25 Great Ways to Create a Calm Morning Routine

8. Write in a gratitude journal

​Take time to write down what you’re grateful for each day. It can make a positive impact on how you feel. “I have a gratitude journal that I use, and when I’m in an appointment with my patients, I pull it out and I show them I have it myself. It’s useful,” says Dr. LaMont Moss, a psychiatrist with Kaiser Permanente in Colorado. What you write down doesn’t have to be prolific. The idea is to acknowledge three to five things in your life you’re grateful for each day.  Gaman offers some examples: “I’m grateful for my health. I’m grateful for my wife. I’m grateful for my friend.” And don’t tap on a keyboard, either — use a pen and paper. Handwriting connects the right side of your brain with the left side and creates a muscle memory that’s linked to the gratitudes you’ve written down, Gaman explains. Expressing gratitude has been shown to reduce inflammatory markers in the body, improve sleep quality and boost mental health, he adds. ​​

9. Practice deep breathing

Breathing deeply in the morning can be a calming start to the day, and it provides health benefits as well. For example, it “lower[s] cortisol levels and helps with blood pressure, and it helps with anxiety and stress,” says Gaman. Deep breathing is just what it sounds like: Take a deep breath, hold it, let it out. “Breathe in through the nose, breathe out through the mouth,” adds Gaman, who recommends five minutes of deep breathing exercises after you wake up. 

10. Get some sunshine

Spending some time soaking up the sun in the morning is a relaxing way to begin the day, and research shows that sunlight is good for us in many ways, including helping our bodies produce vitamin D, which is good for our bones, skin and brain, says Culbertson.  But don’t spend too much time out in the sun, because that can raise your risk of skin cancer. If you’re going to be in direct sunlight for more than a few minutes, wear sunscreen, a hat and sunglasses.

11. Try some meditation 

​Dedicate a few minutes every day to meditation . It can help your body and mind relax. “A two- or three-minute meditation allows us to slow down, think about what’s going on, slow our thoughts and relax,” says Moss. While meditation is typically used in the context of mental health, there’s also a lot of data about how it can help with chronic pain and other physical illnesses. “If we could take a few minutes out of our morning to help us feel better physically, it ends up helping us mentally as well,” Moss says. Many apps and platforms offer age-appropriate meditation programs; check out Calm, Headspace and Simple Habit.

12. Take time to make social connections 

​The morning is a great time to connect with those you care about and make plans with them. “Social connection is extremely important, especially as we get older,” says Moss. As people age, isolation becomes more common, so it’s important to actively seek out connections. In the mornings, Moss suggests asking, “How am I going to connect with people today?”​

Calling or texting someone is an easy way to keep in touch; or arrange to meet in person for a coffee. “You can text-message your close friend and start the conversation in the morning, [or] call them. No matter what’s going on with you physically, you can still stay connected to your friends and family in the world,”  says Moss. 

13. Stretch your body 

“Stretching is important for all ages, but especially as we get older, we start developing osteoarthritis, stiff joints and stiff ligaments,” says Gaman. Some stretches can be done while you’re still lying in bed, such as a lumbar twist or a hamstring stretch, says Culbertson. Once you’re up and moving, she recommends doing some light cardio exercises to warm up your muscles before you begin a more vigorous stretching routine.

There are two types of stretching: dynamic stretching, which involves moving through a full range of motion to warm up;  and static stretching, which involves holding a stretch for a set period of time. Culbertson says dynamic stretching can be your warm-up, though most people are used to static stretching. For example, she suggests “neck stretches side to side, forward, back, loosening up some arms [and] cross-body stretches with the shoulders, just to get everything moving.” She recommends back stretches, too: “I like to do some low back stretches because just as we all age, if we’re sitting down a lot during the day, our back tends to get a little tight.”

14. Avoid social media and news for the first hour

If you roll out of bed and your first instinct is to pick up your phone and check social media or the news, reconsider. Getting up and scrolling through your Facebook account, Instagram, a news site or emails isn’t the best way to begin the day. “It doesn’t give the brain a chance to set and be focused whatsoever,” says Gaman. He recommends waiting an hour after you wake up before looking at your news or social media to give your mind a chance to prepare to the day. 

​15. Do a puzzle

An online or physical puzzle can be a stimulating and immersive activity for the brain. “It helps you focus on what the task is at hand, because you have to pay attention to the pieces and figure out where they fit,” says Culbertson. She likes Wordle and puzzles on the New York Times website: “I do those in the morning to wake myself up.”

16. Do a workout

Exercise is important throughout our lives, and it becomes even more essential as we age. Planning a workout routine in the morning is a great way to get the day started. Plus, when you’ve finished, you know you’ve gotten your exercise in for the day.  “Our bodies need exercise more than ever, and the type of exercising we do is going to change,” says Moss. “We’re not taking on the same kind of physical load that we did when we were younger.”​

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends that people get a minimum of 150 minutes of cardiovascular activity every week, which breaks down to 30 minutes a day over five days. “The intensity level is what’s important,” says Culbertson. How can you tell if you’re exercising hard enough? She says you should be able to have a conversation but you shouldn’t be able to sing. Choose your favorite ways to exercise, whether it’s jogging, yoga or riding a bike. “Whatever exercise it is that you like to do, that’s the one you should do,” Culbertson says. “Don’t try to fit something into your life that makes you miserable.”

​17. Find something that makes you joyful

Take a moment in the morning to think about what brings you joy. “I work with a lot of patients whose stress levels have reached the point of causing them to have physical symptoms,” says Clarke. He recommends that they start their day with “something that is only about their own joy, their own satisfaction — something that they are doing for themselves.”  

18. Eat a nutritious breakfast 

​Make sure that your first meal of the day has plenty of nutrition and calories. Protein and fiber are key ingredients. Clarke says fiber is good for the microbiome and helps the healthy bacteria in your gut thrive, while protein becomes more important as people age. “Once we’re over 55, especially in men, the muscles start breaking down and get weak, and the only way to prevent that is to eat high-quality protein and do some exercises,” says Gaman, who suggests a high-protein breakfast including foods such as egg whites, Greek yogurt or a protein shake.

19. Stroll outside

Starting off the day with a walk outside can set you up for success. A little stroll in nature is not only good exercise; it also boosts the muscle contractions that help clear waste products from the gastrointestinal tract, says Clarke. “A brief morning walk stimulates the circulation [and] helps your blood pressure,” says Gaman. Exposure to natural light helps your circadian rhythm, too.

20. Listen to music

Your favorite tunes can set the mood for the day. Culbertson says her choice of music depends on what she has on her agenda. “Do you need to go into your day a little more relaxed, or go into your day amped up?” she asks. If she has to give a presentation, she’ll listen to laid-back music, but if she’s seeing patients, she wants more upbeat songs to motivate her.

21. Read for pleasure

Reading a novel, a few poems or a magazine article is another healthy morning routine. In a study published in Frontiers in Psychology in 2022, adults between 60 and 79 years old spent eight weeks either reading leisurely or actively doing puzzles. The researchers found that reading each day could help counteract age-related memory loss.

22. Do one thing to put yourself first

Practice an act of self-care as a morning ritual,  “a simple act of putting yourself first at the beginning of the day,” says Clarke. Start with a small declaration of what you’re going to do or achieve. “You deserve to be on the list of people you take care of,” he says. It doesn’t have to be bold or big — “It may be something as simple as taking a cup of coffee or tea outside and being in a natural environment for a little while.”

23. Take morning medical prescriptions

Remembering to take prescription medication in the morning is important, especially for drugs you may need to take on an empty stomach, says Gaman. For example, there are drugs for Parkinson’s disease that are best taken an hour before eating or two hours after eating, he says, since the protein in a meal may interfere with absorption. People on thyroid medication generally need to take it half an hour before eating or drinking. Taking your medication at the same time every day can also ensure that you don’t forget to do it. 

24. Get dancing

Dancing to a couple of your favorite songs is an excellent way to kick off the day. “The movement is good for your endorphins and just kind of perks your mood up a little bit,” says Culbertson. The best part of dancing at home is that no one’s watching. “It doesn’t matter if you don’t have any rhythm,” she adds. Evidence shows that older adults who engage in dance as part of socializing might benefit from improved cognition, according to a systematic review in the Journal of Cognitive Enhancement published in 2018.

​25. Check your blood pressure

“For some of my patients, I always recommend they check their blood pressure in the morning, and keep a journal of how they’re feeling,” says Culbertson. Tracking how you feel provides important information when you see your doctor, especially as fitness levels change. Your blood pressure can fluctuate, so keeping a record over time can be helpful. (Healthy individuals may not need to track it.) And if you start working out, your cardiovascular system will improve and you may lose some weight, which Culbertson says could also lower your blood pressure slightly.