If you’ve ever woken up on the wrong side of the bed only to find it impacts your entire day, the good news is that simple changes when you first wake up can help get your mood back on track and increase your overall happiness.
According to science, there are a few ways that you can directly improve your attitude - and they all start by changing your morning routine.
If you want to start each day de-stressed, positive, and more knowledgable, you can incorporate this 27-minute routine pointed out by Inc into your mornings - and transform your life.
Do a breathing exercise to lower stress levels
When you wake up, it can be beneficial to begin the day on a stress-free note - as stress can be a contributing factor to mental and physical health issues.
To lower stress levels, taking five minutes to engage in a breathing exercise is all you need.
While simply breathing doesn’t sound like it could lower stress levels, according to Emma Seppälä, science director of Stanford University’s Centre for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education and author of The Happiness Track, it is possible.
On her blog, Seppälä discussed the link between breathing practices and the parasympathetic nervous system, associated with resting and digesting.
According to Seppälä, studies have found that different emotions are linked to different patterns of breath - meaning we can influence our emotions by purposefully changing how we are breathing.
By using five minutes to practice breathing techniques, you can reduce levels of the stress hormone cortisol and automatically improve your mood.
Five minutes
Write down three things you are grateful for
After boosting your mood through breathing, you should spend the next two minutes of your morning routine feeling grateful - by writing down three things you thankful for.
By spending just a few moments focusing on gratitude, you are teaching your brain to only view positives instead of negatives, as outlined by Shawn Achor, a positive psychologist and author of The Happiness Advantage.
According to Achor, techniques such as this make it possible to “reprogram our brains to become more positive,” which can in turn “improve our performance and maximise our potential.”
Two minutes
Learn something new
Finally, conclude your morning ritual by dedicating 20 minutes to learning something new - either on your own or by talking to someone else.
In 20 minutes time, you can broaden your knowledge as well as strengthen a bond - both of which are important in growing as a person.
According to Vanessa King, positive psychology expert at Action for Happiness, learning is actually a “core need for psychological wellbeing.”
Speaking to to the website Psychologies, King said: “Learning can help us build confidence and a sense of self-efficacy. It can also be a way of connection with others too.
“As human beings, we have a natural desire to learn and progress.”
By accomplishing this early in the morning, it means the day begins with self-growth - which will also improve your mood.
20 minutes
With 27 minutes each day, you can positively impact almost every aspect of your life and ensure that a bad mood won't last throughout the day.
