The way you spend your morning can add a certain flavor to the rest of your day. Here are some healthy lifestyle habits to incorporate into your morning routine that can leave you better able to handle the stress you experience. Try one or several, and experiment until you find what suits you.

Put On Some Music


Music therapy has been shown to reduce stress and have a positive effect on health. But you don't need a therapist to enjoy some of the benefits music has to offer. Listening to music as you get ready and start your day will create positive energy and a soothing sense of peace (or a sense of fun, if you play party music). Music can compliment other healthy lifestyle habits, adding a sense of peace to a yoga workout, putting a spring in your step on a morning walk, or stimulating your mind as you write in your journal.

Stretch in the Shower


The hot water will loosen up your muscles, so it’s easier to get a good stretch. The act of stretching will help to release stored tension and enable you to start the day feeling more relaxed, at peace, and ready to handle what comes your way.

Eat a Balanced Breakfast


For those of you who start the day on a bagel and coffee, read this! Breakfast is known as ‘the most important meal of the day’ for a very good reason: a healthy meal in the morning can balance your blood sugar levels and give you the sustenance you need to handle physical and mental stress. Without it, you will be less resilient, both physically and mentally. Be sure to have plenty of protein and fruit, not just caffeine and empty calories!


Studies show that children who eat breakfast do better in school. It doesn't take much further thought to realize adults will feel better and perform better at work as well. Whether you work at home, on the farm, at the office, at school, or on the road, it is not a good idea to skip breakfast. Eating a good breakfast sets the tone for the rest of the day.

When you skip breakfast, you are likely to become tired when your brain and body run low on fuel. By mid-morning, you might grab a cup of coffee or wolf down a sugary candy bar to wake up again. This might work for a few minutes, but by lunch time you are hungry, crabby, and perhaps your mood might make you a little more prone to make unhealthy choices at lunch.

Skipping breakfast is a common strategy for losing weight, but not a smart one. Many people believe that they will lose weight if they skip meals, but that just isn't true; the body expects to be refueled a few times each day -- starting with breakfast.

Actually, eating breakfast is good for weight loss. In fact, people who eat breakfast are more likely to maintain a healthy weight.
Making a Healthy Breakfast
A healthy breakfast should contain some protein and some fiber. Protein can come from low fat meats, eggs, beans or dairy. Fiber can be found in whole grains, vegetables and fruits. A good example of a healthy breakfast might be something simple like a hard boiled egg, an orange, and a bowl of whole grain cereal with low fat milk.

Stay away from the sugary cereals, syrups, pastries, and white breads because they are digested quickly and will leave you hungry and tired in a couple of hours. Protein and fiber satisfy your hunger and will keep you feeling full until lunch time.

If you really don't like to eat breakfast, you can split it up into two smaller meals. Eat a hard boiled egg at home, and an hour or two later, take a break from work and snack on an apple and a handful of healthy nuts like pecans or walnuts.
Breakfast Every Morning
Remember that eating a healthy breakfast is the best way to start off your day, and be good to yourself by eating a healthy breakfast. Notice how much better you feel through the morning and the rest of the day when you don't skip breakfast.




Drink Green Tea


Sipping a warm cup of tea is a soothing activity that will help you prepare for the day ahead and feel nurtured. Green tea is loaded with antioxidants, so it’s a delicious and healthy lifestyle choice.

Write in Your Journal


Journaling has many health and stress management benefits, and can also lead to increased self-awareness. Writing once a day can help you feel focused, process negative emotions, and solve problems.


What Is Journaling?:
Journaling is a term coined for the practice of keeping a diary or journal that explores thoughts and feelings surrounding the events of one’s life. Journaling, as a stress management and self-exploration tool, is not the same as simply recording the happenings in one’s life, like keeping a log. To be most helpful, one must write in detail about feelings and cognitions related to stressful events, as one would discuss topics in therapy.
What Are The Benefits of Journaling?:
Journaling allows people to clarify their thoughts and feelings, thereby gaining valuable self-knowledge. It’s also a good problem-solving tool; oftentimes, one can hash out a problem and come up with solutions more easily on paper. Journaling about traumatic events helps one process them by fully exploring and releasing the emotions involved, and by engaging both hemispheres of the brain in the process, allowing the experience to become fully integrated in one’s mind.As for the health benefits of journaling, they've been scientifically proven. Research shows the following:

* Journaling decreases the symptoms of asthma, arthritis, and other health conditions.
* It improves cognitive functioning.
* It strengthens the immune system, preventing a host of illnesses.
* It counteracts many of the negative effects of stress.

What Are The Drawbacks to Journaling?:

Those with learning disabilities may find it difficult to deal with the act of writing itself. Perfectionists may be so concerned with the readability of their work, their penmanship, or other periphery factors that they can’t focus on the thoughts and emotions they’re trying to access. Others may get tired hands, or be reluctant to relive negative experiences. And, journaling only about your negative feelings without incorporating thoughts or plans may actually cause more stress.
How Does Journaling Compare to Other Stress Management Practices?:
Unlike more physical stress management techniques such as yoga or exercise, journaling is a viable option for the disabled. And, although some prefer to use a computer, journaling requires only a pen and paper, so it’s less expensive than techniques that require the aid of a class, book, teacher or therapist, like techniques such as biofeedback or yoga. Journaling doesn’t release tension from your body like progressive muscle relaxation, guided imagery and other physical and meditative techniques, however. But it’s a great practice for overall stress reduction as well as self-knowledge and emotional healing.

The benefits of journaling have been scientifically proven. Journaling can be an effective tool for stress management and personal growth. Here are a few tips to help you get started.
Difficulty: Easy
Time Required: 10-20 Minutes a Day


Here's How:

1. Buy a Journal

This seems like the obvious first step. However, what kind of a journal you purchase is important. You can choose from the most beautiful blank books you can find, to a more functional notebook, to your computer. If you go with the blank book option, you can decide between lined or blank pages, with a variety of pens. Use your book to reflect your creativity, or go with functionality first. It’s all up to you and your tastes.


2. Set Aside Time

One of the most difficult aspects of journaling is not the journaling itself, but finding time to write. It’s important to block off about twenty minutes each day to write. Many people prefer to write in the morning as a way to start their day, or before bed, as a way to reflect upon and process the day’s events. However, if your lunch break or some other time is the only window you have, take the time whenever you can get it!


3. Begin Writing

Don’t think about what to say; just begin writing, and the words should come. If really need some help getting started, here are some topics to begin the process:
* Your dreams
* Your possible purpose in life
* Your childhood memories and surrounding feelings
* Where you’d like to be in two years
* The best and worst days of your life
* If you could have three wishes…
* What was important to you five years ago, and what’s important to you now
* What are you grateful for?


4. Write About Thoughts and Feelings

As you write, don’t just vent negative emotions or catalog events; write about your feelings, but also your thoughts surrounding emotional events. (Research shows much greater benefits from journaling when participants write about emotional issues from a mental and emotional framework.) Relive events emotionally, and try to construct solutions and ‘find the lesson’. Using both aspects of yourself helps you process the event and find solutions to problems.
5. Keep Your Journal Private If you’re worried that someone else may read your journal, you’re much more likely to self-censor, and you won’t achieve the same benefits from writing. To prevent the worry and maximize journaling effectiveness, you can either get a book that locks or keep your book in a locked or very hidden place. If using a computer, you can password-protect your journal so you’ll feel safe when you write.

Tips:

1. Try to write each day.
2. Writing for at least 20 minutes is ideal, but if you only have 5 minutes, write for 5.
3. If you skip a day or 3, just keep writing when you can.
4. Don’t worry about neatness or even grammar. Just getting your thoughts and feelings on paper is more important than perfection.
5. Try not to self-censor; let go of ‘shoulds’, and just write what comes.

What You Need:

* A journal and pen or a computer
* A few minutes of quiet privacy each day
* That’s it!

Morning Walk


Walking has so many health benefits, the stress management benefits are practically just gravy! A morning walk can get you ready for your day, help you sleep better at night, lower your stress level, and reduce your risk of numerous health conditions. And if you bring a dog with you, you’ll be lavished with attention as well!

Can regular walking keep you from suffering the misery of colds? Studies suggest that it can.

One study of 50 women divided them into a group who walked briskly for 45 minutes a day, 5 days a week, and a control group that did not exercise. The walkers experienced half as many colds as the control group. The walkers also showed an increase in natural killer cells, immune system cells that attack bacteria and viruses.

Another study of employee fitness programs showed that people who exercised as little as once a week averaged nearly five fewer sick days annually than those who did not participate in such programs.
Moderate Intensity Exercise is Best
You may have heard that intense physical training can decrease the immune system. The key phrase here is, "intense." If your daily walking workout is at a heart rate of 80% of your maximum heart rate, then perhaps you are beginning to meet that definition. But daily walks in the healthy heart zoneand fat burning zone, with a walk or two a week at higher heart rates, will not put you over into the suppressive category. Those training for distance should build up distance at 10% a week to prevent injury.
Best Bets to Prevent Colds

* Exercise: Exercise at moderate to easy intensity 30-60 minutes most days of the week. Use a rest day or easy training day between days of intense exercise if you are in training.
* Healthy Diet: Eat a balanced diet including at least five servings a day of vegetables and fruit.
* Wash Your Hands: Wash your hands frequently during the day. Wash with soap and sing the ABC song in your mind (or out loud if you are alone) to wash for the right amount of time. It is the combination of soap and scrubbing that removes the cold germs.
* Hand Sanitizer: Use hand sanitizing gel frequently if you don't have access to soap and water.


What if there was a miracle pill that if you took it each day would give you a 20% less chance of getting breast cancer, a 30% less chance of getting heart disease, a 50% less chance of diabetes, and would help you live longer and healthier into old age. How much would you pay for it? Wouldn't you insist your children, parents, and loved ones take it, too?

The miracle cure:strap on your walking shoes for an hour a day and you will reap all of these health benefits, according to recent health studies published in major medical journals.

How Fast?
Results from the 20-year long Nurse's Health Study have shown significant decreases in occurrence of breast cancer and Type II diabetes in women who engaged in "brisk" walking or other vigorous exercise for seven hours a week, and as little as three hours a week for heart disease reduction.
In this study, brisk walking was defined as 3 - 3.9 miles per hour, or 15 - 20 minutes per mile. This is really just a purposeful stroll for most people.

How Long?
An hour a day, or a total of seven hours a week, is associated with decreased risk for breast cancer and Type II diabetes. As little as a half hour a day, or three hours a week, is associated with decreased risk of heart disease.

How Many Years?
The studies have not keyed in on when in your life it is best to exercise - is it too late if you wait until you are 55? Or can you begin reducing your risks at any age? Studies have shown decreased risk of death in older men and women who walk regularly, so my reply would be to start now and never stop! Walking will also provide weight-bearing exercise to maintain your bone density and prevent osteoporosis.

What Good Does It Do?
Breast Cancer: 20% reduction Article
Diabetes: 50% reduction Article
Heart Disease: 30-40% reduction Article
Colon Cancer: exercise reduces risk Article
Stroke: exercise reduces risk Article
Reduces Death Risk by 27%

Yoga


For a healthy body and peaceful mind, few activities give as much ‘bang for your buck’ as yoga. Combining all the goodness of several stress management techniques, such as diaphragmic breathing, meditation, stretching and more, yoga provides some of the best stress management and health benefits you can find in a single technique. A good way to start your morning is by doing a series of yoga poses called Sun Salutations.