The Importance of Daily Routines
We are creatures of habit. This can be a good thing or a bad thing. When most people think of habits, they think of habits that are bad. But the power of habits can be used to create powerful routines that keep you healthy all of your life.
Today we will help you create routines. A routine is something you can use to implement healthy habits into your days. Many of us already have routines, whether they are good or bad.
The two routines we will create is a morning routine and an evening routine.
These routines are a series of things you do when you first get up in the morning and before you go to bed at night. They don’t have to be long or complicated; they can be short and simple. They will help your body get going in the morning and wind down in the evening.
Morning Routine
Creating this routine gets your day started right. If you have a couple of simple things in the morning that you do almost every day, you will mentally and physically be ready to start your day. They don’t have to be long or even hard. Just short things in a particular order that will help you feel lie you have accomplished something early in the day.
Here is one example:
Wake up- put the coffee on- brush teeth- go to the bathroom- fill up water a bottle and drink within the next hour- look at your schedule for the day- do your exercise routine- shower/get ready for work- get everything you need for work packed and ready- leave the house for work.
Having a simple routine with healthy activities like planning for your day, exercising, and drinking water first thing in the morning will ensure you start your day right and create lifelong habits.
Evening Routine
This routine occurs right before you go to bed. If you have a simple and healthy routine right before bed, it will help your body wind down correctly. Rather than eating and watching Netflix before going straight to bed, which can cause weight gain and melatonin secretion to be inhibited, we can help our body ease into the deep sleep we need to rest and recover.
Here is one example:
[30 Minutes before bed] Start to turn off some of the bright lights in your home (having bright lights can mess with your circadian rhythms)- put away all screens (phones, tv’s, and tablets)- set up everything for tomorrow’s morning routine (setting out clothes, having coffee ready to brew, setting morning alarm)- shower- brush your teeth- think of one thing you are thankful for that day- check that all doors are locked- go to bed.
These are just a few things that could help your body get ready for bed. If you have a consistent routine at night, your body will start to wind down because it knows it is about to go to bed.
It’s like the routine triggers hormones and your mind to prepare to “land the plane”. That is a good picture for you to have at night. In the same way a pilot has a landing routine, you can have a landing routine at night. This will ensure you are doing the right things for maximum recovery and rest.
Think about your morning and evening routines. How could you change them to set you up well for your day and help you wind down at night? Take some time this week to create healthy routines that will help you implement healthy habits into your day to day life.
Remember, start slow and add small behaviors in so these routines will be sustainable. Having the right routines will have you going from Glory to Glory on a day to day basis!
Ashton Tate is the founder of Glory to Glory Fitness in Nashville, TN. They have a biblically-based health curriculum that is changing the way students think about living a healthy lifestyle by approaching health through a biblical worldview.
