My Morning Routine to Prevent PMS, Mood Swings, and Low Energy

How do you start your day? Do you hit the snooze button until you have to dash out the door, breakfast-less and barely awake? Or do you lay in bed scrolling through emails on your phone and getting stressed about what’s ahead? Your morning routine, or lack thereof, can have an impact on the rest of your day. If you start the day anxious, hungry, and over-caffeinated, you probably know all to well that you won’t be able to perform to the best of your abilities at work or when it comes to any of your plans. But not only that, you’re also setting yourself up for the kind of jagged blood sugar and cortisol overdrive that will inevitably trigger hormone imbalance, leaving you open to symptoms such as PMS, missed periods, cramps, bloating, acne and more. How you choose to start your day impacts your whole month in this way - one too many bad mornings can spell disaster for your period.

How to become a morning person

It doesn’t have to be this way! Mornings can be a moment of peace and sanctuary when you ready yourself for the busy day. We always hear that there are “morning people” and those who hate mornings. I think some of what goes into this is how well you sleep. Feeling energized and positive at the day’s start, of course, has a lot to do with whether you got enough rest. But, that’s not the whole picture. You can also put to waste a good night’s rest rapidly with a rushed and hectic morning. You know those women you see serenely sweeping through the office, getting it all done, then gliding home in the evening to a fulfilled, satisfied, relaxed evening? They’ve probably got their mornings handled. Changing your morning routine can be the first key step to happiness, to healing your hormonal health issues, and to getting you on the path to perfect periods. Mastering the morning is kind of a major life skill. I’d even go as far as to say that a good morning routine is life-changing!

Why I have more than one morning routine

Now, here’s where I differ. I don’t have the same morning routine for every single day. No, of course not. You are not in the same physical, mental, or emotional space every single day. You are a woman and, so, you are cyclical. To get the most out of your mornings you need to go with your Flo and not try to enforce a strict pattern that just won’t feel good all of the time. Changing your morning routine to fit your hormone cycle is like taking a regular morning routine and super charging it for the demands of modern womanhood! It also makes sticking to a routine so much easier, because the routine for that day should fit how you’ll be feeling when you wake up. Plus, being cycle-aware in regards to your morning routine provides an immediate blueprint for you to follow through. So, this means that I actually have one morning routine for the first half of my cycle and one morning routine for the second half of my cycle. It’s that simple, but it’s so effective.

My morning routine for the first half of my cycle (from post-period to ovulation)

1. I wake up and drink a tall glass of lemon water
2. I stretch out my body with some light yoga practice before I start putting together my breakfast
3. I make a smoothie with a blend of avocado, blueberries, spinach, flax, almond milk, and cinnamon
4. I then sit down at my desk and assess the to-do list I have put together the night before. In the evenings I always feel super ambitious about what I can achieve in one day, but when the morning comes I do allow myself to reality-check that list. I immediately take one or two items off the list. Doing this really feels like a relief in a way and that boosts my confidence and energy for the day ahead.
5. I take a moment to connect to my heart in some way before I start my work - this might mean a call to a friend, a cuddle with my daughter, or some meditation.

My morning routine for the second half of my cycle (from post-ovulation to the end of my period)

1. I wake up and drink a raspberry leaf hot tea
2. I stretch out my body with some light yoga before I make breakfast
3. I choose a more carb-heavy breakfast for this time of my cycle, with a grain-base like buckwheat or quinoa plus eggs and sauteed greens
4. I take some time to do a little introspective self-evaluation. I might call a friend to work through something that’s been bothering me or sit down to journal for a while. I want to get out what I’m feeling right now and address it in a way that works and feels best.
5. If I wake up feeling a little cranky and off-balance, I will write a quick 5 item gratitude list to shift my energy and feel revitalized. If this crankiness is overwhelming and hard to move past, then you should think about reassessing your diet and lifestyle and try a new way of living in your body for your next cycle.

Creating your morning routine around your cycle is a great way to start the process of cycle-syncing your life. Here at Flo Living I teach women to layer in cycle-syncing habits - from eating the right foods for your hormones, to switching your work outs, to embracing a cycle-aware outlook on your relationship - rather than trying to transform everything all at once. And, once you see the benefits to your mood, your energy, and your period health from making this change to your mornings, I know you’ll want to shape the rest of your day in the same way. Always remember, that once you have the right information about how your body really works, you can start making health choices that finally start to work for you! You can do this - the science of your body is on your side!to your FLO,AlisaGood things come in threes:

I want to hear from you!

First, do you struggle to feel awake in the mornings? Second, what’s your current morning routine? Third, everyone you know is hormonal – spread a little good ovary karma and share this article on social ;)

Need more Hormone Help?

If you’re needing some health upgrading, it’s time you started you looking into what’s going on with your hormones.I’ve designed a 4 day hormone detox and evaluation to help you understand exactly what’s out of whack and how you can start getting back to balance so that your hormones no longer have to suffer.Click here to get your FREE detox and evaluation!