is stressful, right after you wake up can attribute to morning anxiety.

2. What is the best morning routine for anxiety relief?

A typical healthy routine associated with relieving anxiety will usually include a series of positive, soothing habits, such as:

Drink water after waking
Getting natural sunlight shining on your face
Practice deep breathing and/or meditation
Perform some light exercise/stretching
Eat a healthy and balanced breakfast

These positive habits can help to regulate your stress hormones, increase your mood, and help your brain prepare for the rest of the day ahead of you.

3. Can exposure to sunlight in the morning help relieve stress and anxiety?

Yes, exposure to natural sunlight when you wake up in the morning can help you increase your mood and decrease the amount of anxiety you experience. The light produced by the sun helps your brain produce a neurotransmitter called serotonin, which greatly improves your emotional stability and well-being.

Natural sunlight in the morning can also help to regulate your body's natural circadian rhythm, thus improving your overall quality of sleep and energy levels.

4. Is it possible to lower anxiety levels by exercising in the morning?

Research indicates that regular physical activity can reduce stress by decreasing production of cortisol (the hormone associated with stress) in addition to releasing endorphins (the body’s natural mood elevators).

The following types of activities may produce benefits for both your mental state and how you feel throughout the day;

Walking;
Yoga;
Light stretching.

All forms of physical movement can have positive effects on mental health, whether it is just a few minutes of light movement or much longer forms of exercise.

5. What foods help reduce anxiety in the morning?

People who eat healthy and/or balanced breakfast will feel more stable emotionally and may find themselves to be more productive and/or have more energy during the day. Below are examples of foods that may help reduce your anxiety:

Whole Grain Bread/Grains;
Eggs;
Protein Rich Foods;
Fruits & Vegetables;
Healthy Foods Such As Nuts & Avocado.

These types of foods can help stabilize your blood sugar, which in turn supports mood throughout the day.

If you want to learn more about your anxiety or mental health in general, please check out our articles on Why You Are Anxious For No Reason and also How Anxiety Impacts Your Physical Body.

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