My 28-hours circadian cycle jacks me up. I am dragging ass in the morning. I will get up at 5:30 with the Sun and not do anything beside doom scroll for hours. I might get up to brush my teeth around 9:00, maybe start living the day around 11:00. This is with meds. I’m trying to start a morning routine that gets me going. The basic tasks are:
- Have something planned to look forward to
- Wake up same time everyday with curtains open for light
- Make the bed
- Brush teeth
- Morning check in with a friend
- Positive/enjoyable morning activities
It is at #6 where I could use some help because everything besides laying down in quiet with headphones on and looking at pointless superficial stuff on the internet seems like it is too much effort. Food is repulsive in the morning, so no breakfast. I also need to be near a restroom for the first few hours in the mornings. Any recommendations?
My favorite enjoyable morning activity is sleep.
- Shower
- Cleaning
- Walk around the neighborhood/park
Morning shower is DA THING.
Mine for a while has been playing Fall Guys. It’s a game that’s somewhat challenging to do well at, but there’s no stakes, and it’s a brightly colored game that’s good ad giving you a quick “dopamine” hit without sucking you in. It also lets me look at lemmy a bit between rounds, but makes sure I don’t get stuck here, forcing me to put it down when the next round starts.
I try to pick a small activity that I cannot do in bed and needs to be done regularly. For me, that’s practicing my instrument. Doesn’t need to be an intense practice, just picking it up and doing some scales and warm ups tends to kick me into a different mode. Also, being part of an orchestra provides the external pressure which means I have to do it.
I would love to get there, but rn, I’m not gonna be coordinated or quick enough to play music.
You’re not going to be coordinated or quick enough until you practice. So go be slow and awkward. You’ll get there. 😊
Ok, fine…I’ll find a cheap acoustic guitar somewhere. Thank you!
If you live in a place that is often overcast, or has inclement weather that prevents a 30 minute morning walk… perhaps even regardless of that:
HappyLamp in the morning.
Its a fancier kind of bulb that comes much closer to the full spectrum of the light from the sun.
When I was going through a Seasonal Affective Depression … arc? era? episode? … that was prescribed to me to help both the depression, and the circadian rhythm disregulation… both of those often reinforce each other.
Basically you just leave it on in whatever room you’re in, in the morning, for 30 to 45 minutes.
But yeah, setting and sticking to a schedule involving activities in the morning is also very good!
One thing that I used to do is something mentally stimulating, like a crossword or some Tetris or planning next week’s meals. Or you could read a chapter of a book.
From personal experience, a fresh cup of coffee is what gets me out of bed when I don’t have other obligations. I use a percolator, and grind fresh coffee each use (i.e. not prepping it the night before). This helps me keep a routine between the weekdays and weekends.
I switched to tea for a bit after a rough bout of heartburn, worked about the same for me keeping a routine. I much prefer my doom scrolling when I can mimic the Kermit the frog meme with a piping hot morning beverage.
Also, you may be my friend based on the bathroom necessity. If not, you two should form a morning intestinal distress support group.
Thanks! I’m trying to stay away from coffee because it messes with my meds, but I’ll ask my doc about green tea.
I think it is very unlikely that I’m your friend, but that support group sounds appealing :)
You would have known from my username haha. Definitely give tea a try, and pick up some interesting varieties, a nice mug, and a fun electronic kettle to simplify / fancify it into a fun part of your morning!
