Ease into your day with morning classical & 5 more tips for a stress free morning

Have you ever wished you could get that Sunday morning calm feeling, but on a Tuesday?  Maybe you start your weekdays rushing around, feeling yourself overflow with anxiety and stress, only to not even make it to work on time. Your mind is ticked off about sitting in traffic and you’re wishing it could just ease into that morning classical playlist you’re listening to in the background.

Classical Morning 4+ hours of classical music for a relaxed start of the day. Enjoy a classical morning with Bach, Debussy, Beethoven and more.

Sometimes you start off the day on the wrong foot and nothing, not even your favorite song, can change that mood around. The good news is that there are certainly some tips and tricks you can follow to ease into your day – and still be on time to beat rush-hour congestion. All you need is a great morning routine.

1. Prepare the night before

Making choices when you’re rushed can play against you since your brain might not be up to the challenge at 7:00 AM. Give it a little rest by allowing the you from the night before to make all the decisions in advance. Lay out your outfit for the day, queue up your morning meditation, and make sure your lunch is already packed and prepped.

2. Don’t snooze!

Your body uses sleep to recharge for the next day, which is why it’s so important to get a full 7-8 hours every night. But, when you hit the snooze button to give yourself a little more snoozing time, your brain thinks it’s being allowed to return into that deep REM sleep (the regenerative type of sleep). Those extra 10 minutes, however? They aren’t really enough to reenter REM, and so when your alarm goes off again it mostly just causes a fight or flight response. Waking up that way can be quite aggressive for your body, which in turn can increase your blood pressure and heartbeat. Curious to learn more about the negative effects of snoozing? Check out this YouTube video by sleep expert, Els Van Der Helm.

3. Listen to music. Morning classical, anyone?

When we say listen to music when waking up, we don’t mean heavy metal – although if that’s what you like then all the more power to you! A relaxing morning classical playlist filled with soft and soothing piano music tends to work for most people. There are endless benefits to a calm, morning classical wake-up with lowered anxiety being one of the biggest outcomes. The Huffington Post has an excellent article detailing in more depth a few other interesting reasons.  Want to try it out for yourself? This Spotify playlist will ensure you’re serenaded by Beethoven, Bach, Chopin, Mozart and more the moment you open your eyes.

4. Do something that brings you joy

Start your day doing something just for you. Are you into working out? Journaling? How about reading or meditating? Whatever you enjoy the most, set aside 15 minutes at the start of your morning to do. That said, if you’re the kind of person who doesn’t want to do anything in the morning then don’t feel pressured to. To paraphrase the unexpected happiness guru, Marie Kondo, if it doesn’t spark joy then don’t do it.

5. Have a healthy breakfast

We know, stress and food don’t tend to go hand-in-hand. But, it’s been said again and again that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and there’s a valid reason for that. Studies show that eating something in the morning can help build up your energy for the rest of the day. It makes sense too, you’re basically “breaking the fast” you’ve been in while you slept so your body needs the nutrients to jump-start the day.

Bonus Tip

On Sunday morning take the time to indulge in a leisurely wake-up routine. Enjoy that extra time to ease into the day by sleeping in, enjoying breakfast in bed, and reading a few chapters of your book of the month. Top it all off by setting the mood for the rest of your day by listening to that gentle morning classical playlist we shared above.