Do you wake up feeling refreshed, with a spring in your step and a song in your heart?

Or maybe, you’re just like the rest of us—you wake up feeling like a basket case who needs to eat an entire pizza and then go to sleep for 18 hours.

Good news for those who are the latter, Science confirms there is hope! Research reveals that you can wake up feeling refreshed every morning by paying attention to three key factors: sleep, exercise, and breakfast.

Curious about how they work? Scroll down to find out.

 

The 1-2-3 of Sleeping Like A Baby & Waking Up Ready To Take On The World

 

Basically, it’s something everyone can do. Get a lot of physical activity the day before, sleep longer and later into the morning, and eat a breakfast high in complex carbohydrates.

It might sound like an obvious combination, but something that requires discipline and dedication!

 

High Levels Of Physical Activity During The Day + Low Level Of Physical Activity At Night

 

The more you move, the better your sleep! But only if you move more during the daytime.

Research found that people who were more active during the day and less at night tended to have more continuous and less disrupted sleep, which in turn predicted superior morning alertness.

Conversely, higher activity levels late in the day into the night can result in worse next-day morning alertness.

 

Sleeping And Waking Up Later Than Usual

 

Sleeping longer is no brainer. Sleep duration has been long associated with next-morning alertness. But did you know that going to bed later than what’s typical for a given individual is also linked with higher morning alertness? And it’s the same as waking up later than your normal wake-up time!

Sleeping later increases your likelihood of obtaining REM (Rapid Eye Movement) Sleep, which is associated with reduced sleep inertia or that groggy feeling when you wake up.

Meanwhile, waking up later in the morning can increase your chances of waking up during REM Sleep. When you wake up during REM, you still have high melatonin levels, making it hard for you to get out of bed.

 

Eating A Breakfast High In Complex Carbohydrates

 

The final factor predicting morning alertness isn’t something you do the day or the night before, but your food choices for breakfast that morning. So if you’re feeling meh and not at your best, it might be time to change up your breakfast routine.

Studies have shown that eating a breakfast high in complex carbohydrates can help increase your alertness and improve your cognitive function throughout the day. Additionally, reducing your protein intake during breakfast is also beneficial for optimal alertness.

Eating whole grains, vegetables, and fruits is the best way to get a healthy dose of complex carbs. Need a hand tailoring a hearty and healthy breakfast? Leave it on us!

At Hearty Health, we offer a range of diverse meal plans that are not only great-tasting but also nutritious and premium quality. Contact us today and experience our no-obligation sample, prepared and cooked by our professional chefs.

 

Bottomline

 

Well, there you have it—a simple 3-step process to wake up feeling refreshed and ready to take on the day. Now you don’t have to drag yourself out of bed feeling like you’re moving through a pool of warm peanut butter.

If you give it a try, let us know if you notice a difference in how you feel, both mentally and physically.