Morning Ritual Improves Mood

A Morning Ritual Improves Mood

A morning ritual improves mood – For people who are trying to live creatively with moods, how the day starts can have a powerful impact. And the morning ritual is an effective way of changing that experience.

Researchers have found that organized patterns of behavior (rituals) help our brains cope with uncertainty and reduce anxiety.  So if you’re not sure what is going to happen today, and if that’s a source of anxiety, you can give yourself a greater sense of control and calmness by starting the day on a familiar, carefully planned routine.  This morning ritual doesn’t have to be long, just a clear, organized pattern that you can follow so you get everything done without having to think  about it.

Get out of bed at about the same time each day, work day or weekend.  Give yourself enough time to complete everything that needs to be done before leaving the house: dressing, brushing teeth, breakfast, etc.  Make your own ordered plan, and follow it every day. Getting up earlier than you do right now may actually help you to feel better, less fatigued, as it reduces your stress level throughout the day.

Many people find that a cup of coffee or tea is a useful way of getting started in the morning (decaf works almost as well). Try to arrange things so that coffee or tea is ready when you get up (how about a coffee maker with a timer).

The next part of the ritual is to incorporate exercise and thinking time.  Take a walk, or find a place to sit where there is abundant natural light, preferably even a view (or, if you don’t have such a place, consider using a therapy light). This time is spent either in meditation, yoga practice, or in thinking about the day in a thoughtful, not anxious, way. It may be helpful to read about the concept of mentalization to learn more about this kind of thinking.

Starting the day with a Morning Ritual improves mood and builds a strong foundation for each day’s activities.  It takes effort to start, but once started, the effort is much less and the payback begins to be felt almost immediately.  The time that you spend developing a pattern that works for you, and the commitment to follow through, will have a strong positive impact on your life.

For more on this topic:

Morning Ritual Resumed - Nancy

Morning Ritual Resumed – Nancy

Moodsurfing has frequently recommended the concept of the “morning ritual” or “morning routine” to help all of us live more ...
Morning Ritual Improves Mood

A Morning Ritual Improves Mood

A morning ritual improves mood – For people who are trying to live creatively with moods, how the day starts ...
morning

The Morning Ritual: Starting Your Day Off Right

The Morning Ritual-- For people who are trying to live creatively with moods, it is often extremely important how the ...
Morning Walk - The Daily Routine

The Power of Daily Rituals: A Morning Walk

What is the power of a morning walk? Even such a simple daily ritual can have profound effects on mood ...
Morning Routine

Morning Routine

For people learning to live with moods, it is often very important how the day starts. The morning sets the ...
Moodsurfing Updated

Moodsurfing Updated

Seems like it’s been a while since we blogged about the title of the blog. Why is it called “Moodsurfing”? ...
circadian rhythm

Circadian Rhythms – Nancy

A new study from the UK has shown that disruption in the daily rhythms (circadian rhythms) of work and rest ...
Chronotherapy

Chronotherapy Success!

How can something as simple as manipulating the time you sleep - chronotherapy - work so well to improve the ...
moodsurfing

Riding the Waves

MoodSurfing is about the idea that the ups and downs of mood are normal (we aren't trying to achieve some ...
Amazing

Amazing

It’s Amazing! Managing a chronic disorder or illness can seem like a full-time job. Taking the medication, wondering about the ...