{"id":6795,"date":"2022-10-03T17:27:15","date_gmt":"2022-10-03T17:27:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.outsideonline.com\/?p=2601495"},"modified":"2022-10-03T17:27:15","modified_gmt":"2022-10-03T17:27:15","slug":"in-defense-of-your-regular-morning-routine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yogacourseware.com\/index.php\/2022\/10\/03\/in-defense-of-your-regular-morning-routine\/","title":{"rendered":"In Defense of Your Regular Morning Routine"},"content":{"rendered":"
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My morning routine looks a little like this: wake up, hit snooze ten times, roll out of bed, head out on a half-conscious jog wearing a mismatched outfit. When I reenter my apartment, it\u2019s a mad scramble to down coffee, shower, and open my laptop. (I forget about breakfast until roughly 10 A.M.) Despite the chaos, I usually feel proud of myself for making it out the door and onto the pavement before work. That is, until I go on TikTok.<\/p>\n

In a recent trend, dubbed the \u201c5-9 before my 9-5,\u201d users stitch together clips of their aesthetically pleasing morning ritual. While every routine is slightly different, it typically involves a long workout, a chef-worthy breakfast, and an extended journaling session. (They\u2019re probably wearing makeup to work, too.) The proliferation of these videos recently fueled my inner critic, eventually nudging me to wake up earlier<\/a> in an attempt to recreate their serenity. But instead of giving me a new sense of self or a boost of energy, I\u2019d later slug through my day, downing more than a healthy amount of caffeine. So much for a happy morning.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone\u2019s routine is super unique, and it\u2019s supposed to be,\u201dsays Kristen Casey<\/a>, a licensed clinical psychologist and insomnia specialist. \u201cSo, if you\u2019re trying to mimic someone else\u2019s routine to a tee, it\u2019s likely that you\u2019ll run into some problems, because you\u2019re not that person.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s nothing inherently wrong with being a night owl\u2014or an early riser.<\/a> However, if you attempt to switch up your body\u2019s natural tendencies, like waking up early if you\u2019re not falling asleep until midnight, you\u2019ll likely experience symptoms of sleep deprivation, Casey says. Over an extended period of time, repeated short sleep can be correlated with high blood pressure, diabetes, and, in some rare instances, heart attacks, she says.<\/p>\n

Changing your sleeping habits isn\u2019t as simple as setting your alarm before sunrise and heading to bed at a responsible hour. Vanessa Hill<\/a>, a behavioral scientist and science communicator, says your early bird or night owl status is determined by your chronotype, the term for your natural tendency to be more awake or sleepier at different points of the day. This is different from your circadian rhythm, a 24-hour sleep-wake cycle that could change depending on your daily schedule or what time zone you\u2019re in. When your chronotype and circadian rhythm aren\u2019t synchronized, you may feel drowsy or groggy, Hill says.<\/p>\n

But attempting to shift your routine because of a TikTok trend\u2014guilty\u2014hurts more than your body\u2019s natural sleeping patterns. It also feeds into the comparison trap surrounding #ProductivityTok.<\/a> While these carefully planned, aesthetically pleasing videos may feel motivating to some, they induce guilt in others. If you fall in the latter camp, it\u2019s important to have self-compassion, Hill says. \u201cPersonally, I would never get up at 5 A.M. and do a 5-to-9 because I\u2019m a night owl myself,\u201d she says. Instead, she tries to schedule her days to begin later, to accommodate her sleeping habits.<\/p>\n

Some night owls on TikTok are reclaiming their routines. In a video titled \u201ca \u2728realistic \u2728look at my 5-9 before my 9-5,\u201d<\/a> creator Victoria Rudy <\/a>shows herself waking up at 8:20 A.M., quickly getting ready, and throwing coffee in a cup before rushing out the door. It\u2019s the anti-aesthetic morning ritual. \u201cWe shouldn\u2019t be basing our productivity or our lives off of those videos,\u201d Rudy says.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also a privilege associated with creating aesthetic routines, Casey, the insomnia specialist, says. Some may not have a quiet space around them or an abundance of candles. \u201cYou\u2019re seeing a highlight reel of that person\u2019s sleep routine, or their bedtime routine, but that\u2019s not how it goes every night, I can almost guarantee that,\u201d she says. You\u2019re missing out on the behind-the-scenes look of the routine. Thanks to that sunrise alarm, they may be eating dinner early, skipping out on a night out with friends, and climbing into bed at 8 P.M.<\/p>\n

Others may be optimizing their post-work time. \u201cI get home from work at 5 P.M. and then go do tasks then,\u201d Rudy says. \u201cI live a more lively 5-to-9 P.M. life.\u201d Me too. After just a few days of my failed experiment, I returned to my old routine, ditching my temporary dream of an early wakeup. I still squeeze in that 7:30 A.M. run\u2014yawning most of the way\u2014but credit to my snoozes, I\u2019m able to make it to happy hour.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"In<\/figure>\n

Waking up early in the name of productivity may not actually be what’s best. <\/p>\n

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