Creating a healthy morning routine in college is the best way to start your day off on the right note! Learn all the best secrets and tips to have the absolute best morning possible!
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Mornings are not fun when you’re not a morning person.
Even when you are a morning person, staying in your comfy bed usually sounds more fun than having to get up and get ready for a long day of classes or work. BUT, we all have to do it.
After trying out a bunch of these tips for my own morning routine as a college freshman, I can say with 100% certainty that my morning is slightly less horrible. That might not sound great, but every little bit better your morning gets is a step closer to having a perfect morning.
This post is all about a healthy morning routine in college!
skip the snooze button
I know it seems impossible, but you cannot set a thousand alarms every morning and snooze through all of them! This is one of the easiest ways to set yourself up for a not-so-great morning.
As hard as it seems, set one alarm and snooze it once or twice, max! To help with this, you can try putting your alarm on the other side of the room so you physically have to get up to turn it off.
natural light
Natural light is another easy way to wake yourself up in the morning.
You don’t have to get outside if that isn’t easily accessible. All you need to do is open your blinds if you can and have some natural light while you are getting ready in the morning.
eat a healthy breakfast
Your breakfast is quite literally the most important meal you are going to eat, as cliche as that sounds. A solid breakfast in the morning makes the whole process so much better.
You don’t have to do anything fancy for breakfast. Honestly, it doesn’t even have to be the healthiest in the beginning. When you are starting to create your morning routine and set healthy habits, just eat whatever will motivate you to get out of bed (even if it’s not the healthiest!).
Then, once you have your routine down, you can transition to more filling and balanced meals in the morning.
no phone as alarm clock
One of the reasons you may have trouble waking up in the morning is because you are using your phone as your alarm clock.
For starters, this usually means that it’s sitting right next to you when you go to sleep and wake up. And that means it is SUPER easy to click that snooze button a million and one times.
Another problem is that it could cause you to be on your phone right before you go to bed and right when you wake up. By having a separate alarm and moving your phone, it gives you time before going to sleep and after waking up for some screen free time.
Instead of your phone, buy an actual alarm clock to help you wake up. Depending on how tough this is for you, there are different options that make it easier to get yourself up in the morning.
This alarm clock wakes you up with natural light.
This alarm clock wakes you up by shaking the bed and vibrating.
This alarm clock wakes you up by forcing you to chase after it as it runs around your room.
good night sleep
Your morning routine starts at night. It is exponentially harder to have a good morning when you don’t have a good night.
This includes going to sleep at a reasonable time, turning off your screens, and getting a well-rested night of sleep. Once you get this, it becomes a lot easier to be motivated to follow your morning routine the next day.
have your favorite drink
It’s so important to add some fun motivation into your healthy morning routine in college or else you are never going to follow it.
One of the best ways to do this is with your favorite drink in the morning. Whether you have a special coffee or your usual tea you drink in the morning, make it a part of your routine.
To save some money, you can also try getting your favorite drink from a store once a week and make it at home the rest of the time. That way, you still have some motivation but you aren’t spending all your money buying coffees.
drink water
Drinking a lot of water in the morning is a super easy addition to your healthy morning routine in college.
The best way to do this is to leave a water bottle or glass of water right next to your bed. This way, it is as easy as possible to drink water in the morning (when you are lazy and don’t feel like going to get any).
shower
If you don’t already, consider switching to morning showers instead of at night. This splash of water is exactly what you need when you are tired and just want to crawl back to your bed when you wake up.
This is a great start to your day and your morning routine.
journal
You can also try spending some time journaling in the morning.
You can either write about what happened in your life the day before or write out some goals for the coming day. Regardless, writing anything is super beneficial for your mental health and will set yourself up for a great day.
make your bed
You’ve heard this a million times but I am going to make it a million and one.
You NEED to be making your bed in college. When you were home, you could easily get away with not making your bed because your room was most likely bigger (so it didn’t make as much of a difference). However, this isn’t the case in college.
In a tiny dorm room, making the bed is going to make the room feel so much cleaner. Plus, as an added bonus, making the bed helps prevent you from going back to sleep in the morning or throughout the day for a nap.
meditate
Something else you can add into your morning routine is some time for meditation. There are so many youtube videos, websites, and apps that will lead you through guided meditation for the morning.
Plus, this doesn’t have to be a huge commitment. Even just a quick five minute meditation in the morning can make a huge difference in your life.
read a book
Try reading in the morning for another healthy habit. This is such a nice break from running around trying to get ready for your day.
Spend some time curled up in your bed or on the couch and take a minute to relax and read a book.
listen to music or podcasts
Throughout your morning while you get ready for your day, try listening to your favorite music or podcasts. This is another easy way to motivate you to keep on moving throughout your morning routine and make it just a little bit more enjoyable.
Mornings can be fun if you add in little things like this.
go to sleep at the same time
The first thing you should do when creating a healthy morning routine in college is pick what time you want to go to sleep.
The second thing you need to do is accept that you most likely won’t be going to sleep at this time.
You are in college. The odds of you going to sleep at the same time every night are slim to none. Instead, you want to pick a time that’ll act as your general goal for when you want to go to sleep.
Once you have a time in mind, your job is just to try your hardest to plan your schedule at night around getting to bed at this time. If it doesn’t happen (which it won’t many times!), that is completely fine.
wake up at the same time
On the contrary, for your wake up time, this is a hard deadline that you should try to follow every morning. It can definitely vary day to day based on what your classes are, but try to keep your wake up time similar on the week days.
Especially if you don’t have any morning classes one day, make sure to still wake up at a reasonable time! You don’t want to waste your whole day sleeping.
exercise
This one is definitely not something I would suggest starting out with when creating a healthy morning routine in college. Instead, implement some sort of exercise in your mornings once you have a basic routine down.
You have a bunch of freedom here to choose whatever makes you feel the best! Whether you want to go on a low-key walk or go to the gym in the morning, anything active is exactly what you are looking for.
get rid of obligations in the morning
The mornings are hard enough already, let alone if you have annoying obligations that make it even more unenjoyable to get out of bed.
As best as you can, try to eliminate any obligations in your morning routine. Include things you WANT to do, not things you HAVE to do.
For example, you aren’t going to be as motivated to wake up if you know all that’s waiting for you is homework or studying. Instead, get those tasks done the night before or some other time in your day and save your mornings for things you want to be doing.
plan your day
Your mornings can also be spent planning out for the day ahead. Whether that’s writing out a schedule for yourself, making a to do list, or just looking over your calendar, anything is better than nothing!
This post was all about a healthy morning routine in college!
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