The Mel Robbins Podcast - Try It For 1 Day: Do This Every Morning to Boost Motivation & Focus

Episode Date: January 13, 2025

In today’s episode, you’ll learn the simple, 15 minute morning routine you should do each day after waking up.If you want to wake up early and be more energized, productive, and in control of your day, you’ll love learning the 6 easy steps in Mel’s morning routine.From the first time you try out this 15 minute routine, you’ll be amazed by the difference it makes in your life.This powerful episode is packed with teaching, insights, research, and tools about making the most of your mornings.You’ll also learn why mornings are harder for some people than others and how sticking to this reliable routine is the key to breaking out of destructive patterns and showing up in your life with the energy and confidence you deserve.It’s time you start your day in a way that makes you feel incredible.For more resources, click here for the podcast episode page.If you liked this episode on how to begin your day, you’ll love listening to this one about how to end your day next: 4 Easy Nighttime Habits to Feel Energized & Sleep BetterConnect with Mel:Get Mel’s new book, The Let Them TheoryWatch the episodes on YouTubeFollow Mel on Instagram The Mel Robbins Podcast InstagramMel's TikTok Sign up for Mel’s personal letter Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ on Apple Podcasts to listen to ad-free new episodes Disclaimer

Hey, it's your friend Mel and welcome to the Mel Robbins Podcast. So let's settle the debate once and for all. Is it true that some of us are just not morning people and never will be? If you don't consider yourself a morning person or you just find it's hard to create and stick to a good morning routine and you've always always kind of wondered, what the heck is going on? Why can't I get out of bed? What's up with my brain and my body that makes it so hard to start the day? Well, your friend Mel, I got the answers. I have dug into the science. I have so much amazing news to share with you. First of all, there are seven reasons why there are a lot of you that have a very

hard time getting out of bed. And the good news, you can change that. And I have also dug into the science and I have six irrefutable, I'm talking non-negotiable things that you need to be doing every single morning when you wake up. And that's whether you consider yourself a morning person or not. And here's the thing, if you are a morning person, you can just spring out of bed. I guarantee you, you need to hear this. Because you not only need to understand the other people in your life who can't get out of bed,

but you also have to understand yourself. I mean, you may know what you're doing, but do you know if or why it's working? You should. And by the time you and I are done today, you're gonna know the six steps that science says you need in order to set your morning up for success.

And when you do, you'll not only sharpen your routine, you're gonna squeeze even more out of your day. So let's get into it. Hey, it's your friend Mel. Welcome to the Mel Robbins podcast. I am so excited to talk to you today and I love this topic and it may surprise you to know that I'm not a morning person, not at all, but I love talking about morning routines. I have so much to share with you. I have taught myself how to break through that like,

ugh, in the morning and build a science-backed routine. And when you digest and absorb and really put to use everything that I'm about to share with you, it's gonna change the entire trajectory of your day, of your week, of your week, of your month and of your life. And if you're interested right now in making changes, the morning routine and what we're about to share with you, this is everything.

And so first of all, before we jump into it, because I got a lot to share with you. In fact, this is one of those episodes, if you're watching on YouTube, where I'm not going to look at you a lot because that sound that you can hear as you're listening, I have pages and pages and pages of research to share with you because this topic is not only fascinating, but the science is very clear. It's very clear what's happening in your brain and your body when you wake up and you need to know about it. And it's also very clear what the research says that you and I need to be doing every morning to truly leverage the best of our brain and our body and to set ourselves up for success. And one more thing, we have so many new listeners that if you're brand new and this is the first

episode that you're listening to, I just want to personally welcome you to the Mel Robbins Podcast family. The fact that you have hit play on this conversation about the science of morning routines and the six steps that you need to follow based on science, you know what that tells me about you? It tells me that you're interested in learning more about how you can empower yourself to create a better life.

And I think that is so cool that you've taken the time to invest in yourself. And I promise you, you are gonna freaking love this conversation today. And you're gonna be able to put everything that you're learning to use. You're gonna be able to share it with people that you care about, whether you're the kind of person

that can spring out of bed, or you're the kind of person like me, that you have a hard time getting out of bed. Because the fact is, I'm not a morning person. And there are some people, like my husband, that literally, it's like he's a weirdo. The alarm rings and he's like, bing, right out of bed, no drama, no noise, no groaning.

He might, you know, a little because we're getting a little bit older, but that's it. Like he just starts his day. Me? Oh my gosh. Like for me, I feel like, I don't know, that overnight I somehow gained an extra 200 pounds because I feel so heavy and lethargic and I don't wanna get out of bed and ugh.

And I'm starting here because I really want to make sure to validate that there are a lot of us, and you may be one of them, or you may love someone, maybe one of your kids, maybe it's your roommate, maybe it's one of your siblings.

There are a lot of us that have a hard time getting out of bed. So let me preview what we're going to cover. First of all, I'm going to walk through a number of reasons why you may not be a morning person. And if you're somebody who springs out of bed, I still want you to listen to this because it's going to give you a greater understanding of what someone else in your life that you care deeply about is dealing with and why it may be difficult for them to just get up and go.

Then what we're gonna talk about is a number of reasons why morning routines really do matter and the benefit of it. And finally, we're gonna jump into the six non-negotiable steps of your morning routine, what science says about it. So here's the first provocative thing I want you to consider. Even if you're listening to me right now, and you are saying to yourself,

okay, I gotta listen to this because I know morning routines are important, I see it all over the place, and I gotta get a morning routine, and so I'm gonna listen, I'm gonna figure this out. Even if you don't think you have a morning routine right now, you do. Hitting the snooze button five times in the morning,

that's a morning routine. Reaching for your phone first thing and laying there and scrolling through social media for 45 minutes, that's a morning routine. Rolling over and putting the pillow back over your head, that's a morning routine. The thing that you do right now in the morning, every single morning, whether it's working for you or not, that's your routine.

And so we just need to start with the truth, which is you do have a morning routine. And what we're going to confront today together is, is it actually working for you? Are you working against the science or are you working with it? Are you following the steps that could set you up for success or are you just kind of doing what you've always done and then you beat yourself up because it's not creating better results? And so first things first, accept that whatever it is that you're doing, you wake up, you're hung over, you're just devastated with anxiety, you hit the snooze, hit the snooze, hit the snooze, hit the snooze. And then it's an emergency. And then you're rocking out of bed. And then you're racing around. And then you're late. And then you're racing out the door and you didn't have breakfast and you didn't exercise and you left the house without your wallet. That used to be me. And that can become a routine.

And the good news is you can change it. And that's why this matters. And so now that we're on the same page, and now that we've kind of gotten rid of the story about where you're at or whether or not you already have this handled, now I wanna jump into some facts, okay? If you're the kind of person like my husband

who can just spring out of bed, I just wanna say, you won the lottery. Congratulations, you don't need to rub it in. But it's really important for you to hear what I'm about to share with you because I think it'll give you more compassionate understanding around the people in your life who can't just spring out of bed.

And it will also help you understand how to better support them. Now, you may be working a late shift, which means you don't actually have the same schedule as anyone else. When I was a young lawyer just out of law school, I used to work the night shift in court. It was so discombobulating.

I mean, you're not even a morning person because you're really like stopping work in the morning. Here's a second reason. And this one's very interesting. If you're retired or you're a new empty nester or your routine is out of whack, check this out. There's research around this. University of Wisconsin study said

that when people transition to retirement, they often start sleeping longer and they go to bed later and they wake up later. And this may be a reason why it's harder for you to get out of bed right now because your routine is out of whack because your life just changed. Another reason, maybe you have really amazing sheets. I mean, this is a problem for me. Like I truly invested in smooth, cozy, bamboo sheets.

The bed's too nice. Like that's part of the problem. Like why would you wanna get out of bed? And I mean that truly. I found this fourth reason to be super interesting, genetics. This is from a study published in Nature Communications. There are 351 genetic markers linked to being a mourning person. And a recent study that was published in Genome Biology and Evolution said that mourning people,

those of you who can just spring out of bed like my husband, that's an inherited trait from Neanderthal ancestors. That's kind of cool, probably because if you slept in, some sort of saber-toothed tiger would be gnawing on your rear end before you woke up. And here's one more study that I found, this one from Harvard Medical School. So if you think about your circadian rhythm,

which is basically that sort of 24-hour program that runs in the background, that truly runs your entire body functioning, okay? And it's tied to your ability to sleep and so many other things. Your circadian rhythm is generated by your internal biological clock. And according to Harvard Medical School, that internal biological clock, it varies from person to person.

But the good news is there are things that you can do, even though your internal biological clock is personal to you, there are things that you can do to optimize it and you're going to learn about it today. Some of us have a predisposition to spring out of bed like my husband, and some of us have a predisposition to be like a hunk of meat laying there marinating in the morning like I do. Good to know. No reason to make yourself wrong then, right?

You got to work with what you have. Here's the fifth reason. And this one really rang true for me. Trauma. See, trauma and past trauma, it activates a freeze response in your body. And the University of Arkansas did a study about this, and they found that when you've experienced a traumatic event, it can disrupt your sleep. And PTSD, what they've found in the research is that PTSD is linked to you having sleep issues.

And what happens when you don't get a good night's sleep? Like you can't truly drop into deep sleep. You wake up and you're exhausted. And you're exhausted not because you're not a morning person, you're exhausted because past trauma is preventing you from getting a good night's sleep. And when you wake up and you're exhausted because you didn't sleep well, what do you wanna do?

You wanna go back to sleep? You feel even heavier. That's why it's hard to get out of bed. And for me, connecting the way that I felt in the morning to past traumatic experiences was liberating because I realized, oh, wait a minute, this isn't a deficiency, this is just something that I need to heal. And when I understand,

oh, there it is again, I'm waking up in the morning in a freeze response, I'm just going to push through it. That is empowering. The sixth reason, and this so many of you and your kids are experiencing right now, and that's anxiety. Anxiety is the highest for a lot of people first thing in the morning. And one of the reasons why is, and we're going to dig into this when we get into the research around the six steps that you're going to take and how I'm going to teach you to work with the science and work with the natural wiring of your body. Anxiety can be higher in the morning for a simple reason. Cortisol, which is a stress hormone or a lot of people call it an energy hormone, cortisol is highest in the morning because cortisol helps you wake up. That's why it's there. But the problem is, if cortisol remains elevated, you're going to feel more anxious. And this isn't just your friend Mel Robbins,

who has a history with anxiety telling you this. This is the research. Like if your energy and stress hormone is super elevated first thing in the morning, of course you're going to feel anxious. But if you don't take steps to start to lower it and regulate it, your anxiety is going to be humming all day long.

And if you've ever woken up and the first thing that you feel is anxious and your mind starts spinning and your heart is racing, you don't wanna face the day, you wanna hide from it. And that's what I did for years. That's why I was hitting the snooze button. And there's two other reasons why your anxiety might be higher in the morning, drinking.

So if you have been drinking the night before, guess what? One of the number one symptoms of a hangover, anxiety. Because as your body is processing the alcohol overnight, your blood sugar is dropping and your anxiety is now spiking. And so if you're waking up for anxiety, ask yourself, did I drink last night?

Okay, bingo. And the third reason why anxiety can be higher in the morning is because your blood sugar levels are often lower in the morning and that can lead to morning anxiety. And so this is super important because when your blood sugar drops and your body then tries to bring it up,

what it's doing is it's pumping adrenaline into your body, which then what? Stimulates fight or flight, which what? Makes you feel more anxious. I have woken up and felt anxiety is the first thing I've felt in my body since I was 15 years old. Like this is like my alarm clock in the morning.

I would wake up, oh, there's the anxiety. I had no idea that drinking was part of the problem. And the anxiety was present because my body is now processing alcohol while I'm sleeping. I had no idea of the stored trauma, which also is why I was waking up in a freeze and fight or flight response. I had no idea about the blood sugar dropping and I had no idea that cortisol levels are the highest first thing in the morning. I just felt like I was damaged goods that was going to feel this way for the rest of my life. And when you understand what's happening in your body and you realize it's not

you, this can be explained. And when you understand it, to me, it makes me more motivated to want to take the steps that are gonna help me face it and quiet it and experience life differently. And that's what's available to you. That's what's available to the people that you love. When you understand this and you follow the six things I'm gonna tell you. And the seventh reason why so many of you

do not consider yourself a morning person is because of depression. Do you know that based on the research, 75% of people that have depression have a hard time getting out of bed? Why? Well, one of the reasons why is because depression just covers you with this kind of sense of heaviness, this real dark cloud. My husband had about a very, very serious depression. It's very scary when it happens. And one of the big problems with depression is that your depression lies to you, and it makes you feel like you can't do the things that alleviate the depression. And lying in bed,

I'm sure you've probably heard the term bed rotting, right? Where you just lay in bed and you think about your problems and you let the heaviness take over. It is an extraordinarily common symptom of mood disorders like depression. This comes from a study out of Emory University. And look, if you have been just burning the candle at both ends and you're tired, like I have,

like I've been super tired this week and I didn't even set an alarm. I just allowed myself to sleep as long as I needed to sleep and then wake up when I wanna wake up. And two mornings ago, I just kind of laid in bed for about 20 minutes until I was ready to get out of bed. That's okay every once in a while, because you're just getting the rest that you need. But if you chronically are laying in bed and you're just ruminating on what's wrong with your life,

that's a huge problem, and the six steps that you're about to learn are going to help you feel better. They're the six steps that you need in order to live and thrive with depression. They are the six steps that you need to push through all seven things I just talked about. And I promise you, the coolest thing about learning how to get up and get going is that the movement and the rhythm of your routine

actually snaps you out of these seven things that I just listed that validate why it's been so hard for you. And if you really embrace what I'm gonna be sharing with you, these are things within your reach that are completely free, that you are capable of doing, that will help you feel better, it will help you tap into the amazing wiring

of your brain and your body, it will help you start building momentum in your life, and no matter what change you wanna make, what thing you wanna improve, this is the building block for you being able to do that for yourself. And that brings me to the next thing that I want to talk to you about, which is the five reasons why having a rock-solid morning routine matters so much. And I'm going to tell you those five reasons

after a short break, because I want to give our amazing sponsors a chance to say a few words. I want to give you a chance to send this episode right now to people in your life who are not a morning person or anyone in your life who's got big goals or things that they want to be doing better because a morning routine is the foundation for all fabulous change. A morning routine is a way that you can create more confidence. A morning routine is essential if you're struggling with depression or anxiety, or you simply just wanna level up and you're playing a big game.

And so send this to people that you love because we all need this information and don't you dare go anywhere because I'm gonna be waiting for you after a short break and we're gonna dig into the five reasons why having a morning routine matters. Then we're gonna go step by step through the six essential steps of your morning routine. Stay with me.

Welcome back. It's your friend Mel Robbins. And today you're learning the six non-negotiable steps of a rock solid morning routine that's all based in science. Exactly what to do and why you need to do it. But I wanna just unpack even at a deeper level, why a morning routine works so that when we jump into the six steps, you're like, give it to me, Mel, let's go. And I'd like to start with a quote from James Clear, because I think this quote really sums

up what a morning routine is, and then we're going to jump into kind of deeper reasons why they're so important. So James Clear wrote the book Atomic Habits. He's like the go-to guy in terms of synthesizing habit research and making it understandable. And he has this quote, you don't rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your system. Now, if you have a morning routine that is basically hit the snooze button six times

and run late for work, never eat breakfast, hydrate on coffee, that's a system. That's one of the reasons why you're not meeting your goals. You may have huge goals, but if your systems don't support those goals of yours, you're gonna always fall to how bad the system is. And that's what a morning routine is. It's a system.

It's a system that can help you rise to higher levels. It's a system that can help you be more energized. It's a system that can help you achieve your goals. And when you think about the simple things that you do every morning as a system that can help you be more energized. It's a system that can help you achieve your goals. And when you think about the simple things that you do every morning as a system, you can now be very honest with yourself about whether or not you have a system in place that is helping you achieve what you want.

You can be very clear about whether or not you have a system in place that's helping you feel the way you wanna feel every day. And that's the first reason why this matters because a morning routine is just a system and it's fully within your power to change the system, to improve it, and there are reasons why you want to. And that brings me to the second reason

why your morning routine is so important. This is the only time of the day that you're fully in control. If you really stop and think about how your day goes, the second you look at your phone, the second you walk into work, the second that you check the news, your day is gone. You're now reacting.

So your only shot at feeling in control is this system we call a morning routine. The things that you do before you do everything for everybody else. The things that you do first thing in the morning that are just for you. And I want you to protect this time. I want you to honor this time. I want you to honor yourself by getting very serious about the system that you create first thing in the morning for you. This is what you get to do for yourself

before you turn your life and your time and your energy over to everyone else. I mean, you deserve this. And that's why this is so important. You're gonna have days, weeks, and months where life is running you over. But you wanna know what's cool about a morning routine and this system that you can create for yourself Is that you can always come back to it?

Because when you wake up you get a fresh slate you get a clean start you get to decide today today I'm gonna take control today. I'm gonna do the things that I know Just make me feel like myself today. I'm gonna put first. And that's available to you every single day. And when you have this system in place that you know you can come back to that's grounded in research, you can truly take advantage of the gift that is a new day. Another reason why this is so important is you're about to learn, because we're going to dig into this, the benefits for your mind and your body and your spirit of creating a routine and the system, it's just undeniable. What I'm about to

teach you in these six steps, it will reduce anxiety, it will lower your stress, it's going to keep your brain energized, it's going to help you boost your productivity and your concentration and check this out, it's even going to help you sleep better. And you deserve all that. And that's why I want you to try this routine that I'm about to teach you. Another reason why this is important. And I think you're kind of getting this over and over is it sets the tone for your day. Who's in charge?

Are you in charge of your day? Or is what's on the news in charge of your day? You're in charge. And that's what's available to you every single morning that you wake up and you follow these six steps. And finally, it's the single most powerful step of creating new change in your life. If you want to be happier, if you wanna make more money,

if you want to get in better shape, if you'd like to feel a little bit more peaceful, if you want a mindfulness practice, if there's anything in your life that you really want to improve, having this system in place first thing in the morning, it's like pouring a foundation for a house that you're going to build. This is what you build on. And so let's get into the six things that science says you and I need to be doing in order to set ourselves up for success and build a system that unlocks the potential of your mind, body, and spirit. And the first thing is when that alarm rings,

get up and start the day. Do not lie in bed. Do not hit the snooze button. Research shows that lying in bed like I used to do increases rumination. It makes your depression and your anxiety worse. And this is all based on research. There are so many studies that have proven this

that I don't even want to waste the time listing it. In fact, this episode has a very robust notes section. You can always find it at the end of the description. You can also go to MelRobbins.com, where we have so many resources for every single episode, but the science and the research is very clear. Lying in bed is making how you feel worse, okay? And so how do you get out of bed? First, you can use my five second rule.

I mean, I literally invented a trick to help me get out of bed 15 years ago. And it is super simple. As soon as the alarm rings or as soon as your eyes open, you're just gonna count backwards five, four, three, two, one. Boom, get out of bed. Just get out of bed, move. And the reason why this works is because I've found that,

you know, in those moments where you hesitate and you stop and think about getting out of bed, if you hesitate for more than five seconds, you actually will lose all motivation to do it. But when you start counting backwards, five, four, three, two, one, and then you move, the second you start counting backwards, five, four, three, two, one,

you've made a decision to get up. It's the domino effect. I don't know if you know this, but when you tip a domino, that first domino, it moves with a bit of force so that it can start knocking over something that's two to three to four times its size. And so counting backwards is this tiny little micro action that you take that starts the

momentum rolling. Boom. Get out of bed. Do not pick up your phone. This of bed. Do not pick up your phone. This is critical. Do not pick up your phone. I have a rule personally that my phone is in my bathroom because then when the alarm goes off, I'm kind of screwed. I have to get out of bed to turn it off.

And so that's one thing that I've done because I know if I have the chance to lay in bed, I just might. So I go five, four, three, two, one, I'm up. And another reason why it's so important for you to just five, four, three, two, one, get up is because of the research that you've already learned. Cortisol levels are the highest in the morning.

And so if you sit there and marinate in that stress and energy hormone, you will feel more depressed. You will feel less motivated. You will feel less motivated. You will feel more anxious. Those things that you're spinning around in your mind, they're gonna get bigger and bigger and bigger, and you're gonna start to doubt yourself.

That's why you gotta push through, you gotta get up, and you gotta get going. And that brings me to step number two, make your bed. Make your bed. You're standing up, you've turned off the alarm, you have not looked at your phone, because again, we're taking this time for you. You get 20 to 30 measly minutes, don't you, every morning?

Before you let the world in, of course you do. So step number two, you're gonna make your bed. Now, why is this important? There are so many reasons why. You know, for those of us who are not morning people, one reason is because when you make the bed, you're not going to climb back into it, okay? And I know some of you are kind of laughing along, but it's true.

But the more important reason is because when you make your bed every morning, it's a super simple thing that you can do that starts to build a little bit of discipline. And it's a way for you to just practice this skill where you just do what you need to do no matter how you feel. And one of the reasons why making your bed is a great thing to do right away is because of all this research around clutter. I mean, when you walk into an environment where the bed is messy and your laundry is all over the place and things need to be picked up. Research shows that it can increase your anxiety. It can make you continue to feel depressed. In fact, I'm looking at this one study right now from Bond University in Australia that says your physical environment significantly influences your cognition, your emotions, and subsequent behaviors,

including your relationships with other people. And so it's a simple thing that you can do that truly helps you feel like a disciplined person. It removes the visual clutter. It prevents you from climbing back in it. And here's the thing that I love the most. It's a gift that you're giving to yourself. Because every time that you walk back into your

bedroom for the rest of the day or at the end of the night, you see this beautiful bed. You literally do. It's like this beautiful place for you to climb back into at the end of the day. And you've done that for yourself. And this is one of those things that sounds little, but it's actually really big. When you're taking care of yourself, you make your bed. When you're feeling good about life, you make your bed. When you're on top of your stuff, you've made your bed. It's just a sign, a simple sign that you care about yourself and that you take the time to clean up and tidy things. And that's a really important skill in life. And it translates in so many other areas. And so, boom, make your bed.

And I'm gonna add one more thing to this. For those of you that have a habit of hitting the snooze button, or laying there and rotting and looking at your phone, just think about the difference. Think about the difference of just, boom, you get up, boom, you make your bed. You have gone from a person whose first decision

of the day is procrastinating to becoming a person that takes action and a person that has discipline and a person that cares about how you take care of yourself. And that's just in the first two steps. Now let's talk about the third one. The third one you're gonna hate and the third one you're gonna resist doing.

But the third one has so much crazy science around it that I wrote an entire bestselling book about it. And that third habit that I want you to do is something that you're gonna add to your morning routine after you brush your teeth. So after you get up, you make your bed, you go to the bathroom, you brush your teeth, I want you to look in the mirror.

I don't want you to say a thing. And I want you to simply high five your reflection. I know, it sounds crazy cheese ball. I got it, I understand. High five yourself in a mirror, Mel. Give me a break. I was with you getting out of bed with the alarm ring. I was with you in making the bed.

I was with you with creating a system with the alarm ring. I was with you in making the bed. I was with you with creating a system, high-fiving myself in the mirror. Like, what is this? Let me tell you what this is. The science around this is so crazy that I'm gonna read from my New York Times bestselling book, The High Five Habit. And the first thing that I'm gonna read to you

is I'm gonna read to you, this is on page 24 of this book, the reason why you want to high five yourself in the mirror, and you're not going to say a thing, comes from research from Dr. Lawrence Katz, who's a neurobiologist and researcher at Duke University. And he studies something called neurobics. Now, neurobics is a fancy term that basically describes the fastest and easiest way to create new neural pathways and connections in your brain. And the way that you tap into neurobics is you basically take a routine activity,

which for you is brushing your teeth, standing there, looking in the mirror, and then you pair it with something unexpected, like all of a sudden high-fiving yourself, that's kind of weird. And what happens is it snaps your brain into attention. And according to Dr. Katz, this little unexpected physical movement

that you're now adding to something you already do, it's like a brain fertilizer that makes a new habit encode in your brain faster. So you might be wondering, well, what's the new habit, Mel? Well, the new habit's great. It's believing in yourself. Because now let's unpack what a high five is. When you high five someone else, what are you saying? You're saying, I see you, I believe in you, let's go. You got this. When you high five a team member, that's what you're saying. When you high five a family member, that's what you're saying.

When you high five somebody on a team that just screwed up in a huddle, you're saying, shake it off, you got this. When you do this every morning in the mirror, you just activated brain fertilizer and you accelerated new wiring for a mindset that goes, I like the person in the mirror, I cheer for the person in the mirror,

I believe in the person in the mirror. And it's crazy how this works. In fact, because you're probably like, okay, I kind of get that. Let me tell you something. Would you feel more inclined to create this system for yourself if you knew that this is what all the winning NBA teams do?

Yup, they studied NBA teams and high fives. Let me read a little bit about that to you. For those of you that are curious, this is all in chapter two of the High Five Habit book. The chapter is Science Says This Works. And the study that I'm about to read to you is on page 22. And it's all about research from UC Berkeley. So UC Berkeley researchers

studied NBA players' habits of success. And they took a look at teams in the beginning of their seasons, and they recorded how often players gave each other high fives and other signs of encouragement, like a fist bump. Check this out. They were able to predict which teams would have the best records at the end of the season based on the number of high fives

they were giving each other at the beginning of the season. Why? Well, the best NBA teams, I'm talking the ones who made it to the championships, they were the teams who gave each other the most high fives at the start of the season. Whoa, why does this matter? Well, high fives are about trust.

When you high five a team member, you're lifting them up instantly. The physical touch and the high five says, I got your back, man, let's go, we got this. It helps you shake off a bad play. It lifts your mood. It communicates confidence and it reminds you that you can win.

Now, when you do this in the mirror to yourself, you are your own best teammate. And you're leveraging this amazing science and the brain fertilizer to accelerate programming a mindset of winning, of resilience, of believing in yourself, and of cheering in yourself. And that's why a silent high five in the mirror right after you brush your teeth is the third science back thing that I want you to do. This feels like a great moment to hit the pause button. So you can hear a word from our amazing sponsors.

And by the way, make sure that you're sharing this with people in your life who either have trouble getting up and getting going or who are up to big stuff and they need the benefit of everything we're talking about today and don't go anywhere because I'm gonna be waiting for you after a very short break and we got so much more to dig into you're gonna love it so stay with me welcome back it's your buddy Mel Rob Today, you and I are digging into the extraordinary science around your mornings and the six simple steps that I want you to start following every

single day when you wake up. And that brings me to number four. Drink a full cup of water. And every time I cover this and I teach this, and in fact, I teach this in a course that I offer once a year called Launch. And people go crazy, they hate this. Drink a cup of water, I don't wanna drink, I need coffee. Let me just explain why this matters. First of all, you need water. And every single one of us underestimates the

crucial role that water plays in your body, brain, and spirit operating effectively. And most of us are dragging ourselves out of bed. And the first thing we hydrate with coffee or tea or something other than water. And let's just stop and consider the importance of water. Water comprises 45 to 75% of your body weight. That's amazing. And 80% of your brain composition, it transports nutrients, it regulates your temperature, it has a huge role to play in lubricating your joints and allowing your internal organs to work properly. It gives structure to your tissues, to your cells, its critical component of your heart being able to pump.

I mean, you can go a month or two, right, without food. You wouldn't last more than a week without water. That's how critical this is. Now, I'm not going to get into how much do I need to drink all day. We'll do a whole other episode about hydration and proper hydration and how much you should be drinking. All I'm telling you is step number four of a science-backed morning routine is get water in first thing in the morning. And I want you to make it part of your system that you drink a full cup of water before you start slamming the caffeine. And there's so many reasons why this is important.

There's an incredible book called Brain Food, The Surprising Science of Eating for Cognitive Power. And in it, it's fascinating, the role that water plays. For example, did you know that when you don't drink enough water, you want to know what you feel? Brain fog. You're exhausted. You have headaches and you have mood swings.

And step four of your new morning routine and the system you're going to create for yourself of just drinking a cup of water before you do anything else, it's simply just starting you to get aware of how important it is to become more conscious of it so that you start taking better care of yourself. In fact, simply drinking more water, it can be one of the easiest and healthiest changes that you can make for your overall health and for your brain functioning. And here's a huge reason why this matters. You know, I used to be the kind of person that once I dragged myself out of bed and

I made my bed and then I high-fived myself in the mirror, I army crawled to the coffee maker. Like I could not start my day without doing a tap suck of the Nespresso machine. I mean, I just literally like, give me the coffee, give me that, I can't wake up without coffee. I didn't understand the science. And then Dr. Amy Shaw came onto the podcast

and explained to me, and I'm gonna share it with you so that you don't miss a thing. She basically said that if you drink coffee or any form of caffeine first thing in the morning, meaning within the first hour or two of waking up, you are screwing yourself over because there is this sleepy chemical that's in your brain called adenosine. And when you wake up, it takes your brain an hour or two to flush the adenosine, this sleepy chemical, out of your brain. So you can wake up. This is why you're groggy. But if you're like the old Mel Robbins and you're army crawling your

way to the big gulp cup of coffee first thing in the morning, you know what you're doing? That caffeine in the coffee, it is trapping the adenosine in your brain. The caffeine is preventing your brain from flushing this sleepy chemical out. And so if you ever noticed that if you have coffee first thing in the morning, about two hours later, you're like, I need a second cup.

And then halfway through the day, you're like, oh my God, I'm exhausted, I have another cup. I used to be the kind of person that would, I'm almost embarrassed to tell you, would have at least six cups of coffee. Then when I moved to lattes, it would be at least three, like double, triple shot lattes. I was chasing the caffeine.

This one change, step four, drink a cup of water, full cup of water, first thing when you get up, and then wait at least an hour for your first cup of coffee. I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know. You don't want to. Just try it once, please. Try it once.

Try it once and see what happens, because I'm gonna tell you what happened in my life. I drank a cup of water, I set the timer, I was gripping for 90 minutes before I could have my first cup of coffee. And then something crazy happened. I didn't crave a second one. I have gone from being a person

who drinks coffee all day long to waking up and drinking a full cup of water. I'm not even craving the cup of coffee. I then enjoy a cup of coffee about 90 minutes to two hours later, and I don't ever need a second one. It's incredible. And so that's why I say step four is drink a full cup of water and then try to delay your caffeine

for at least an hour. And just as a side, I have to tell you something. We did an internal research project with a focus group about what I'm sharing with you right now. And the results were extraordinary. We put a group of people together and we walked them through this morning routine. And the feedback that we got specifically on starting your day and drinking a big cup of water

first thing and then delaying caffeine, it was insane. They quit coffee. I mean, they'll drink decaf every once in a while, but here's the reason. They're using science to leverage the potential and capacity of your brain power and your natural wiring. See, you don't need to be chasing these things. When you understand the science, you can activate all of the amazing programming and possibility of your mind, body, and spirit, and that's what's available to you. And that brings me to number five.

Get outside and take in morning light. So we had Dr. Rebecca Robbins from Harvard Medical School on the podcast. And she's a really important expert on this topic because she is a world renowned expert on sleep. She runs one of the most respected sleep clinics and labs in the world. She's doing research on this.

Her research is the research, everybody who writes books about sleep is actually citing. And she's the one that came in and talked about the importance of exposure to light first thing in the morning for your overall health. And you and I tend to think about things like, OK, got to exercise. We've got to eat right. We've got to be in great relationships with people. That's all true. But you also need to take care of your circadian rhythm. And doing this first thing checks the box.

And I love that. First thing, get outside, look out the window, whatever you need to do. Dr. Robbins said that exposure to morning sunlight is crucial to reset your body's internal clock and help you transition into the awake phase. In fact, getting morning light is one of the most important things that you can do to get better sleep at night.

Because when you get morning light, it not only helps you move into an awake phase, it starts the internal timer in your body that starts to count down toward when it's gonna be time to go to bed. That's why this matters so much. And I know what you're thinking. You're like, Mel, well, what about if it's cloudy? Well, this is what Dr. Rebecca Robbins had to say.

Even if it's a cloudy day, getting outside will get you the sunlight exposure that you need in your eyes. And it'll stop the floodgates of melatonin and begin your day. It is a complete myth that a cloudy day can hamper that or dampen that ability. Same thing with a rainy day.

Complete myth that just because it's raining, that the type of light that's coming through the clouds isn't going to help you. Now, you don't wanna go out and stare blindly at the sun. That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about stepping outside and actually getting the light exposure. And so how much light should you get?

Now, I like a five, 10, 20 rule. And a lot of this comes from research that neuroscientist Andrew Huberman of the podcast Huberman Lab has made wildly popular with people right now, but I break it down this way. Five, 10, 20. If it's sunny outside, just be outside for five minutes. If it's cloudy outside, be outside for 10 minutes.

If it's raining or it's not great outside, or you can only get bright artificial light inside first thing, 20 minutes. That's your role. And finally, what am I doing? What am I doing after I step outside? You gotta move your body. Whoa, really Mel?

Yes, you do. Now, if I got to wave a magic wand and I were able to tell you exactly what to do, for my age group, I'm a 56 year old woman. It's all about strength training and getting outside and walking. But I'm gonna to tell you something. For this system, all I'm going to ask you to do, 10-minute walk.

That's it. 10-minute walk every morning. And why am I asking you to just add to your system a 10-minute walk? There's a number of reasons why. First of all, the research is very clear and it's also shocking the benefit that a simple 10-minute walk can have on your health. It can add years to your life.

But I also want to highlight the things that it does for you immediately. Like how you feel when you start the walk versus how you feel 10 minutes later is shocking. And I think you kind of know this, but it's important to go through this so that I just remind you of why this matters and why it's important that this is part of your system every single morning. It clears out any of the overwhelm and the overthinking and the anxiety that you may have. It immediately boosts your mood.

There is this research around what happens when you're walking. The term is called forward ambulation. That sounds like super fancy, right? Which makes me wanna do it. Cause you and I hear walk and we're like, oh, for God's sakes, a walk for real, Mel? Yes. Forward ambulation is what's happening when you're walking.

See, you get into this mode where you're walking, you're moving your legs, you're swinging your arms, and you get into this optic and auditory flow state where your brain is now kind of having to absorb all this input around you, from the path that you're on to the traffic going by to the birds in the trees. And this input changes how you see the world.

This input as you're walking and you've got this new optic and auditory flow, what does it do? It quiets your anxiety. Why? Because there's all this new input. Instead of sitting there in your bed ruminating and feeling overwhelmed, you're flipping on this switch inside your brain that helps with overthinking. And what's super cool is even if you have low vision, and we have an extraordinary producer on our team that's legally blind, it still works. And the reason why is because sound

becomes your primary sense, and the same phenomenon happens with auditory flow. So whether you have visual or auditory flow, it has a powerful documented effect on your nervous system and it changes the way your brain is working. And the reason why I recommend a 10-minute walk is because that's what the literature says. That's all that you need. You can put your kids in the stroller and go around the block. You can find 10 minutes to walk the dogs real quick. And that's why I'm saying

get out there for 10 minutes. And have you realized that you can combine five and six? Yeah. So when you step outside to get light into your eyes first thing in the morning, to set the circadian rhythm, just start walking for 10 minutes. It's gonna put you in a better mood. It's gonna make you more productive. This is all research-backed. And if you do it without being on the phone or listening to something, meaning you take a quiet walk, the research is incredible about how it helps you create

a stronger, more relaxed and confident mindset. And that's why I say that the sixth step is a 10 minute walk outside. And the other reason why I'm focusing on 10 minutes is because systems work when you can do them. And I don't want your morning routine to be so complicated and time consuming that you have to opt out of it.

I want you to build a morning routine and create a system that starts your day that puts you first, that leverages the science, that is something that you can do whether you have a super busy day or you're on vacation. I want you to be able to use the same system whether you're in a hotel or you're visiting friends or you're at home.

Because if you can do the system anywhere, the system is truly gonna work for you. And so let me recap what that system is. Starting tomorrow morning, or any time you decide, this is your reset. This is how you take control of the time that you have first thing in the morning and you set yourself up for success using all of the best research to tap into the potential of

your mind, body, and spirit. This is also the foundation for you being laser focused on making the changes and doing what you need to do. You can kind of sense that when you stack these six things up, you're now on a roll and you can add anything you want to this. But these are the basics. So let me walk you through them

and then I'm gonna share one more thing that I do. Number one, the alarm rings, you're up. Five, four, three, two, one, get up, get going. Cause once you get up and you get going, you're gonna keep going. Second thing you're gonna do do you're gonna make your bed it's just simple discipline it's a wonderful thing to do for yourself and You become the kind of person that just does what needs to get done and you have higher standards for yourself

I love that third you're gonna leverage this fascinating science around Neurobics and as you're brushing your teeth or after you brush your teeth just high-five yourself in the mirror. Don't say a word that's it. Number four you got to drink a big cup of water. Big cup of water start the hydration train first thing in the morning and delay caffeine for at least an hour and see what happens. Number five get get yourself outside. Remember the five, 10, 20 rule for sunny, cloudy, or rainy days, or if you can't get outside, artificial light. And finally, number six, 10-minute walk.

10-minute walk does extraordinary things. Now, that whole thing takes about 14 minutes, if you really think about it. Get out of bed, that whole thing takes about 14 minutes, if you really think about it. Get out of bed, that's 10 seconds. Make your bed, that's a minute. High five your mirror, that's a couple seconds. Drink a cup of water, depends whether or not you chug it. Could be another 20 seconds.

Get outside and take the 10, I mean, this is a no-brainer. This is something that you can do any morning, anywhere. It's a system that sets you up for success. And it's also a system that helps you lower anxiety. It helps you push through depression and find your energy again. It's a system that helps you tap into what's possible. And then when you get back from your walk, add whatever you want.

For you, maybe it's meditating. Maybe it's journaling. Maybe there's something else that you want to add in. There are lots of mornings where I do my 10-minute walk and then I head straight to the mat and now I'm doing strength training. But this core six-step principle is the system that I use. It's the system that makes the difference for me. When I go through those periods where I don't do it, I feel terrible. And I love that I can wake up any single day and just come right back to it. And when I follow this system, you know what I feel?

I feel like myself. I feel good because I'm taking care of myself. I feel more powerful because I'm not letting my emotions or my mood or the things that are going on in my life or my business to dictate what I do. This system shows me that I'm in control because I can do these six things in my life no matter where I am or how I'm feeling. And that makes all the difference in the world. And if you do that, you got the formula for success,

you got the formula for supporting yourself, you understand the simple things that you can do to leverage all of this remarkable science. And I'm also gonna encourage you, if you wanna go deeper, make sure you check out the notes section of this episode, because we have summarized all of this on our website at MelRobbins.com. We have resources for you to take a look at,

but this is the basics and the building blocks for you to tap into your own potential. Oh, and I almost forgot to tell you the seventh thing. So when I'm done with this system, you know what I do? I sit down and I take 15 minutes. Before I look at my phone, I haven't even looked at my phone yet. I haven't answered emails yet.

I haven't looked at social media. I mean, I am selfish in the morning. This is my time. So when I'm done with that walk, I come right down to my kitchen table and I sit down and I spend 15 minutes on a project that matters to me. And the reason why I do this 15 minutes, I call it my hot 15, every single morning is because I know based on the research that that moment there, after I've taken my walk, after I've done these six things, my mind is primed for focus.

I am motivated. I am able to push something forward. And because we're going to be doing another episode about this where I dig into your questions, make sure you submit them. Whether you put them in the comments or you go to MelRobbins.com, this would be better, go to MelRobbins.com slash podcast, you're gonna find a forum where you could submit topics and questions, you can submit them there and we're gonna compile them all

and we will do a really amazing episode answering your questions all about optimizing your morning and we're gonna have that coming up really soon. I'm so excited that you listened to this and thank you for listening all the way to the end. There's still more to come. And I wanted to be sure to tell you, in case no one else tells you that I love you,

I believe in you. I also believe in these systems. And the reason why is because systems help you create a better life. Systems ensure that it's not your mood or your feelings or what's going on that determine what happened in your life. It's you that you have the ability to support yourself and to set yourself up for success.

And there is no doubt in my mind that when you implement what I just shared with you into your life, you will be very, very surprised by how it impacts you. Alrighty, I will see you in the very next episode. And you have, you already have a morning. Like hold on a second. How are we doing so far?

Good? Is this good? Yeah. Okay, great. And here's why I want you to understand this. What did they say? They do it copy. Okay, great.

Like they don't have to do it. Yeah, okay, great. Great. Yeah. There it is right there. Okay, great. Okay. No problem.

Okay. Whoo. Okay. Good, right? You know your stuff, Val. Yes. Yes. That's great. Thank you, guys. Great job, everybody.

Oh, and one more thing. And no, this is not a blooper. This is the legal language. You know what the lawyers write and what I need to read to you. This podcast is presented solely for educational and entertainment purposes only. It's not a blooper. It's a political one. It's a political one.

It's a political one. It's a political one. It's a political one. It's a political one. It's a political one. It's a political one. It's a political one. It's a political one. It's a political one. It's a political one. It's a political one. is the legal language. You know what the lawyers write and what I need to read to you. This podcast is presented solely

for educational and entertainment purposes. I'm just your friend. I am not a licensed therapist and this podcast is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, professional coach, psychotherapist or other qualified professional. Got it? Good.

I'll see you in the next episode. Stitcher