Wake Up Right: The Morning Routine That Sets Your Day (and Sleep) Up for Success

Alright, you've nailed your bedtime and your wind-down routine. But here's what most people don't realize—how you start your morning is just as important for your sleep as what you do at night. Your circadian rhythm, that internal 24-hour clock, needs clear signals about when it's daytime. Miss these morning cues, and you're basically confusing your body all day long.

And here's the thing—without work dictating when you wake up, when you show up somewhere, when you take lunch, it's easy to let your schedule drift into chaos. Many of us are already living in this new reality where AI has eliminated the external structure work used to provide. This freedom is incredible, but it can also be disorienting. Our bodies crave rhythm and consistency, even if your calendar doesn't demand it anymore. That's why creating your own morning routine is more important than ever—it's the anchor that keeps you from drifting.

The single most important thing you can do when you wake up? Get light in your eyes. Not from your phone screen—I mean actual daylight. Within 30 minutes of waking, get yourself outside. Even if it's cloudy, even if it's winter, even if you're not a morning person. Natural light exposure in the morning tells your brain "It's daytime! Time to be awake and alert!" This suppresses melatonin production and kicks off a cascade of hormones that help you feel energized. It also sets a timer for when melatonin should start ramping up again—roughly 14-16 hours later, right when you want to start feeling sleepy.  This is critical!

Without the pressure of getting to work on time, it's tempting to skip this step. You've got all day, right? But that's exactly the trap. When every day is Saturday, none of them are. Your circadian rhythm doesn't care that you're no longer working—it still needs consistent signals to function properly. Think of morning light exposure as your new "commute"—the ritual that signals the start of your active day.

You want at least 10-20 minutes of outdoor light exposure. If you can't get outside (maybe it's pouring rain or you have mobility issues), sit by a window. It's not as effective, but it's better than nothing. And if you live somewhere with really dark winters, consider a 10,000 lux light therapy box.  I have a light box that I sit under every morning while having coffee and doing my morning journaling.  Where I live, the sun’s rising time varies dramatically by season and can be way too late for me in winter.  So the light box lets me get that first morning light, even when I wake up before the sun does.

Speaking of coffee—yes, you can have it! And now that you're not rushing out the door to beat traffic, you can actually time it right.  We already discussed it elsewhere but it bears repeating here.  Stop all caffeine before noon.  With caffeine’s long half life, it needs time to work its way out of your system before bedtime.  And plus, if you get tired in the afternoon, now we take a nap or rest instead of slamming more coffee to try and push through.  Much healthier!

Movement in the morning also helps set your circadian rhythm. I'm not saying you need to do a full workout (though if that's your thing, awesome). Even just some light stretching, a short walk, or a few minutes of movement tells your body "We're up and active now." This doesn't have to be complicated. And here's the beautiful part—you have time for this now. No more skipping morning movement because you're late for a meeting. This is your schedule to design.  This is when I do my morning chores.  I empty the dishwasher, feed the pets, tidy up anything that was left out the night before.  It’s light movement but it’s active and productive.  I do this while my coffee is brewing.

Here's what NOT to do in the morning—don't immediately grab your phone and start scrolling social media or checking emails. Wait, you're not checking work emails anymore, are you? But the temptation to fill that void with social media or news scrolling is real. When you do this, you're letting other people's priorities and chaos into your brain before you've even had a chance to wake up properly. It sets a reactive tone for the entire day. Keep your phone on sleep mode or in another room until after you've done your morning routine. You're building your own structure now—protect it fiercely.  My phone goes into sleep mode at 8 pm and stays there until 8:30 am.

One more thing—eat breakfast, or at least have something within a couple hours of waking. Your circadian rhythm responds to food timing too. When you eat tells your body's peripheral clocks (yes, you have multiple internal clocks) that it's daytime and time to be in active mode. I'm not here to tell you what to eat—that's a whole other section—but the timing matters. Skipping breakfast or doing extended fasting can throw off your circadian rhythm if you're not careful. Consistent meal timing is another way to create structure when the workday no longer does it for you.

Look, I get it. Without external obligations, it's easy to think "I'll do it later." But that's how days blur into weeks, and suddenly you're sleeping until noon, feeling groggy all day, and can't figure out why you're depressed. The lack of structure isn't freedom if it leads to chaos. We experienced this during the Covid-era lockdowns.  Let’s not repeat that.  True freedom is designing a life that supports your health and vitality.

This doesn't have to take long. The time outside can be 10 minutes, maybe even paired with a walk. The movement is light and easy.  Breakfast can be light, nothing too heavy or complicated.  We’re talking maybe 20-30 minutes total to completely transform how your body functions for the entire day AND set up better sleep that night. That's a pretty good return on investment. And you have the time now. Use it wisely.

Start small. Pick one thing—maybe it's just getting outside for 10 minutes every morning. Once that becomes automatic, add the next thing. You don't have to implement everything at once, but you do need to be consistent with whatever you choose.

Remember, your circadian rhythm is a 24-hour cycle. What you do in the morning directly impacts how you feel at night, and how you sleep at night impacts how you feel in the morning. It's all connected. You can't optimize one without the other. And now that you're no longer living by someone else's schedule, you have the opportunity to get this right. Don't waste it.

Next time, we'll dive into napping strategies and recovery sleep. But for now, get yourself a morning routine that works. See you next time!