Even a small moment in the morning can have a positive impact on your entire day.

By starting your day consciously, you create more clarity and calm. A morning routine can also give your day structure and undoubtedly strengthens your self-discipline. It helps you set the tone for the day – what is important to you today?

There are certainly countless morning routines that I can’t go into in detail. However, I am happy to share my own morning routine and explain why I have incorporated individual points into this routine – I hope you enjoy reading it and perhaps find one or two suggestions for yourself.

My morning routine starts – curiously enough – the night before. As I regularly get up at 5.30am on weekdays, I make sure that I usually go to bed and sleep between 9.30pm and 10pm, as it is invaluable to sleep regularly for around 8 hours a night. As our sleep is not part of this article, I won’t go into detail about this, but I can highly recommend the book “Why We Sleep” by Matthew Walker.

However, I would like to share a few key points as to why it is essential to get enough sleep:

So I usually get up at 5.30 a.m. (if you have problems getting up, I highly recommend the Philips Wake-Up Light). Of course, I don’t always manage to get up at 5.30 a.m., because I’m only human – but most days it works pretty well 😃.

Before I start doing things for my morning routine, there are also two things I avoid at all costs.

For one thing, I don’t use social media until I finish my morning routine. There are numerous reasons for this, some of which I’m sure you’re already familiar with.

Not using social media allows me to stay completely with myself and my thoughts – my thoughts are not drawn to the “outside” but stay with me. I also feel that my day starts much “calmer” when I don’t use social media in the morning. Furthermore, social media also takes up some of my mental energy. Without this burden, I can concentrate on the tasks at hand in a more focused and relaxed way.

In addition, scrolling through social media is an absolute time waster – you’ve probably caught yourself sitting on the toilet and suddenly 20 minutes have passed without you having done anything really valuable for yourself. You could have used exactly these 20 – 40 minutes to establish a wonderful morning routine 😉

What I also don’t do – I don’t drink coffee for at least 90 minutes after getting up. Yes, that certainly sounds difficult for you and “unachievable” for some people – but there are good reasons.

If you consume caffeine too early, it can interfere with the body’s natural wake-up process, which includes the cortisol surge that helps break down adenosine (a compound that accumulates and promotes fatigue). So by waiting before you drink your first coffee, this mechanism works more effectively, allowing you to have more consistent energy levels throughout the day.

If you only drink your coffee about 90 minutes after your cortisol levels have dropped again, the caffeine will work more effectively. Your body then uses the caffeine optimally to increase alertness without interfering with the natural wake-up process.

I also make sure that I don’t drink coffee after 12.00 a.m., as this has a negative effect on my sleep quality (the half-life of caffeine is approx. 3-5 hours, which means that half of the caffeine is broken down after 3-5 hours. So if I drink a cup of coffee at 12.00 noon, about 1/4 of the caffeine from that cup is still in my body at 8.00 pm)

After I have not done these things, I visit the toilet briefly and then – before I brush my teeth – drink a glass of warm water. Why something as banal as warm water, you ask?

First of all, warm water promotes digestion; it stimulates the gastrointestinal tract, which prepares the body for the subsequent absorption of nutrients. It also helps to eliminate toxins that have accumulated overnight from the body via the kidneys. It also activates the lymphatic system which is also responsible for the transportation of waste products.

The body also loses a lot of fluid overnight and as we are made up of a high proportion of water, it makes sense to replenish these water reserves, otherwise your performance may suffer.

Another advantage is that warm water before brushing neutralizes the acids that have built up overnight. Brushing your teeth afterwards is therefore gentler on the enamel.

Finally, recent research has shown that drinking water before brushing your teeth can have a positive effect on the gut microbiome.

So after drinking the glass of water, I brush my teeth. I won’t go into the advantages of brushing your teeth here as you’re probably well aware of them – if not, then … well…😄

The next step is to go outside to do the main part of my morning routine. But why do I actually go outside, whatever the weather?

I have noticed that being outside in nature has many advantages for me. I simply feel calmer and more balanced there. I also have the impression that I am more present and can concentrate better.

When I sit outside, I also feel very connected to nature and everything that surrounds me. It grounds me… so when it’s not too cold I like to be outside barefoot to feel the direct contact with the earth.

Being “outside” in all weathers also increases your tolerance/resilience to different temperatures and weather conditions. If you were constantly in an air-conditioned room at 24°, sooner or later your body would only function well in this environment. Through the many different weather influences, the body learns to cope with a much wider range of temperatures/weather. I now really enjoy sitting in the rain, for example😉

(By the way, a wonderful book on the subject of “comfort” is “The Comfort Crisis” by Michael Easter)

I would also like to briefly list other scientifically proven benefits here at the end:

So after I have made myself comfortable outside (with a warm blanket in winter), I come to the main part of my morning practice. I often used to meditate or write morning pages during this time (20 minutes without thinking, writing down all the thoughts that arise during this time), but a breathwork practice like the following is currently more useful for me.

I combine several concepts that I would now like to explain to you.

After sitting upright, I start with a cycle of coherent breaths. Cohä…. What?

Coherent breathing helps to reduce stress and promote emotional well-being. Conscious breathing creates a balance between the sympathetic (activating) and parasympathetic (relaxing) nervous systems. It promotes a deeper connection between body and mind. The even breathing rhythm increases physical and emotional well-being.

In my practice, I therefore first breathe for approx. 4-5 minutes in a corresponding breathing pattern. This means breathing in for 5 seconds and then breathing out again for 5 seconds (without any noticeable pauses).

In the next step, I increase the intensity of my breathing by performing two cycles of 3 minutes each in a pattern of 2 seconds inhaling and 2 seconds exhaling. At the end of each cycle, I hold my breath for about 90 seconds. But more on that in a moment.

This form of breathing can lead to the release of endorphins and other neurotransmitters that increase general well-being. It also increases mental clarity and creativity and creates a deeper connection to your own feelings and sensations.

In this state, I am therefore receptive on a completely different level to the gratitude exercise that follows while holding my breath. While I hold my breath, I call to mind a circumstance in my life for which I am grateful at that very moment. It can be many different things – but it is most beneficial for me when I can really feel the gratitude on a deep level. That’s why I always feel what feels right for me at that moment.

After this, I perform two more cycles of 50 breaths of Kapalabhati, also known as “fire breathing”. This is a powerful breathing technique from yoga that offers numerous benefits for body and mind.

This form of breathing cleanses the airways, as the rapid exhalation removes mucus and harmful substances from the respiratory tract. Kapalabhati also calms the mind and promotes mental clarity and stimulates the Manipura Chakra, which is associated with self-confidence, strength and inner fire. These are just a few of the benefits of this breathing technique, in addition to promoting blood circulation and improving the respiratory muscles.

After this, I stay in silence with my eyes closed and set myself an intention for the day.

How do I want to live my day? Which of my character traits can I particularly express today or which characteristic would I like to emphasize more strongly today? For example, do I want to be more focused, do I want to be kinder or more loving? I stick to this intention for a while and visualize myself in my mind’s eye living out these character trait(s) and embodying them perfectly. It works best if I can also associate a feeling with it – how does it feel to be like this?

Simply by becoming aware of something, you can access it much more easily in everyday life. So whether you are thinking about buying a new car. The moment you decide on a particular model, suddenly a lot more of these vehicles seem to appear in your surroundings. It’s just that the part of your brain that is responsible for filtering environmental influences has become more permeable to this particular car because you’re more engaged with it. The same works for all other things and also for character traits that you would like to live out more.

Finally, I recall one more thing for which I am grateful at this moment. It can be really banal things (like the raindrops on my skin) as long as they are linked to a real feeling of gratitude. Gratitude is the most important quality for a fulfilled and happy life, which is why I make time for it several times in my morning routine.

Regular gratitude exercises will enable you to cope better with difficult situations. They create a positive attitude that enables us to deal with challenges more calmly. These exercises also focus on the present moment and on the positive aspects of life. This promotes increased mindfulness in everyday life and helps us to appreciate small pleasures more.

Gratitude creates a feeling of abundance. This promotes self-esteem and a deeper inner satisfaction. Gratitude meditation also reduces stress, strengthens our interpersonal relationships and improves sleep.

With so many benefits, it is actually questionable why everyone doesn’t look much more often at the things in their lives that make them grateful and try to feel this gratitude on a deep level.

To summarize, my morning breathing routine includes the following:

This has a very positive effect on my day and of course you might think that’s already worth a lot. This is true AND it has been scientifically proven that your brain structures and thought patterns change permanently and sustainably if you do this exercise continuously day after day for 1-2 months. Gratitude, for example, will then not be something that you only experience in this exercise – it will become a part of you that you can access much more easily.

The end of my morning routine consists of taking a shower… which is of course very pleasant and soothing, but I regularly end the shower with cold water. I set the temperature as cold as possible and stay in the shower for 2-3 minutes.

I’m sure most of you have already heard about the benefits of cold showers, but I’d like to list them again for you here. Since ChatGPT actually does this better than I could myself, I created this list with “his / her (?)”😄 help:

Cold showers can be a challenge at first, but with regular practice your body will get used to them and the positive effects will become more and more noticeable. In my experience, however, it is never really pleasant😉

That would be my current morning routine. I hope you were able to find something helpful for you here and even if not, I hope that the article entertained you well 😉