Every day, millions of people wake up in a bad mood. And many of those people wake up in a bad mood almost every day.
It could be because they don’t get enough sleep at night, because they’re chronically stressed, because they’re naturally not morning people, or for no apparent reason at all.
Obviously, nearly all of us would prefer to wake up in a better mood. But is there a way for us to consistently do it?
Inherent Limitations
First, we do need to acknowledge some inherent limitations. Human mood and emotion are extremely complicated subjects that scientists are just scratching the surface of.
Accordingly, we can’t make firm predictions about how the human mind can or will respond to various stimuli, nor is it possible to make a universal recommendation that’s going to affect all people in the same way.
It does seem like there’s a genetic predisposition to how we change in mood and thought throughout the day; some people are genetically favored to be more active in the morning, while others are favored to be more active at night.
Additionally, thousands of little variables can impact your mood on any particular morning.
That said, there are some strategies that can help you wake up in a better mood more consistently.
Environment
Let’s start by focusing on changes you can make to your environment:
- Fix your alarm. What is your alarm like? Is it incredibly loud and annoying? Is it one of your favorite songs or a sound effect you really like? Does it start off slow and gradually rise, letting you accumulate to the noise? Believe it or not, the sound your alarm makes has a big impact on your first impressions of the day. Consider experimenting with different sound levels and effects to see how they impact your mood.
- Get a heated bidet toilet seat. It may seem like a small change, but a heated bidet toilet seat can have a massive impact on how you feel in the morning. The bidet component can help you get cleaner and feel fresher, while the heated toilet seat component can make sure you don’t have the jarring experience of a cold toilet seat immediately upon waking.
- Improve the atmosphere. Change the atmosphere you walk into in the morning. Depending on your preferences and current environment, that could mean making the room warmer, making it colder, increasing or decreasing the humidity, or even introducing a pleasant scent. Try to optimize the experience to your liking and see if that helps you start with a better mood.
- Invest in a speaker. Invest in a high-quality speaker so you can enjoy better audio experiences as you move through your morning routine. Whether you’re listening to upbeat music, podcasts, or the audio from a favorite TV show, you’ll be glad you made the purchase.
- Eat breakfast. The idea that breakfast is the “most important meal of the day” has been subject to recent scrutiny, but there’s no doubt that eating breakfast can boost your mood. Always make sure you have time to prepare and peacefully consume a complete breakfast so you can start your day on the right foot.
Habits
You could also improve your habits:
- Drink plenty of water throughout the day. People who are better hydrated tend to sleep better and wake up in a better mood. It’s also better for your overall physical health. Make it a point to drink several glasses of water every day, or at least drink a full glass of water with every meal.
- Get plenty of high-quality sleep. Unsurprisingly, bad morning moods are most frequently a result of poor sleeping habits. That could mean not getting enough sleep, suffering from low-quality sleep, or both. If you believe you have a sleep problem, try your best to fix it however you can. For example, you might need to change the temperature of the room you sleep in, stop staring at digital devices before bed, cut out caffeine, introduce more physical exercise into your routine, or even invest in a new bed.
- Organize your thoughts and plans the night before. If you suspect your bad mood might be partially attributable to racing thoughts or other mental blocks, spend some time each night organizing your thoughts and planning the next day. This should help you wake up feeling less stressed and more prepared. If nothing else, it can give you more free time to collect yourself in the morning.
- Meditate. Mindfulness meditation is empirically shown to help people clear their heads – and generally feel better. If you’re not already practicing meditation, consider starting with a simple, 10-minute session before bed. It can help you get better, more restful sleep while setting yourself up for a morning with fewer distractions.
- Start waking up earlier. Finally, consider waking up earlier. If you’re not a morning person, this may seem like heresy, but consider rolling back your wake-up time at intervals of just a few minutes. With more time in the morning, you’ll be less rushed – and you’ll generally find yourself in a much better mood.
Apply these changes consistently, tweaking as necessary, and try to adhere to them for at least a few weeks.
After you get used to this new routine, you should notice a significant difference in how you feel when you wake up in the morning.