There’s a reason you wake up with stinky morning breath: dehydration.
As you sleep, your body continues to soak up the water you drank during the day. That means you’re going (ideally) about 8 hours without replenishing your water supply. If you don’t rehydrate, then your energy levels will wane.
Research from the University of Connecticut’s Human Performance Laboratory shows that even mild dehydration makes you tired and irritable.
Get drinking before you even head out the door. Kate Zeratsky, R.D.N. at the Mayo Clinic, suggests 8 ounces of liquid, whether it’s coffee, water, or tea.
A hot, steamy shower can relax your muscles, wash away stress, and… put you to sleep, right?
Actually, according to Dr. Dasgupta, it does the opposite. While it might seem counterintuitive to take a warm, relaxing shower to wake up, it works.
As you fall deeper into sleep, your core body temperature drops to somewhere around 60°F.
So “taking a hot shower at night is kind of like exercising at night,” Dr. Dasgupta says. “It’s not a good idea because it increases your core body temperature, so it takes longer to cool down and get to sleep.”
On the other hand, he says, taking a warm shower in the morning can boost your body temperature from frigid sleeping conditions to warm, energized, and fully awake.
That said, preliminary studies suggest that cold showers can improve mood in people with depression, and winter swimming (for the brave) can reduce fatigue.
So while the jury’s still out on the ideal temperature for feeling energized, one thing’s for sure: You should take a morning shower. Adjust the hot and cold knobs to see what temperature perks you up the most.
It’s hard to drag your butt out of bed and into workout clothes, but your morning walk, run, or gym time will make you feel more energized as the day goes on.
Exercise of any kind floods your body with feel-good endorphins while simultaneously delivering oxygen and nutrients to your tissues, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Extra oxygen to your tissues means your heart and lungs will work better and give you more energy throughout your day.
Don’t have the time for an hour-long (or even 20-minute) workout? A quick walk around the block or 10 minutes of stretching can help you wake up.
Blue light helps you wake up because it decreases your levels of the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin. And the best place to get it from is the sun.
That’s because the sun also emits vitamin D, which is crucial for keeping up your energy levels. Research shows that people who have a vitamin D deficiencyare more likely to have chronic fatigue syndrome, and correcting the deficiency boosts their energy levels back to normal.
While Zeratsky says going out in the sun is better for a quick energy boost, taking a vitamin D supplement will also help you feel more awake if you’re low on the nutrient.
It won’t give you an instant boost, but it will help regulate your energy levels over time.
If you regularly hit the gym, chances are you don’t slog away on the treadmill without music—heart-racing, get-you-going music.
Try the same technique to power through your mornings. Research shows music between 120 and 145 beats-per-minute is best to motivate you to run faster or, you know, get out of bed.
Don’t know what that sounds like? Try songs like Pharrell’s “Happy” or Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It.”
Source: Men’s Health