The alarm clock rings, and even the earliest birds dread the moment they’ll have to slide out from under the covers. Waking up is never not hard… but what if there was another way to rise and shine?
According to the experts, there totally is—and they’re helping us usher in the new year with a morning routine refresh. Registered dietitian Lauren Manaker, RDN, LD and certified run coach Jen Steele are sharing their go-to snacks and hacks, from the foods that give them fuel to the secret behind consistent fitness.
It starts with a simple three-step formula of solid sleep, a delicious breakfast, and physical movement to ease some of your wake-up woes and set the tone for the rest of your day. And if you need some added support instituting these small but effective changes, keep Samsung Galaxy Watch51 on hand (um, wrist). With features designed to support your health and enhance your adventures—like heart-rate monitoring2, goal-setting, and coaching—you just might find yourself rising and shining a little extra this year.
Keep reading for your expert-backed morning routine checklist.
Shop Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Series for 50% Off at T-Mobile3
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1. A good night’s sleep
Your morning pep is only as strong as your night’s sleep. So as you kick off the new year, challenge yourself to high-quality rest and relaxation. Try limiting your screen time before bed, spritzing your pillow with lavender, and considering how the foods you eat could be impacting your shuteye.
According to Manaker, “certain factors of your diet may affect how you sleep. Eating too close to bedtime may make it harder to get a good night’s sleep, [and] not eating enough throughout the day can be linked to sleep interruption.” For a little help drifting into dreamland, she recommends foods that support certain sleep factors, like kiwi, dairy milk, and almonds.
For intel on your time spent asleep, cozy up with Galaxy Watch5. Advanced Sleep Coaching4 detects and holistically analyzes your snooze stages to help you manage your overall sleep quality better. You can even opt into a five-week program that includes helpful tips, missions, and checklists to improved your snooze. Sounds dreamy, right?
2. A bright-eyed breakfast
Next up on your morning routine checklist is breakfast. A hearty morning plate boosts your body with nutrients that help your brain and muscles thrive, Manaker says, and “eating a healthy breakfast is linked to people eating more important nutrients throughout the day.”
As they prep their breakfast, both Manaker and Steele hydrate with a tall glass of water. “When we are sleeping, we are obviously not replenishing the fluids that we lose by breathing or sweating,” Manaker says. “Replenishing the lost fluids in the morning can help start your day on the right foot [and] help you meet your fluid needs.”
From there, Manaker’s breakfast menu looks like a green smoothie with protein powder and chia seeds, or a veggie-packed egg scramble. But don’t just take her word for it—with body-composition analysis (BIA)5 on Galaxy Watch5, you can track how all these nutrients are supporting your overall health with readings on your basal metabolic rate, body water, skeletal muscle, and more.
3. Get moving
Once you’ve fueled your body with fluid and nutrients, make time to move. According to Steele, “exercising in the morning [can] encourage healthier eating throughout the day, boost energy for the rest of the day, improve focus and cognition, put you in a better mood…and improve your quality of sleep.”
Never been much of a morning exerciser? “Start small,” Steele says. “To stay consistent, make your small goal specific.” And lean on Galaxy Watch5 for motivation and encouragement as you kick off your routine. “Wellness technology helps with so many aspects of understanding physical well-being,” Steele says. “When you can get in touch with those things on a physical and data level, it helps you connect to the emotional well-being side.”
If running is your modality of choice, Advanced Run Coaching on Galaxy Watch5 tracks your distance and holds you accountable to your set goals. Plus, VO2 max readings give you intel on your oxygen levels to help you manage and track your heart and lung endurance.6
And when you’re ready for cool-down, Steele recommends re-fueling with protein and carbs. As you fuel up on her favorite combo of oatmeal, fruit, and peanut butter, reflect on your new and improved wake-up call… and consider your morning-routine checklist checked.
Ready to hack your morning routine? Get Samsung Galaxy Watch5 for 50 percent off at T-Mobile when you add a qualifying watch line.3
1. Requires smartphone with Android 8.0 or later, 1.5GB or more RAM and Samsung Health app (free) version 6.22 or later.
2. The heart rate software functions are not intended for use in the diagnosis of disease or other conditions, or in the cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of disease.
3. Offer available when you add a qualifying watch line. If you cancel wireless service before receiving 24 bill credits, credits stop and balance on required finance agreement is due.
4. For sleep pattern results, user must wear watch while they sleep for at least 7 nights and complete a survey. Not intended to diagnose or treat medical conditions.
5. The Samsung BIA is a body analyzer that uses bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) technology to track body composition based on weight, body fat, body mass index (BMI), skeletal muscle, body water, and basal metabolic rate (BMR) measurements. It is not intended to specifically diagnose or treat a medical condition.
6. The VO2 max software functions are not intended for use in the diagnosis of disease or other conditions, or in the cure, mitigation, treatment or prevention of disease. Accurate VO2 max reading requires running outdoors for at least 20 minutes with GPS on, consult user manual before use.
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