3 Reasons You Can’t Stick to Your Healthy Morning Routine (and how to fix it)
In this blog post, I’m sharing 3 reasons why your healthy morning routine may not be sticking.
If you started the new year with great intentions to build a healthy morning routine like doing Yoga and meditation, journaling and having nourishing breakfast.
But despite your initial motivation, you struggle to stay consistent long enough to see real, lasting results, and start saying things like…
“I’ll try again tomorrow… or maybe Monday.”
“I should have gone to bed earlier.”
“Maybe I’m just not a morning person.”
“I need a better bedtime routine…”
Then read on!
So here are 3 reasons why your healthy morning routine may not be sticking.
Reason #1 You’re following your favorite wellness influencer’s morning routine or one recommended by successful people
At first, following your favorite wellness influencer’s or a successful person’s morning routine may seem exciting and inspiring. It looks convincing, so you give it a try.
But soon, you might find yourself:
Sacrificing sleep or other priorities just to wake up earlier and fit in a long routine. Leading to sleep deprivation, lower energy, and reduced productivity.
Forcing yourself into a routine that doesn’t feel natural. Which can cause exhaustion, frustration, and eventually, giving up altogether.
Just because a routine works for someone else doesn’t mean it’s right for you.
We are all unique individuals. The best morning routine is one that aligns with your true nature, goals and lifestyle. Not just what’s trending.That said, Ayurveda does recommend foundational morning habits beneficial for everyone, like tongue scraping and ideal waking up time (read more in my Ayurvedic morning routine blog).
However, practices like yoga or exercise should be tailored to your Ayurvedic Dosha, the season, and your stage of life.
The first step to creating a personalized, healthy morning routine is to discover your Ayurvedic Dosha, mind-body type. If you haven’t already, take my Dosha quiz to find out.
Reason #2 Your evening light environment is not optimized
One of the reasons why you may wake up feeling exhausted, hitting snooze multiple times and all you want to do is to stay in bed, is that you are not optimizing your evening light environment.
If your evening light environment is not optimized, no matter how much you plan to wake up early for exercise, meditation, or a nourishing breakfast, you probably struggle to find the energy to follow through. Leaving you feeling behind and frustrated before the day even begins.
I definitely experienced this myself!
If you are exposed to a lot of artificial blue light after sunset, it will disrupt melatonin production and increase cortisol levels, which can impact your sleep (and overall health).
Tips to reduce blue light exposure after sunset:
- Use dim, below-eye-level lighting instead of bright overhead lights.
- Wear orange or red blue-light-blocking glasses in the evening.
- Dim your screen brightness and use software/apps that shift the screen color to amber or red.
Reason #3 You are eating dinner too late in the evening
If you keep waking up multiple times during the night, have a hard time falling back to sleep and feel groggy and sluggish in the morning, late-night dinners (I’m talking after 7pm) could be the culprit.
You might also be struggling with losing or maintaining weight. Even if you follow specific diets and see some initial results, the changes don’t seem to last… you keep slipping back into old habits, feeling frustrated and stuck in the same cycle.
Here’s why eating late can be a problem:
Late Bedtime: Eating late often leads to a later bedtime, resulting in less sleep and morning fatigue.
Disrupted Sleep: Your body is busy digesting instead of winding down, leading to restless sleep and frequent awakenings.
Blood Sugar Spikes: High-carb or sugary meals at night can cause blood sugar fluctuations, making you wake up in the middle of the night.
Hormonal Imbalances: Late dinners can throw off your circadian rhythm, disrupting melatonin and cortisol levels, which affects your sleep quality.
Weight Gain: Metabolism slows down in the evening, meaning excess calories are more likely to be stored as fat rather than burned for energy.
For restful sleep and a refreshed morning, I highly recommend eating dinner before 7 PM.
If you’re new to Ayurveda or even you have taken a Dosha quiz before this one will reveal something new – I promise 😊 Take this quiz and discover your Ayurvedic Dosha (mind-body type), uncover your strengths and weaknesses, and find out what might be holding you back from living your best life.
Please feel free to forward this to a friend, colleague or family member who you feel could benefit.