Establishing a Healthy Morning Routine for Caregivers

If you’re in the caregiving position you know it is a full-time job, and balancing the needs of another person plus your well-being is an ongoing challenge. To keep your energy and empathy from running low, it’s important to find the right morning routine. Here are some tips for creating a morning routine that will help you provide proper care and prevent caregiver burnout.

A Morning Routine Tailored to Your Needs

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer when it comes to making a morning routine. The specifics all come down to individual needs and the needs of the person you’re caring for. In general here are some main factors to consider.

Start the Night Before

The secret to an effective morning routine actually starts before you even go to sleep. By fine-tuning your bedtime routine, you can wake up feeling fresher. Experts call these bedtime habits Sleep Hygiene which involves everything from what you eat to what time you hit the hay. Keep some of these sleep hygiene tips in mind:

• Try to go to bed around the same time each night to keep your circadian rhythm synched.
• Make sure you have a dark, quiet, relaxing place to sleep. Try not to spend too much time in your bed during the day.
• Avoid eating two hours before bedtime, and stay away from caffeine or alcohol.
• Work on your sleep posture to maximize your nighttime hours.
• Get some exercise during the day, but avoid too much physical exertion late in the day. Working out before noon is ideal.
• Keep electronics like TVs and phones out of the bedroom.
• Try picking out your outfit ahead of time, or 
• Get a head start on meal prep. 
• Writing out a schedule for the next day

Don’t forget that older adults have different sleep needs than the rest of us. See our tips for sleeping better as you age here.

Hitting the Day Strong

Set small, achievable goals you can complete each morning, you can build confidence that lasts the whole day.

• Avoid hitting the snooze button. This can actually tend to make you to feel groggy. Instead, try sitting up in bed and letting yourself slowly ease into the day at your own pace.

• Making your bed is a natural next step, giving you a small sense of accomplishment with only a bit of effort. While it might seem like another chore on the to-do list, many people say it helps them feel more organized as they take on the day’s larger challenges. 

Try to find other small tasks you can complete within the first twenty minutes of your day. By the time you’re done, you’ll feel more prepared to take on your caregiver duties.

Making Me-Time

Sooner or later, you’ll need to start shifting your attention to the person you’re caring for. This might be early in the morning, later at night, or spread throughout the day. No matter when you need to switch to care-giver mode, you’ll need to bring plenty of energy and enthusiasm. Otherwise, you could be faced with caregiver burnout.

That’s why the best morning routines include time dedicated solely to you. If you have a few hours to spare, great! But even if you only have a few minutes, you should still try to make the most of your time. In this case, mindfulness is the name of the game. Meditation, gentle yoga, bullet journaling, or a morning walk can all be good ways to clear a little headspace before you start your day. Make sure to keep it separate from your regular workout, since slow and easy is more important than breaking a sweat.

However, mindfulness isn’t the only way to enjoy personal time. Fun is just as important, so don’t forget to carve out extra time to indulge in hobbies and guilty pleasures. Whether you’re talking to a friend, making art, or just watching television, there’s no substitute for some quality downtime.

Getting to Work

All good morning routines come to an end, but hopefully, once it’s time to tend to your caregiver duties, you’ll feel energized and optimistic. And don’t forget that your daily routine is always a work in progress. Try different things until you’ve found the right fit.

Of course, some days are more challenging than others. If you know you have a particularly busy day (or week!) coming up, try to plan ahead and look for ways to save yourself time and headspace. Stocking up on groceries, securing appointments, and other small tasks can quickly accumulate if you’re not careful.

Ultimately, self-care goes beyond your morning routine. Check out our page on practicing self-care for caregivers.

A Morning Routine for You and Your Loved One

The main takeaway is that mornings are challenging for us all, so it’s important to make the extra effort. While you might not feel like a ‘morning person’ right away, you can at least start yourself on the right track and set yourself up for a day of success.