Starting your morning with the right attitude can pave the way for a successful day.
New wellness trends are focused on the “9-to-5.” This means developing healthy habits between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m. before heading to work.
Arthur Brooks, behavioral scientist, happiness expert, and professor at Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School in Boston, demonstrated these benefits through six steps. morning protocol To live more positively.
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In an in-person interview with Fox News Digital, Brooks detailed each of the six steps to having a productive day, which he said has “dramatically improved” his life.
“You need to be disciplined, you need to plan your day, and I find that what you do first thing in the morning is very important,” he said. “i follow [this] Almost every day. ”
Brooks said she hadn’t been a morning person for many years, because in her 20s, as a musician, she never woke up before sunrise and considered herself a “night owl.”
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“The truth is, you can change your chronotype,” he said. “You could be more of a morning lark; It’s not that geneticAnd trying to change that is a really worthwhile effort. ”
“If you can wake up before dawn, you’ve won the day, but not just morally, but neuroscientifically as well.”
According to the host of the “Office Hour” podcast, research shows that waking up before dawn improves focus, creativity, and mood. It is rooted in an “ancient idea of Indian wisdom” called Brahma Muhurta, which in Sanskrit means “time of the creator.”
“But that is Not just religion. There’s really a lot of science behind this,” Brooks said. It works around my schedule. You need to understand what is yours. But if you wake up when the sun is already warm, you’re already kind of behind the eight ball. ”
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Brooks said she doesn’t leave her cell phone in her bedroom at night to avoid overexposure, so she uses a real alarm clock to wake her up.
Brooks’ day starts along with training He pointed out the importance of doing “serious exercise” first thing in the morning at his home gym.
He typically does 75% strength training and 15% zone 2 cardio (steady-state cardio that feels easy to moderate) for an hour while drinking an electrolyte drink.
There are various how to exerciseFrom endurance to yoga, Brooks pointed out. “If you can pick up something heavy and run around first thing in the morning, you’ll have a better day,” he added.
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If you’re new to fitness or getting up early, Brooks recommends light exercise, such as walking.
After taking a shower, Brooks leaves the house to attend the 6:30 a.m. Catholic Mass.
Not everyone is Catholic or religious, but Brooks recommends attending some type of “event.”transcendent activitySomething that connects the mind and body.
“I need to do something to not focus on myself,” he said. “Worship is a great way to do that. Meditation is great for that too. There are actually a lot of ways to approach this, but the key is to zoom out and take it in small increments.”
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“About half the time I’m out, I try to stay in a place where morning mass is being held, and I focus on my soul as much as my body.”
Most people who wake up before 5 a.m. tend to head straight to their destination. coffee machineBut Brooks resisted this urge to reach for caffeine first thing in the morning.
Caffeine blocks a chemical in the brain called adenosine. Adenosine swarms your brain at night, making you feel groggy in the morning. As a result, drinking it increases your sense of alertness.
But Brooks said this was “not the best way to use” coffee and recommended a morning workout to remove any remaining adenosine.
By the time the coffee is introduced into your system, about 1-2 hours after you wake up, your brain is free of adenosine and can focus on the caffeine fueling your body.
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“Caffeine doesn’t wake you up; caffeine helps you focus,” he said. “It pumps dopamine into your prefrontal cortex, increasing your creativity and giving you more stimulation to come up with new ideas. That means you’re primed for a great work day.”
Protein is “very important” for getting the most out of your morning workout, building strong muscles and sculpting your figure. balanced dietaccording to Brooks.
For breakfast, I prefer non-fat Greek yogurt topped with walnuts for micronutrients, mixed berries for antioxidants, whey protein, and stevia for sweetness.
“You get 60 grams of protein for less than 400 calories, and you’re good to go,” he said. “With that caffeine and that food, I’m ready for work.”
These “clean protein” breakfast options also contain tryptophan, a chemical best known for being found in turkey that can cause drowsiness. In smaller amounts of tryptophan, improve mood And it calms the nervous system, Brooks noted.
Brooks said he was productive and creative for four solid hours between 8 a.m. and noon, gaining “a level of focus that I never had earlier in my life until I set the protocol this morning.”
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He gets into and maintains a “flow state” during his morning workday, uninterrupted by social media or phone notifications.
“What used to take me two days can now be done in four hours, and I’m happier when I can do it,” Brooks said.
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By the time he eats another one high protein diet You can complete important tasks during lunch and tackle other objectives later in the day.
“It’s really important that you don’t let your devices ruin your focus and concentration time,” Brooks added. “Stay clean, stay focused, stay creative, and stay happy.”
