8 morning mistakes to avoid

Are you always in a bad mood when you wake up? Do you skip breakfast? A few simple changes can transform your mornings

Waking up with a jerk and hitting the gym: Mornings are slowdown time. Give yourself time to wake up quietly and move your muscles slowly. Says spiritual guru Mohanji, “When you wake up, turn to your right and get up from the bed. This balances the energy flow, which is latent during sleep.

Not stretching: When we wake up, our muscles, particularly the spine, is a bit stiff. Waking up without stretching makes us carry this stiffness, which compromises our productivity through the day. Move gently after waking up. If you have tight hamstrings and calves, stretch them. Just three to four gentle stretches and a few deep breaths will help.

Starting your day with a cup of tea: The secret of good metabolism is not to start your day with a cup of tea but something alkaline. Says yoga and fitness expert Mini Shastri, “Don’t start your day with something acidic like tea or coffee with sugar and milk. Drink lime juice and water. Follow it up with white tea or quality green tea.”

Checking your phone: Author Julie Morgenstern wrote in her best-seller Never Check Email In The Morning And Other Unexpected Strategies For Making Your Work Life Work, “You don’t have to immediately solve the world’s problems in the first two hours after you wake up. Your energy should be first focussed on the most important jobs, not the least important. Check your emails only once you reach office. Checking them in the morning won’t really make you productive. On the contrary, it’ll put you in an unhappy mood.”

Skipping breakfast: A slew of recent reports link skipping breakfast to obesity, diabetes and weak immunity. Wellness expert Ramon Lamba says, “If you skip breakfast, you will end up making wrong food choices through the day. You don’t have to have breakfast like a king, but you do need to eat something.”

Waking up grumpy: Most people have cluttered and over-busy mornings. They abuse their maids, curse the traffic and everyone else around them. But the good news, according to mood researcher Allison G. Harvey, Ph.D, professor of psychology at the University of California, is that morning bad mood lasts only for about 20 minutes!

Not planning the day ahead: Do you pack your clothes and plan your meals a day in advance? Says Mogre, “The biggest mistake people make is not planning in advance. It may be unappealing to think about the next morning after a long day, but plan your meals and set your clothes aside. Prep up your breakfast, the night before.”

Getting nicotine-or-caffeine `hit’: A lot of people reach for their pack of cigarettes or that strong black coffee as soon as they get up. With the body away from any nourishment for several hours, and mornings being the best time for digestive juices to work – a cigarette or a strong coffee on an empty stomach can devastate the system over a period of time.