By Ifediogor Uche
Good health as is being said is a luxury which everyone wants but some people struggles for it, they cannot afford.
The old cliche that quipped “Health is wealth” can never be overemphasized. If a man is healthy, he can actually be strong enough to create wealth, but if a man is not healthy or sick per se he would not be able to create wealth. All his energy would be channeled to restoring his health.
As humans, we pass through a lot of stress (either from our place of work, our family, schools, mentally etc.).
Amidst our busy schedules, we tend to forget to give attention to one of the most important aspects of our life which is our health.
Sadly but truth ,when it comes to issue of our health ,some of us more often than not do not pay much attention to our health unless it gets to the boiling point .This is absurd!
In our daily activities the little things that you do each day, taking good care of your health should never be omitted. Certain things that add up to being healthy and fit should be paramount.
Being healthy should be everyday business. While we work, and have fun we should be mindful at the same time conscious of our health. It’s better to spend time for your health by being fit and healthy than to spend wealth to get back our health.
Your morning routines may actually find a way to affect your day positively or negatively. It could sets the tone for the rest of the day
It is true that some of us don’t like routine work, on the other hand some of us feel so much better when sticking to routines. I, personally found it so hard to get on my routine when i started. It was like a herculean task.
Being in bed feels so good that you can’t get up, so you hit snooze .Sometimes, i will wake up to the sound of the alarm i set to wake me up and do some exercises but trully, lay back again.
I struggled for awhile until I changed the time I go to bed. I was like a night crawler ,always going to bed late and waking up late. However, i had to discipline myself to achieve my goal.
I strongly believe that some persons might have fought to feel properly awake in the mornings, in one way or the other. This is natural.
It’s really never too early for you to stay healthy. A good morning routines provides you with much of health benefits, both mentally and physically.
Consequently, there are little things that will make you feel more awake and full of energy in the morning. I have some little tips to keep you awake and strong in the morning.
8 Ways To Stay Healthy And Strong In The Morning.
A good healthy morning routine or routines has a great way of affecting the rest of our day positively.
To help get your day off to a better, and healthier start and be strong in the morning, follow these tips:
1.Taking Few Minutes To Stretch.
A few stretches before you get out of bed can do a great deal to your body. It can really be helpful. When you move your body your brain awakens.
Studies have shown that movement wakes up the brain by increasing oxygen flow,which helps keep your attention focused, reduce inflammation and manage stress.
Take a few minutes to stretch before getting out of the bed.
2.Do Some Exercise.
People are actually different in their lifestyle and also the time for them to engage on exercises.
When it comes to exercise, most times the best time of the day to get in a workout session is early morning. Your jogging, hitting the gym and some cardio vascular exercise could be done as early in the morning to kick start your day.
Studies has shown that regular exercise helps to improve and boost our immune system. When you engage yourself in cardiovascular exercises for at least 30 minutes every morning, you’ll definitely be strong and fit throughout your day.
So, regular exercise is also a good way to start up our day.
3.Take A Cold Shower.
It is quite debatable that many people prefer warm showers to cold showers. Some who might be sick would opt out of using cold water shower especially when they are cold.
Of course, warm water shower has its benefits. However, some studies have shown that using cold water may be beneficial to physical and mental health too.
After a night sleeping, your body often needs a kick to start firing on all cylinders – a cold shower is the real deal because cold shower wakes you up.
Cold shower activate your body. It helps you wake up in the morning. Cold shower in the morning does more than wake your body up, it improves your circulation.
Researchers have found that the shock of a cold shower when hit on your body increases your metabolic rate and makes you less fatigued. This shock also increase oxygen intake heart rate and alertness.
Cold water reduces muscle soreness after workout or exercises. Cold showers should have a place in your daily routine to stay healthy and strong in the morning.
4.Hydrate Yourself.
During the night whilst we go to bed and retire for the day we actually stop drinking water when we are asleep.
Most times ,we actually sweat quite a lot, during the time we are sleeping, this leaves us a little dehydrated when we wake up in the morning because we lose water through the skin as we sweat.
We still lose water when we breath through moisture and through the making of urine in our kidney.
Studies have shown that even mild dehydration can decrease alertness and negatively affects concentration, your best bet is drinking water as soon as you wake up.
First thing each morning, even before brushing, your mouth drink at least 8 ounces of water.
Overnight, we tend to get dehydrated, and drinking the water upon waking will replenish what you’ve lost, flush out toxins and possibly kick-start your metabolism.”
I have been doing this right from my adolescent age. This was taught by my dad who doesn’t joke with that morning ritual. So ,to start your day healthier and strong you could incorporate this tip into your daily routine.
The six to eight hours of recommended nightly sleep is a long period to go without any water consumption. Drinking a glass or two of water right when you wake up, however, is a good way to quickly rehydrate your body, Batayneh says.
5.Make Your Breakfast Healthy.
In addition to our daily routine to stay strong and healthy in the morning and even in life generally, what we eat has a very big role to play.
Paying attention to what we are eating, how much we eat is a very important aspect of healthy living which should be in our morning routines. However , this requires us to take responsibility.
There is a saying that says “We are what we eat”. Some of us don’t really understand this. The question here is: How often do we pay attention to this expression or do we just see it as an old cliche that keeps popping up?
The truth is that you can’t live life without food. It behoves me to say that it’s not just all about eating but what do you eat? A way to maintain good health is eating the right thing because what we eat actually has a huge influence in our body and health generally.
Research has shown that a poor diet has been proven as a cause of conditions such as hypertension, heart and blood vessels diseases, obesity, and diabetes.
Suffice to say, Our physical and mental well-being is directly linked to what we eat and drink.
In order to kick-start our mornings with the best possible energy that will make our day productive, we should eat a healthy breakfast.
Food therefore, is one of the important factor in our daily living and eating right put your body in good mood. The nutritional components of what we eat can go a long way in making or marring our health.
Unhealthy diets can pose to be dangerous to your health while a healthy diet can make you feel good.
A healthy breakfast doesn’t just provide you energy to work through the day, it kickstarts your metabolism, balances blood sugar levels, assists in weight management, even promotes heart health and improves cognitive function.
Not eating late for breakfast after waking up in the morning makes you more alert and keeps your energy levels from plummeting. The best time to have breakfast is within two hours of getting up.
According to Larson a nutritionist coach “The sooner you eat breakfast after you wake up, the better it is for your metabolism,” says Larson.
Eating healthy & on time goes a long way in achieving your fitness goals.
However make sure you stick to healthy choices, because what you are eating is very important. Eating simple sugars or a breakfast high in fat could lead to some chronic illness,obesity, diabetes, spike in blood sugar etc.
According to a nutritious coach
“A nutritious breakfast may look different to different people depending on various factors like your weight, gender and food preferences,” says Larson. “Overall, I think being consistent with choosing foods that add essential nutrients, such as protein, fiber, vitamins and of course, some healthy fats, to your diet is important for breakfast,” she explains.
“Keeping balance in mind and trying to have a serving from at least three or even four different food groups in your breakfast meal is a great way to start your day,” suggests the health and wellness coach.
Eat protein rich foods. Eat whole grain cereal with low-fat milk, oatmeal and walnuts, hard-boiled eggs ,like fresh fruit, cottage cheese, yogurt and the host of others.
Let your food be your medicine and your medicine be your food.
6.Drink Warm Water.
In our everyday life water plays an essential role in our well-being. Water is one of the most important substances on earth. Both plants and animals needs water to survive.
Even though there is no universally agreed quantity of water that must be consumed daily. But it can also be argued today that many people don’t consume enough fluids each day.
Drinking water is often overlooked as a necessary part of staying healthy, which is very bad because plants and animals must have water to survive. There is no life without water. It is a very important solvent.
The Japanese Water Therapy recommends four glasses of water on an empty stomach.
Try starting your day with a cup of warm water. If you’re not a tea or coffee drinker, try warm water with lemon.
Drinking warm water early in the morning would help flush out some toxins in the body. It cleanses digestion and helps flush out toxins. It sooth your digestive tract and make it easier to eliminate waste from the day before.
According to Dr. Sood drinking warm water early in the morning helps boost liver and kidney functions. “If you ask a nutritionist what is the primary organ of the body, she will inevitably say it is the liver as all metabolism happens via the liver. Warm water plays a vital role in breaking down food substances and thus aids digestion.”
Drinking warm water early in the morning opens your bowel. Taking in an empty stomach can help improve bowel movements and aid constipation .
These are some of the numerous benefits of warm water.
With this tips make it a routine and a lifestyle and then watch your self stay healthy and strong.
7.Drink Green Tea.
Our body undergoes stress every now and then. It is being exposed to different harmful substance, it’s affected on a daily basis and also needs repair and maintenance.
Just like a house undergoes “wear and tear” or how a machine needs maintenance our body also needs that to work like a good well oiled machine. The body needs to be replenished and be energized.
As stated earlier,when we sleep we go hours without drinking water, so it’s important to hydrate first thing in the morning.
Drinking green tea in the morning can help you fuel your body. Green tea is rich full of flavonoids and catechins, which function as powerful antioxidants in your body.
Green tea can boost your metabolic rate and help you burn unwanted fat. It has just enough caffeine to give you a good morning energy boost and enhance your productivity.
8.Listen To Music: Morning Playlist.
It’s always a good idea to listen to some stress relieving music early in the morning.
Studies have proved that listening to music can “beneficially impact health via stress-reducing effects”.
Music has the ability to increase brain activity associated with movement and also potentially increases the feel-good chemical called dopamine. Time to update those morning playlists.
Final Thought.
Finally, sometimes we just need to change our routine affairs to be healthy, like sleeping early and waking up early. Changing it might not be easy at first but with commitment you can get it right.
Total change cannot be overcome overnight. However, change begins with you so make it a habit to achieve your goals of staying fit and healthy.
Tweak your lifestyle. This can have a great effect or at best affects your health in a positive manner.
