Morning Routine

Most of us with young children are used to being yanked from our sleep by the calling, crying or prodding of a little one! Parenting young ones is exhausting and we’ll often sleep until we’re needed again. The thing is, the way sleep works, there are times in our sleep cycle when we’re ready to wake and times when we are really not! Even if we haven’t had enough sleep, waking at the end of a sleep cycle or from a light sleep stage, we’re more likely to feel okay about waking up and getting on with it. When we get disturbed during deep sleep we feel most groggy and often irritable. If you start the day in an irritated way, it can set the tone for your day. Likewise, when you’re prompted to wake up and jump into action to meet the demands of your family, you’re starting the day on the defence – it’s not great for your mindset and attitude towards the day ahead. Have you ever been woken by a little one at say 5a.m and then resettled everyone to sleep and you’re nicely back into a deep sleep then, boom, it’s time to get up?! I have. I know exactly how this feels. The being woken at 5a.m wasn’t too bad and I actually would think to myself, hmm, I could actually just start the day now, I feel okay. But my scrumptious pillow would win me over and I’d go back off to sleep. A short while later, when I’m deeply asleep, I’d be woken again and this time for the day. With two children needing my immediate services! Not only would I feel grumpy because I’d been woken from deep sleep, I’d also feel that instant pressure and demand. This kind of thing fills us with defensive and resentful thoughts particularly as we’re not yet awake enough to think rationally! What time do your little ones wake you up? Let me know in the comments below and tell me how do you feel when you start the day? So, taking back ownership of how you begin your day is going to set you up for a brighter life! Of course, it’s not easy when you have a baby and if that’s you, you just do what you need to do to survive! That entire first year is going to be demanding. But listen up and do this when you can…As soon as you’re little ones are into a blissful sleep routine, wake up before they do! Being a sleep expert, it was naturally a priority for me to get our children sleeping soundly and doing the best they could as soon as they could. It wasn’t easy, the best things are never easy to achieve right? But the committed effort to guiding their development of healthy sleep habits is what led to the eventual ability for me to own my morning again! So once you can, start your day before someone else wakes you up. Take some time to let your mind wake up and process your thoughts. Maybe you’d enjoy some meditation or journalling or even a brain dump onto a piece of paper as us mums always have plenty of open running apps up there! Some exercise at home or a walk if it’s possible are brilliant ways to not only take great care of your physical body and energy but to also free your mind, release endorphins and feel good! Starting the day by taking care of you is a lot like fitting your own mask before helping others. If you’re in a good mental state and have decent energy levels, you’ll be a far better wife, mum, friend, colleague and you’ll feel happier and more fulfilled within as well. It’s not selfish. It’s being your best self for others as much as for you. Like everything else, it has to become a habit for it to be really effective so I like to set little 30 day challenges. It takes 21 days to form a habit but let’s go for 30 to make sure! I’ve created a ‘Master your Morning’ printable for you to download – click the link below to get your copy free. It’s a one-page…. To fill in each day. Do this for 30 days and you’ll feel the improvement to your daily life! Click here to download your planner >> Master your Morning