For anybody who is trying to live a healthier life, having a good morning routine can really help make our health goals a reality. The truth is that we all have a morning routine whether we know it or not… being aware of our habits in the morning and figuring out how to improve them is a great tool for good diabetes management.

There are a lot of reasons why mornings are a great time to prioritize our health—

1. We usually have the most control over our time in the morning which makes it an excellent time to prioritize something good for us like meal prep or exercise.
2. Research tells us that willpower is a muscle. We all spend most of our day trying to make good decisions and that can wear that willpower muscle out, which is why it’s so difficult to motivate yourself to go for a walk or make a healthy dinner after you’ve gotten home from a long day at work. Our willpower muscle is strongest in the morning. If you have something that isn’t easy to do, do it in the morning when you’re freshest and most able to do what matters to you rather than just what’s easy.
3. There’s also a phenomenon called habit stacking which is another way of saying that one good habit can lead to another. If you start your day out with a workout, it can make it easier to choose a healthy lunch and that can just continue throughout your day.

Now that doesn’t mean that you need to wake up at 5 am. When you wake up doesn’t matter— it’s a question of WHAT you do to start your day. As author Adam Brown says, diabetes is a disease of habits and behavior change… and that makes mornings CRITICAL because mornings set the tone for your day…a good morning routine is a head start, an act of self-compassion, a diabetes superpower.

Now you know why mornings matter… click here (this should go to morning ideas) to get some great ideas for morning routines that can lead to more successful diabetes management. If you’re trying to figure out what type of routine is right for you, click here to take our fun quiz!