Showering: are you doing it wrong?
Prepare to be shocked.
The nice hot shower that you have been having to wake yourself up in the morning could actually be making you more sleepy.
In fact, many doctors actually recommend a hot shower before bed at night to help you get some sleep.
It’s the movement from the warm steamy bathroom to the cooler air outside that causes a drop in your body temperature. This can make you feel relaxed and drowsy, rather than energized and invigorated.
To get some more pep in your step in the morning, it seems that the key is to shock your body with some alternating water temperatures. That means going from a cold blast of water to a hot one and then back to cold again. This will get your blood pumping and open up your capillaries. The benefits of the cold/hot/cold combination include a more efficient immune system, a positive outlook, increased stress tolerance and even increased fat burning.
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But if the idea of possibly scalding yourself or giving yourself freezer burn first thing in the morning isn’t your cup of tea, what else can you try?
Pump some weights through the day: your activities through the day affect how well you sleep at night. So getting your sweat on with some resistance training is almost guaranteed to get you sleeping better.
Try a quick morning pamper: treat yourself to a fast body brushing session before you jump in the shower. It wakes your skin up and helps you to feel refreshed and revived.
Wake up with yoga: some simple stretches can assist with a sense of focus for the day, rather than just dragging yourself out of bed and into your first coffee of the day.
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