Hi, everyone! 💖 I hope you’re having a great day! Wow, so I’ve been meaning to write this post for a while now. Ever since I can remember, I’ve been affected by morning anxiety.
When I was in high school, I especially dreaded Monday mornings and worried about the week ahead. Even in college and during my first year of work, I’d wake up sweating, and sometimes experience dizziness, headaches, and a fast heartbeat.
As I get older, I’m starting to get better at predicting my anxiety levels, and have noticed that it gradually fades as the day goes on. Throughout the years, I’ve found new ways to help ease anxiety in the mornings. Little things like drinking a glass of water or taking a few deep breaths go a long way!
So, what is morning anxiety, exactly? What symptoms do you experience?
According to Calm Clinic, “most people define [morning anxiety] as anxiety either immediately after waking up or anxiety that tends to build over the first hour or so upon awakening.”
As far as symptoms go, everyone experiences anxiety differently, but here are just a few signs of morning anxiety listed by Healthy Place:
- Rapid heartbeat
- Feeling weak, faint, or dizzy
- Tingling or numbness in the hands and fingers
- Fatigue
- Insomnia
- Chest pains
- Breathing difficulties
- Feeling a loss of control
- Trembling
Morning anxiety is caused by many different factors. For example, we produce higher levels of cortisol– which is a stress hormone — in the mornings. Aside from an increase in cortisol levels, Health Line adds that things like environmental factors and low blood sugar can contribute to morning anxiety.
Although waking up with these symptoms is devastating, there are steps you can take to relieve morning anxiety and still have a good day. Here are just a few. 💖
7 Simple Ways to Reduce Morning Anxiety
1. Wake up at least 30 minutes earlier.
Some days, this step seems nearly impossible. But it truly does help. Let’s say you set your alarm for 30 minutes earlier — you’ll get to wake up slowly and your mind won’t automatically go to “I have to get x, y, and z done today” mode. Instead, you might enjoy a cup of coffee, read a few articles, or watch a video or two on YouTube.
I mentioned in my self care routine post that I’ve been waking up a little earlier as of late, and it’s been great for reducing anxiety! Usually, I’ll read magazines and have my morning coffee. Establishing a little morning routine makes all the difference.
2. Drink a glass of water every morning.
If you’re dehydrated, that will only aggravate your anxiety symptoms more. On the flip side, dehydration can actually cause anxiety. Sigh, I know. It sucks.
Before you start your morning routine, make sure you drink a glass of water and remember to stay hydrated throughout the day. Personally, I bought a big tumbler from Starbucks and fill it up with water and ice.
3. Eat breakfast. If you’re in a rush, make a healthy smoothie.
Eating a balanced breakfast is another great way to combat anxiety. According to LifeHack, “Enjoying a healthy breakfast as part of your morning routine can set an excellent tone for the rest of your day. Starting your day with a healthy breakfast has the potential to improve your mood.”
On busier mornings, try making a breakfast smoothie! Pinterest has the tastiest smoothies like Banana and Peanut Butter Oatmeal.
I used to skip breakfast all the time, and that made my anxiety symptoms so much worse. Lately, I’ve been eating breakfast every day and have noticed a huge change.
4. As you’re getting ready for the day, listen to a podcast that focuses on anxiety and stress relief.
A few months back, I was dealing with some really intense anxiety. I looked up “podcasts to help relieve anxiety” and found The Anxiety Coaches. Gina Ryan has such a soothing voice, and I learned so much about anxiety in just one episode.
A little blurb from their site:
With 2 shows a week Gina, along with the other coaches and special guests, help you overcome anxiety, panic attacks, and PTSD while living a healthy lifestyle all in a relaxing, informative, and inspiring show.
5. Create a relaxing playlist on Spotify.
Time and time again, music has calmed my fears and lifted my spirits. Maybe I’m feeling down or anxious? Hey, nothing a LIGHTS song can’t fix. Do I need a good cry? Let me turn on Band of Horses “Part One.” What about if I want to unwind? Alicia Keys, “You Don’t Know My Name,” of course.
When CDs were super popular, I used to make playlists for my best friends. Last night, I created a “45 Relaxing Songs” playlist for y’all. These are songs that I find help most with stress and anxiety. Hope you like them! 💛
6. Think of one thing you’re looking forward to later.
There was one point in my life where my anxiety got so bad that I’d have to plan out my schedule hour by hour. Whenever I got really stressed, I’d close my eyes and think about the one thing that I was looking forward to that afternoon or evening.
It could have been reading a good book, chatting with my friends, catching up on my favorite blogs and Youtube videos, a movie night with Alejandro, or hearing my little brother’s laughter!
If you’re anxious in the morning, close your eyes and think about how great your evening is going to be. Maybe you’re hanging out with friends after work. Imagine the setting: you’re sharing a yummy meal and chatting together.
The image of their smiling faces will definitely make you feel a little better!
7. Divide your day into small hourly blocks.
Since we’re on the topic, try planning your day in smaller segments. Don’t feel like you have to get everything done all at once. Create a realistic checklist and just do the best that you can.
If there’s one thing you have to get done that’s stressing you out — like a final paper for your literature class or a presentation at work — make that your first priority and if possible, schedule other things out for the next day.
Reward yourself when you’ve completed that task. If you’re feeling drained, remember to take some time out for yourself, whether it’s taking a much needed nap or writing in your journal!
I hope that you enjoyed this post! Have a wonderful rest of your day and an amazing weekend! x 💓
Do you experience morning anxiety or stress? What helps you with relieving anxiety during the morning?
I suffer with anxiety so much in the mornings so I love this and definitely will start waking up earlier. Also I am shook at the playlist in this post, I never knew you can add a spotify playlist in a post!! xx
Waking up early has helped so much for me, lately!! I don’t know what it is, maybe just having that extra time to relax in the mornings. Hope it’s helpful for you too, dear. x And I had no idea you could either prior to this post!! I actually went to look it up on Google and it was super easy to add. All I had to do was download the Spotify app on my laptop, and then embed the playlist into my post! 🙂
The first thing I do when I get up is have two glasses of water. I really like #6, it makes you look forward to finishing work or having dinner if you’re going somewhere nice 🙂
Definitely! It’s such a nice little treat after a long day.💖Just yesterday, I had kind of a busy day at work and was looking forward to going to the movies with Alejandro. It’s the little things. 💛Two glasses of water in the morning is so great! It’s the best way to start your day. 😊I drink one glass but really want to start drinking more water in the morning and throughout the day. x
What movie did you see?
We went to see the new Hotel Transylvania movie! It was super cute. 🙂 I wanna see Mamma Mia next!!
Great post lovely 🙂 Thinking of something you can look forward to is a great idea.
Thanks so much, dear!! 💕I’ve noticed that out of all the tips, that one helps a lot for me personally. Makes the day a little brighter x
Such a nice post, this came to me at such a good time!
I’m glad that you enjoyed the post, hon! 💓x
I’m so happy to read that you have techniques to help manage your anxiety because it’s wonderful to hear that you know when you could have a bad day, you take steps to reduce and/or eradicate it. I’m lucky to say that I don’t suffer from morning anxiety, but these tips are great. Eating breakfast is a must for me, haha, otherwise I feel my whole day about to go downhill. And the dividing your day into blocks is also so imperative in helping you feel like you’ve achieved something, so that’s when I use them so I don’t think, ‘but wait, what did I actually DO today?’
It’s amazing that you keep sharing your tips with us. I always look forward to reading them, and actually, where I’ve been trying to do more self-care, I always think back to your blog to inspire me 🙂
Francesca, you’re sooo sweet!! 💖💛 Your comment made my day and I smiled while reading it!! x A lot of these tips have taken me a long time to learn and implement throughout my day. When I was younger, it was really hard to manage my anxiety but it’s gotten easier as I age. Also, ever since I’ve started to implement more self care into my life, i’ve just noticed such an improvement in general with my mood and anxiety.
I’m so happy that these tips are helpful and you think about them for your own self care routine. I’ve been learning so much from your posts as well too, hon. Seriously, your latest post about self care was so helpful. 💕 Also, your traveling posts are inspiring and make me want to travel more. 💛
I definitely agree with eating breakfast and waking up earlier. Breakfast gives energy boost and also helps body to relax and be ready for day. Also whenever I wake up earlier I feel like I don’t need to rush like crazy and stressing myself will I get ready on time and be late, which I absolutely hate. Being late is the worse, I hate it. xx
Oh my gosh, I totally get that! Especially when I was in school, my mom would practically have to force me out of bed sometimes to not be late for class 😂Getting up earlier has made such a huge difference. Now, I’ll just have my breakfast and a cup of coffee. Getting ready for the day is also so much easier and I feel more energized.
Breakfast is definitely such an important meal. I can’t miss breakfast nowadays! I look forward to my bowl of oatmeal or smoothie lol x
I definitely agree that it’s great to wake up earlier, because you are not rushing like crazy to finish everything.
I totally do number 7!! it makes the day so much less stressful when you don’t have to take everything on at once & i like making a checklist so i can see my progress! feels good checking stuff off the list 😂
I’m the same way!! 😊I bought a journal and I’ll write a little checklist with the stuff I have to get done that day. It’s been helping so much. 💓Thanks so much for reading, darling! x