When You Wake Up, Don’t Forget to Turn Your Brain On!

If you’re like me, you’re not much of a Morning person.   When you wake up, it’s easy just reluctantly to sleepwalk through your morning chores.   First, your arm, with a mind of its own, rises in the air and comes crashing down, defeating the evil alarm clock.   However, the alarm has already inflicted mortal wounds in your sleeping.   So, grudgingly, you stumble to the bathroom to brush your teeth (don’t turn on the light! It’s too bright!).   Then, you silently continue your morning routine before heading out the door like a zombie on the way to work.

The problem with this is you haven’t given your Brain a chance to rev up, and through repetition, it’s probably learned that it gets to sleep a little bit longer than you.   Besides being dangerous (see how many accidents there are on the way to work?), it also makes you less efficient for the rest of the day.   It’s important to turn your brain on in the morning so it’s already up and running at optimal speed when needed.

If you haven’t heard, breakfast is the most important meal.   The reason is when you wake up, your body has just been laying there for about 8 hours.   That’s eight hours of not eating, not drinking, and not moving (at least not much, “Jimmy Legs”).   During this “fast,” your body has still been working: digesting that midnight snack, repairing those muscles you worked out, and tons of other little jobs you take for granted.   But your metabolism has slowed to a crawl compared to your active hours, and the same goes for your brain.

Keeping with the breakfast analogy, you want to eat within the first hour of waking up, preferably the first 30 minutes.   The sooner you eat, the sooner you get your metabolism up and running, which means your body starts burning unnecessary fat.   You should apply the same concept to your brain.  Try to do something challenging and engaging that makes you think and tells your brain, “Hey, I’m awake; now you wake up too!”.

Turn Your Brain On!

I do this a few different ways.   The first thing I do in the morning before anything else is solve a quick Sudoku puzzle. Sudoku is just a crossword puzzle except with numbers instead of words.Â. I’ve gotten good enough now that I can solve one in about 2 minutes.   That’s only two precious minutes I’ve lost out of my morning rush, but just like breakfast, that small amount will pay off for the rest of the day.   Even when starting out, you can usually solve the “Easy” puzzles in about 5-6 minutes.   You can learn more about how to play and unlimited free puzzles at WebSudoku.com.

Another way I start my mental engines in the morning is to watch Jeopardy while I get dressed (of course, Tivo‘d from the day before).   I just listen to Mr. Trebek in the background and chime in (very rarely!) when I know an answer (uhh…I mean question?).  Either way, it doesn’t matter how you do it, but just do something to make yourself less of a brainless zombie.   You will notice a difference for the entire day and be more efficient during those first few groggy hours in the office.   Your brain needs a good workout, like your pecs, lats, and biceps!