It is not uncommon to experience a surge of anxiety in the morning, but it sure is inconvenient! So how are we to cope with anxiety when waking up? With a soothing morning routine of course! Morning routines are great for managing anxiety, especially if you tend to wake up feeling anxious. Even if you don’t, a grounding morning routine can be a great preventative strategy for anxiety that might come up later in the day.
When we have a routine, we know what will happen next, so there’s no unpredictability to add to our anxiety. We can load our routine with soothing, grounding activities that help to settle our nervous systems before starting our potentially hectic or stressful day. It also eliminates any decision-paralysis we might experience in the morning due to our anxiety, because we’ve made all the decisions ahead of time.
The morning routine that I am about to share with you is not necessarily intended to be copied step by step. Rather, it is intended to inspire you to find the right morning routine for YOU. Everybody is unique and living very different lives, so what works for each of us is going to look very different. But I do hope that this sample routine inspired by my own gives you some ideas of things you could include in your own morning routine.
A Word on Routines
Before we get into the good stuff, consider this: it can take a while to find a routine that works for you and to make it stick. So please offer yourself some grace and patience during this process, and consider your actual lifestyle when choosing routine steps. For example, giving yourself 2 hours for your routine might sound great, but probably isn’t realistic if you are a person who hits snooze 5 times. The goal is to cope with anxiety when waking up, not make it worse.
You might also consider creating a few different routines based on different amounts of time or energy available throughout the week. For example, maybe you have 2 hours for a nice, slow routine on the weekend, but realistically only have 1 hour on weekdays. Or maybe some nights you don’t sleep well so a bare minimum routine is more accessible compared to mornings when you wake up full of energy.
Ready to get into our sample routine? Below are the general steps that I like to follow most mornings. I’ve also included additional anxiety pro tips, for those mornings when anxiety is higher than usual. Feel free to play around with these steps (and others I may not have included) until you a find a routine that helps you to start your day feeling calm and grounded and even excited!
Sample Morning Routine to Calm Anxiety
Step 1: Get up and get dressed.
To cope with anxiety when waking up, I usually get dressed pretty much as soon as I get up. Sometimes it’s right into my work clothes, other times it’s into some loungewear if my body is really craving something cozy. Either way, the reason I change out of my PJs so quickly is that I find it harder to be productive and get started with my day when I keep them on all morning. Getting dressed helps to dissolve the freeze state anxiety can put us in and makes moving on with your day much simpler!
Anxiety Pro Tip:
I find it especially important to get out of my PJs when I wake up in an anxious state. However, it’s equally important to listen to your body and soothe your senses during these times. So, on especially anxious mornings, you might want to lean towards really soft, baggy and/or stretchy fabrics that don’t restrict movement and feel really cozy. Soft and cozy are great for the nervous system!
Step 2: Hydrate with something tasty!
It’s super important to hydrate our bodies after a night spent without water. However, if you’re like me, immediately downing a glass of cold water upon waking up might be a bit harsh on your stomach. My fix to that problem (and really my solution for any problem in life) is to make myself a cup of tea!
I stick to herbal tea first thing in the morning as caffeine can be dehydrating and a catalyst to anxiety. Since I love tea far too much, it’s something that I look forward to upon waking up. Choosing which tea I will make that morning is quite enjoyable, and sipping on a warm, tasty drink is very soothing. My advice is to find something that is hydrating but also that you will look forward to when waking up with anxiety!
Anxiety Pro Tip:
When I am feeling anxious, I choose food and drinks that will soothe my stomach. Some good herbal teas for these times include ginger (my favourite is a ginger peach blend), peppermint or an herbal chai blend.
Step 3: Head outside for some vitamin D.
This next step has been a game changer in my morning routine. There’s something so awesome about starting your day outside in the fresh air and sunshine. As soon as I make my cup of tea, I head out onto my patio for the next few steps of my routine. This might involve throwing on some extra layers, but it’s so worth it, trust me!
Anxiety Pro Tip:
Some days, getting outside might feel like just too much. Or maybe the weather makes it too difficult. On those days, consider even just cracking a window and sitting by it for a while. Some fresh air and natural light are better than none!
Step 4: Mindfulness practice.
Practicing mindfulness is a great way to cope with anxiety when waking up. And the good news is this can look like whatever it needs to look like for you. My favourite way to practice morning mindfulness is to really take in the outdoors with my senses. Notice any movement you can see around you. Hear the birds chirping and the wind blowing. Feel the warmth of the sun on your face and the breeze blowing through your hair. Smell the fresh air, or the scent of fresh cut grass or of your neighbours doing laundry. Take a mindful sip of your morning beverage and really savour it.
Here are some examples of other ways you might work mindfulness into your morning routine:
- Focus on your breath for a couple of minutes
- Practice the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding exercise
- Listen to a short, guided meditation
- Use a mindfulness app (I suggest the mindfulness.com app as a good place to start)
- Listen mindfully to a song from start to finish
Anxiety Pro Tip:
If using a guided mediation, choose one that really focuses on the senses as this can be especially grounding when we are feeling anxious. Or you might choose a guided visualization geared towards anxiety – my favourite is the Befriend Your Anxiety meditation by Cory Muscara on the mindfulness.com app but there are plenty of options on other apps too!
Step 5: Self-reflection and intention setting.
I have always found setting intentions for my day a great way to cope with anxiety when waking up. It allows my brain to recognize other ways that my day can go. Journaling can be a great tool for this process, or even just some simple self-reflection. Here are a few prompts that I like to reflect on at the beginning of my day:
- How am I feeling the morning?
- What is an intention I would like to set for today?/How would I like to feel today?
- What am I looking forward to today?
- How can I show myself love today?/How can I be my own best friend today?
Anxiety Pro Tip:
Something that helps me a lot when I am feeling really anxious about something is to free-write about what I am feeling and about what is worrying me. Or else you might just use prompts that are more geared towards your anxiety, such as “What does my anxiety need from me in this moment” and “How can I show myself compassion in this moment.”
Step 6: Do something you enjoy.
I think it’s super important to give ourselves time for something we enjoy every morning. So, while I am still outside sipping my tea, I like to read some fiction (huge bookworm here) or play a cozy game on my Nintendo Switch. There’s so little opportunity for fun and play as adults so we need to build that in ourselves!
Anxiety Pro Tip:
Choose an activity that really distracts your mind or keeps your hands/body busy on mornings when you’re feeling more anxious. Story of Seasons is my go-to on my Switch – for a person who would hate living on a farm in real life, I find virtual farming to be really relaxing. Maybe it’s a different game for you. Or maybe there’s something crafty that you like to do with your hands. You could also use this time to do some yoga or go for a walk. Whatever you choose, engaging in an activity you enjoy is a great way to cope with anxiety when waking up.
Step 7: Eat breakfast.
Once I’m ready to head back inside, I make myself a simple breakfast and watch some TV while eating (I know, not very mindful of me!). I’ll usually put on an episode of a show I’m watching or something from Youtube. Bonus points if you watch something funny – laughter is always a great way to start your day!
Anxiety Pro Tip:
Once again, we want to focus on eating something that soothes the stomach here. I like to think of it as how I would eat if I had the stomach flu. You may have heard of the BRAT diet, which stands for Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, Toast. Otherwise, I recommend just eating anything that appeals to you at this moment as our priority is to get something into our systems to fuel our bodies. Once your routine transitions to being more preventative, you can consider making nutritionally balanced meals.
Step 8: Finish getting ready for the day.
Now’s the time to do anything else you have to do to be ready for your day. I like to play some peppy music during this step. Not only is it a great mood booster, but dancing is great for regulating the nervous system! So this is a great opportunity to shake off any residual anxious energy you might be feeling.
Anxiety Pro Tip:
I keep certain playlists on my phone that resonate most with me when I am feeling anxious in the morning (they usually involve peppy oldies from the 60s, 70s and 80s). It is also helpful to do some more intentional dancing or shaking here to help release any anxious energy building up in your body.
Conclusion
There you have it, the morning routine of yet another anxious millennial 😉 Joking aside, having this routine has really helped me to cope with anxiety when waking up, and I hope having your own routine does the same for you!
I think it’s important to note that while this is the routine that works great for me right now, that might change in the future. And so, like with all other things in life, I encourage you to be flexible with your own routine and to be open to playing around with it when it doesn’t feel quite right anymore.
Hopefully you are now feeling inspired to discover your own ideal morning routine. If I can leave you with one last piece of advice, it would be this: consider how you can incorporate more MINDFULNESS and more JOY in your morning routine as a great place to start.
PS – experiencing anxiety at other times of the day too? Check out these posts for more helpful tips and strategies:
