In my 20s, I would go for a run within an hour of waking. But as the years went by, I would linger over coffee and my studies or work. Even though I still wanted to move in the morning, I realized the best quality creativity and focus were accessible to me in the first hours of the morning. It wasn’t the same later.

Eventually, I realized that if I focus on studying or work on a project and delay my workout until later, I could get another boost of focus when I return, refreshed and showered from exercise.

Even when I was training for Iron -distance triathlons, 3 to 4-hour long sessions of running, biking, or swimming could be tiring. I may have had some good ideas on the bike, but overly long sessions left both mind and body drained and exhausted.

The science behind this has a lot to do with cortisol, which helps our brains handle stress and concentrate more effectively earlier in the day. Mental focus is best between 10am and 2pm, but this may vary based on whether you’re a morning or night person.

For me, it’s the quiet of early morning.. typically between 5am and 9am.. that offers the best focus. But if you’re a night owl, you may find focus and get things done later. But only a few of us can focus really well late at night.

P.S. Waiting a little while before exercise has another benefit backed by science: it reduces the risk of back injuries. After an hour of moving around before getting to the gym (like getting dressed or driving) the pressure on spinal discs lessens, lowering the chance of herniation. You can check out the link of another episode below for Myths, Causes, and Solutions for Back Pain.

My Morning Routine and Clear Thinking

A fascinating article on sleep cycles, naps, shorter sleep spans and no naps might make you a believer in naps. Even me, as a fairly proclaimed non-napper, I find it difficult to wake up and re-engage in the day after a nap. But the science behind napping is compelling.

There’s something about working too long. When we push through long work hours without breaks (a common Western habit), it disrupts the potassium-sodium balance and keeps us in a Beta brain wave state. Beta waves are for analyzing and alertness. When we sleep, we get Theta waves which are for creativity and higher mental functions. If you study meditation at all, you’ll hear about different waves.

As we fall asleep, our brains move from Beta (awake and analyzing) to Alpha (calmer and quiet mind), then Theta (half-awake or half-asleep), and finally Delta (deep sleep). Research says, we cycle through these stages in 90-minute intervals during sleep and even during the day, our brains naturally focus best in 90-minute bursts. So, if your mind starts wandering after about 90 minutes, it’s normal. We do better with a 20-minute break for productivity and creativity than powering through. The quality of the work is better.

I discovered this myself by pure accident, and then began to lean into it more as I learned more about the brain. What is hard for me is to honor the habit of meditation first thing because when I wake, I tend to want to start my usual habits. It’s true for most of us. And if you have a dog, your habits change real fast!

If you are finding you aren’t as productive or energetic as you like, and you’re ready to try a new routine, here are some suggestions so you can find a morning routine that works for you.

4 Steps to Create Your Own Personal Instead of Adopting My Morning Routine!

Learn your personal patterns: keep a track of your energy during different parts of the day, and you’ll eventually see which are the best moments for you to work and rest. We all have this Basic Reset-Activity cycle, but you can learn more about your own personal best routine, even within the confines of work, kids or dogs!

Now, this is not going to work best until you’ve begun optimizing habits like high protein/low carb breakfasts; avoiding coffee-only till noon rituals, avoid skipping meals. You’re not using wine to wind down every night. None of this is going to help you as directly with day time energy if you’re sabotaging yourself.
Maximize your peak cycles: plan your day in order to take advantage of the moments where you have the most energy.

I share this with health coaches and trainers in our Flipping 50 Menopause Fitness Specialist program and with our team members too. Though there are things that have to be done on a 12 and 24-hour period within our business, we allow flexibility in our team members to do them.

Where we have issues is if there are too many errors, oversights, and it becomes obvious someone isn’t firing on all cylinders, assuming they are the right person for the job.
Take a break: When you’re in a down cycle, it’s better to rest than power through. Rest is not optional.

My personal mental breaks from work are physical movement. After 3 or 4 hours of morning focus, I’ll break to workout. In the afternoon, between sessions, I’ll get Moses outside and play fetch with him or do one of what I’ve coined our 10-minute Longevity snacks. The dynamic balance and agility moves actually require thought, but of an entirely different kind, and definitely away from a screen.
Get enough sleep: Sleep deprivation results in a prolonged cycle, lowering your productivity.

My Morning Routine Can be Different to Yours

For me, sleep has always been non-negotiable. Even in high school, I didn’t “sleep in” well. Slumber parties wrecked me for the next couple days. And I was in bed by 10:00pm most high school nights. I just preferred it. Now, all of us were teens with different sleep habits at one point, but even in high school and college, I was up irritatingly early for my dorm roommates at least.

Women in Midlife are more susceptible to negative effects of stress. That’s going to impact our brain as well as our physical body. Doing either of these types of stressful work early in the day will reap better rewards.

For women in midlife, working with cortisol levels in this way is also beneficial. You can avoid the conversion of other hormones necessary for sleep and rest to cortisol to supply the energy in late-day intense exercise. It seems to go well for women during, but the quality and quantity of sleep is negatively affected.

By studying scientific processes and anecdotally having thousands of clients flip their intense workouts to am, we’ve seen improvements in their energy, fitness, and fatness.

References:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/npr2.12042

https://fmidr.com/the-power-of-the-sleep-cycle/

https://hive.com/blog/90-minute-time-blocking/

Other Episodes You Might Like:

Morning Routines, Training to Fatigue, and Defining “Fueled”: https://www.flippingfifty.com/morning-routines/

Successful Habit Change for Health, Fitness, & Wellness After 50: https://www.flippingfifty.com/successful-habit-change/

Myths, Causes, and Solutions for Back Pain with Dr. Stuart McGill: https://www.flippingfifty.com/myths-causes-solutions-back-pain/

Resources:

BLISSMAS 12-Day Challenge: https://www.flippingfifty.com/blissmas

Flipping 50 Membership: https://www.flippingfifty.com/cafe

March 16 2006 Hour 1 / Eye on the Future w/ Alan Watt as guest