Make Your Morning Routine Stress Free!

If you are like us, you are NOT a morning person. It’s hard to get out of bed when the alarm goes off and instantly be ready to tackle the day. Most people seem to just drag in the mornings and still feel tired even after getting plenty of sleep! Unlike many want to believe, the answer is NOT more caffeine – it’s actually getting quality sleep!

Quality rest/sleep is an important factor to living a healthy lifestyle. Usually once stress is reduced quality sleep follows. For awhile now we’ve been trying different things in order to make our morning routine easier and we wanted to share those with you. Remember, the #MakeYourMove campaign isn’t just about moving, it’s about an entire overall healthy lifestyle!

Some of these might be obvious but try to incorporate everything listed and watch your mornings become much less stressful!

Things to do at night to make your morning routine easier:

• Pick out your clothes for the next day, including your shoes and any accessories
• Pack your food for the day (portion your food from food prep into containers)
• Have a “no electronics policy” one hour before your bedtime – yes, this includes your phone!

You might be wondering how much sleep you should get. As we discussed in this post, research suggests 7-9 hours for the average adult. You may have to adjust your bedtime for a few weeks just to see what your “magic number” is. If you are getting the recommended amount of sleep but still feel tired, it could be time for a new mattress (we didn’t even know Kohl’s sold mattresses online!) or a new mattress topper on your exiting mattress.

If you are still struggling to get quality sleep try these extra tips below:

• Keep a journal by your bed so if you think of anything during the night you can write it down and go back to sleep
• Perform a short yoga/stretching session (try our Yoga Challenge!) before bed (and even again when you wake up)
• Try Sleepytime Herbal Tea

Also remember to take at least 1-2 complete rest days from your exercise routine!

This post is sponsored by FitFluential on behalf of Kohl's.

Clean Eat Education :: 5 Tips to Make Morning Workouts Easier

If you are a morning person like me, you may find it easier to get your workout in during the morning hours, preferable before you start your day. If you are not perky and a pleasure to be around in the morning, but mornings work better for your schedule, here are a few tips you can use to make your transition to morning workouts easier!

5 Tips to Make Morning Workouts Easier

1. Plan your workouts for the week and know which body part and/or exercises you will be doing the night before. Let's face it - you don't need the added stress of having to think about your workout in the morning. Just get up and get it done!

2.  Pack your gym bag the night before! Don't have time to come home and shower? The night before, choose two or three outfits you would want to wear the next day (or one if you are good at that - I need options!) and have them hanging, ready to go with everything you need for the outfit. Pack all of your toiletries, makeup, towels, flip flops and undergarments in your bag the night before. Set it by the outfits, so you can make an easy choice and grab the hanging clothes and your gym bag in the morning.

3. Pack your food for the day the night before! You HAVE to eat something before you workout, so set up a water bottle and some dry oatmeal on your counter the night before. Add some hot water to the oatmeal and take it with you in the car. Grab the rest of the food you packed for the night before and you will be on your way to a good day with no excuses about food!

4. Find a support system for morning workouts! Make a friend at the gym, make a pact with one of your friends to go together or join a class where you KNOW you will be missed if you won't be there. This will help to hold you accountable and you will be less likely to flake on your workout.

5. Make morning wake up time less traumatic! Set your alarm for 15 minutes before you need to get up! This will give you a little time to toss and turn and make you feel like you can hit snooze one more time and may make you feel less "slighted" on sleep! Find a tune on your phone's alarm or your alarm clock that doesn't jolt you out of bed, but that eases you out so you aren't inclined to be cranky!

And...here's one more tip! Sleep in your workout clothes! It's easier when you just have to put on shoes, grab all of your packed bags and off you go! NO EXCUSES!

Do you have any tips for making your morning workout easier?

P.S. Here are our tips for evening workouts!