I often wake up stressed and on high alert. I wake up worrying about random things like whether or not I need to update my withholdings for income taxes, or which work task I’m going to start on first, or whether my kid is eating too many processed foods.
I think part of this intensified alertness about, and anxiety around, certain topics is the natural cortisol spike most people have in the morning.
What’s the morning cortisol spike about?
Cortisol is a hormone your body releases in response to stress – it helps you stay alert. According to Cleveland Clinic, most people have lower cortisol levels at night when they go to sleep, whereas their levels peak in the morning shortly before waking up. This indicates that cortisol is part of regulating your body’s wake-up process and circadian rhythm (your internal 24-hour clock that regulates sleep, wakefulness, and daily patterns).
Cortisol spikes don’t cause stress, stress causes cortisol production. And then cortisol can influence how intensely that stress is felt.
So while cortisol may play a part, what’s really amplifying my morning stress is:
- Chronic anxiety;
- A tendency to feel like I’m not doing enough or I’m not doing enough right;
- New-ish motherhood; I still wake up to every fussing sound or cry and feel an intense physical response to any amount of my child’s distress.
Does this sound familiar at all? Some level of initial morning stress and anxiety?
It’s something to be proactive about. Stress and anxiety and intense alertness are hard enough to wake up with. We don’t want to add to it by letting it dictate:
- How we eat. Whether you tend to overeat when you’re stressed, or you have a habit of restriction because your stomach is clenched – starting the day off with the wrong choices around food can set the rest of the day up to be rough. It can lead to underfueling, bingeing or just not feeling good in your body.
- The energy we bring into the rest of our day. If we start out by depleting our energy with worry and stress, we’re going to drained by afternoon.
Either way – it’s not great. So it’s important to find ways to reduce stress first thing in the morning, before breakfast. It doesn’t have to be time-consuming, but it can be, if that’s what works for you.
Here are 5 ways to reduce stress before breakfast
- Take deep, cleansing breaths to disrupt the anxiety while you’re still in bed. Take three cleansing breaths or more. Inhale through your nose, and release a big exhale through your mouth. Inhale through your nose, and release a big exhale through your mouth. Inhale through your nose, and release a big exhale through your mouth.
- Hug your dogs, if you have them. I read that a hug lasting at least six seconds can cause the brain to start releasing oxytocin (the “love hormone”) and serotonin (the “happiness hormone”). This can promote bonding, reduce stress, and improve mood.
- Read 10 minutes of whatever book you’re enjoying. I love doing this with my first cup of coffee in the morning, before I look at my phone. A friend calls this practice “giving your soul time to wake up.”
- Take a sunrise yoga class. Repetitive movement in a yoga class can help reduce stress by calming the nervous system, and by creating a rhythm and predictability that signal the body to relax.
- Listen to a 5-minute, guided meditation. This can help reduce stress by directing your attention to the present moment, which calms the nervous system and quiets racing thoughts.
Once you start your morning with a clear, calm headspace, it’s easier to make better choices for your body and mind. It’s easier to build a balanced breakfast, eat it mindfully, and move into your day with good momentum. It’s easier to look at your schedule and embrace everything you know is coming.
