The Number One Thing You Should Do as Soon as You Wake up Each Morning

And its four surprising benefits.

Out of all the practices I write about, I can confidently say that this is the most important one to incorporate into your morning.

If you do nothing else in your morning routine, at least get some water into your body. Without enough water, our bodies won’t be able to effectively execute everything else we need them to.

While incredibly overdone at this point, please bear with me, as I believe this practice is crucial for good health.

The importance of hydrating in the morning

While this is a simple and not very exciting habit, it’s so important. We’re a chronically dehydrated society and this leads to myriad consequences.

I believe that the top 3 practices everyone should include in their mornings are hydration, light, and movement, in that order, ideally every single morning.

Interestingly, these are author Aubrey Marcus’ first 3 practices he includes in his book Own the Day, Own Your Life, which I highly recommend reading. He explains:

“Waking up your body with coffee is like setting off a fire alarm as an alarm clock. When you’re dehydrated and have nothing in your stomach, the caffeine enters your bloodstream incredibly fast, releasing a flood of stress hormones from your adrenal glands that your body reads as a fight or flight trigger.”

While I’m a huge proponent of having coffee in the morning, I always make sure I have a full bottle of water first. Today I woke up feeling a bit run down, so added a big cup of herbal tea before my morning coffee as well, just for some extra fluids. Always tune in to your body, and listen for what it needs.

I think these 3 practices of hydration, light, and movement are crucial for a productive, healthy day. Aubrey Marcus further explains:

“You can have all the stoic discipline you want, but if you don’t handle the first twenty minutes after getting out of bed correctly, you are going to be fighting an uphill battle all day.”

I think we all know we should drink more water, and there is no better time than the morning.

Key points about water

Warm water

This daily practice is even more beneficial if the water is at room temperature. Tepid water is absorbed better by the digestive system. I’ll let a scientist explain this for me:

“It is recommended to take a cup of warm water in the morning, to stimulate the movement of the intestine, as hot water helps to relax the blood vessels and the digestive tract and thus stimulate digestion. Taking a cup of lukewarm water keeps the body balanced and promotes the body’s persistence by applying all its functions. The stability of the human body temperature at about 37°C during most of the day is beneficial to chemical reactions in the body that rely on enzymes.” — Research Gate

Filtered water

I only drink filtered water, which is something I have been doing for over 6 years now. I first learned about the importance of filtered water from the book Brain Maker by Dr. David Perlmutter.

In this book, he talks about how the substances in public water supplies e.g. chlorine, runoff from the inside of the pipes (which can include substances such as mercury and lead), and pesticides can actually harm the beneficial bacteria in our guts, leading to a host of health issues.

Therefore, it’s important that we have some way of filtering our water. I use a Brita filter jug and the Brita water bottles, and am looking at installing a tap filter in my kitchen as well.

Benefits

Toxin removal

When we sleep, our body undergoes numerous cleaning and clearing out processes — especially our brains. This means when we wake up in the morning, we have all sorts of waste products moving around in our system. Drinking water as soon as you wake up will help move these substances through your body, as this practice encourages movement in both the bowels and the urinary system.

Metabolic benefits

Drinking water can also kick-start the metabolism, with studies showing that drinking water can increase the metabolic rate by 30%. This is a great way to start the day, especially if you’re looking to optimize your metabolism and possibly burn some extra calories.

Improved cognition

Oftentimes, feelings of fatigue and lethargy in the morning are a result of dehydration. Simply rehydrating can clear that head and improve cognitive functioning.

Furthermore, the brain is over 70% water, further highlighting why hydration is so important for the functioning of the brain.

Immune function

Proper immune functioning relies on the body being well hydrated. Therefore, starting the day hydrated is a great way to support your immune system as you move into the day and into possible virus and bacteria exposure.

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