Tips for an Ideal Routine: Beat the Morning Blues!

Though it may often seem like your exhaustion and lack of energy before you’ve even gotten out of bed is your fault, it’s actually not. Having a good morning routine can greatly affect the way you behave towards the rest of the day. Just the act of doing something familiar is comforting, no matter how you feel about your day. So, if you go ahead to follow an entire morning routine, your emotional and mental resilience increases to a great extent, making you both more positive as well as more productive. 

One of the obstacles might be the feeling that your depression is worse in the morning? This is actually a real thing.  It’s in fact closely connected to your biology where there are these massive hormonal shifts that have to do with your circadian rhythm that might be causing morning depression symptoms, making it harder to even wake up. 

What does it look like?

A lot of people feel like depression is the worst in the morning- here’s some other common ways people feel it. You may:

• Struggle to get out of bed
• Have no energy, feel exhausted
• Feel hopeless and overwhelmed
• Not feel like doing anything 
• Brain fog
• Feel irritable, or cranky
• Simple tasks like brushing your teeth seem too much
• Feel empty or numb

Causes:

• Inflammation

Research has found that people with depression may have higher levels of an inflammatory marker called interleukin-6. This varies for different people, but it most commonly peaks in the early morning, which may contribute to depressive symptoms (1).

• Physical health concerns

Maybe it’s low thyroid or anemia or low vitamin D or a hundred other disorders that make people feel exhausted or low energy.

• Sleep and the circadian rhythm 

Studies have shown that people with depression and bipolar disorder have measurable  differences in the RORA gene, which is connected to the circadian rhythm. This means that their body clock isn’t aligned with when they are supposed to wake up. Those who are “Night owls” develop depression and many depressed people have a Delayed Sleep Phase, which makes you want to wake up a little later and later each day (2).These sleep disorders impact mood and energy levels and not falling asleep worsens the depression, like a vicious cycle.

• Hypothalamus 

The hypothalamus, a little almond gland deep in your brain,  could also be a culprit of morning depression. Its job is to regulate body clock, aka your circadian rhythm. A recent study found that people who experience morning depression may have an inflamed hypothalamus, especially if it’s larger (3). 

• Cortisol and the Cortisol awakening response

Cortisol is a stress hormone that your adrenal glands pump out in response to fear or stress.  

It helps your body prepare for action and  gives you energy. It can make you feel a little bit jittery or anxious even for people without high levels of stress. Cortisol levels are generally highest within  the first hour of waking up. This might be why people wake up overwhelmed, anxious, activated, feeling frozen or with racing thoughts.

It can feel like a truck load of cortisol dumped on you especially if you’ve gone to sleep the day before with a lot of thoughts. However, it’s also a blessing as one of cortisol’s functions is to help you get alert, be motivated and perform (4).

Although there is a spike in anxiety first thing in the morning. Why would this make some people feel depressed?

Cortisol spikes, paired with inaction, lead to an inescapable, frozen stress response in the body. Imagine it like this, you wake up with a ton of racing thoughts coupled with a depressed thought “Nothing will make my life better”. Your nervous system shuts down, and a state of “hypoarousal.” It  switches from “let’s try” to “this is not going to work, let’s conserve energy, ” and shuts down, protecting it from any further pain.

Tips:

• Light therapy: Light exposure is one of the biggest factors that your brain uses to set your circadian rhythm. Multiple studies have shown that light therapy is effective for 60-80% of people with depression. Use sunlight or a light therapy box to get morning light exposure, usually for 15-30 minutes. Sit by the window or open blinds especially within the first hour of waking. It helps suppress the melatonin (5).
• Exercise: Doing this in the morning turns your stress into energy and you’ll feel more productive. Try taking it one step at a time. Move out of bed, do light and gentle stretches. This will help in boosting noradrenaline and dopamine, increase focus, activate the prefrontal cortex and elevate mood (6). 
• Sleep hygiene: It’s about improving your sleep quality. Decreasing caffeine, alcohol, heavy food, drugs, nicotine, screen time– anything that improves your sleep. Time your medication- If your medication makes you sleepy, take it at night. If your medication wakes you up, take it in the morning. Don’t eat or exercise right before bedtime. Keep the wake time consistent. Doing those things earlier in the day will help you get tired and wakeful at the right times (7). 
• One win: Reset your rhythm by making one tiny win by making the bed, showering, brushing, and watering some plants. The reward comes in the form of dopamine, igniting your momentum, then motivation.
• Journaling: You can break, or rather write your problems into the journal for clarity, to see these big worries concretely and create a distance from the thoughts. This can help you focus on actionable items and what’s in your locus of control (8). 
• One task at a time: Choose a task like feeding your pet or getting dressed 
• Keep feet on the floor 
• Count down to it. 3, 2, 1. Go!
• Take credit. The mind says sarcastically, “Oh wow, you got out of bed. It’s not a big deal. Anybody can do this.” That’s sucking away your energy. Instead, give yourself grace. Say “Great job, that was a hard one!”
• Positive Morning Routine: It helps to have a routine that you look forward to. Make a little extra time in your morning to make it enjoyable- not feeling rushed and stressed can decrease your feeling of dread.This can include: a glass of water, music, funny socks, etc.

• Buddy: Have someone call or text you to check in. Get a dog who wants to go on a walk. For some people, having someone who is relying on you can help you get motivated. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/depression

• Grounding Ritual: A soothing activity like prayer, meditation, walking on the grass, can engage your 5 senses and can help you be present and centered. 
• Affirmations: Set intent for the day, “Today I will respond instead of react.” Even a 30-second intention can steer your brain away from chaos and into clarity. 
• Diet: 
• Cutting down caffeine, and include whole foods, and polyunsaturated fats (omega 3 rich) food like walnuts, seeds.
• Probiotics, prebiotics and fiber rich food for the gut include: avocados, salmon, chia, flax, olive oil, yogurt, kimchi, kombucha, kefir, sauerkraut, psyllium, husk, apples with peels, onion, garlic.
• Hydration: Adequate water intake a glass of water with a splash of lemon or sea salt, soaked chia, fennel, carom or basil seeds. Limiting alcohol intake can also maintain adequate hydration
• Nourishing yourself with sources of B 12:  Through foods like fortified nutritional yeast; meats like beef and tuna. Keep in mind, do not skip breakfast (leads to low blood sugar.)
• Magnesium: You can find magnesium in pumpkin seeds and other seeds like almonds and pistachios and also in broccoli, bananas, avocado, artichokes, spinach and also dark chocolate. It’s got  magnesium and high amounts of flavonoids which lower stress reactivity in the adrenal  glands, especially essential for relaxing muscles, reducing inflammation and metabolizing cortisol. It also helps regulate the heartbeat and decrease blood pressure. When we’re stressed we excrete magnesium and potassium in our urine, and low levels of magnesium can intensify stress which can create a vicious cycle (9) (10) (11) (12). 

You don’t have to do all of these exercises; try choosing one or two and doing them with consistency. This causes changes in the neuroplasticity of our brain because wiring changes occur with repetition. For example, taking 3 deep breaths as you brush, or opening the window-try various combinations and see what works for you.

Keeping to these routines will build resilience, stabilize mood and regulate cortisol. Remember, the goal isn’t necessarily reaching perfection, it’s about taking that one small step, everyday, to achieve those big changes.