Must-do morning habits

Do you know that in less than 30 minutes, you can complete an entire round of activities that will ensure endless an supply of energy through out your day?

The right moves and foods when incorporated at the start of any day lead to a positive and focused outlook. These must-do morning habits will enable you to enjoy your day no matter what the schedule. And to top it all, they will kick-start your metabolism levels on a high, thus helping you torch extra calories too. Here they are...

Brighten up your morning with colour! Colour experts suggest that if you see a bright, vibrant colour right when you open your eyes in the morning, you tend to feel a sudden surge of energy, which is good enough to keep you up and about all day long. Try throwing in a pillow, lamp shade or a blanket which is bright red, or orange (did we hear fuchsia pink?) in colour. Or if you love experimenting with food, then let your morning glass of juice do the talking with rich colours from pomegranates, cranberries or oranges.

"You snooze, you lose" The more you hit the snooze button, the more sluggish will be the start of your day. This is because when you snooze your brain is aware of the fact that it can go off again for 5 minutes (and let's face it, it's more 15 than 5), thus you tend to go into a deeper slumber, waking up lethargic - and as a result yawn all day.

Visualize the day ahead. Now that you are up, try and visualize in your head what you need to do through the day. No, this won't add to stress. Rather, this will help you compartmentalise your day and be better planne. Ask yourself what that one exciting and energetic thing you will be doing that day and that alone will be enough to get you thinking ahead positively.

Drink water. Sipping on a tall glass of water as you wake up, aids in restocking bodily fluids lost over the night. Even a single percent drop in your body's water stores can tire you physically and mentally. Thus, maintain the level of water in your body by drinking 8 to 10 glasses in a day.

Make hay when the sun shines. As soon as you see the first streak of sunshine, your biological clock winds up on secreting melatonin (a hormone that makes you sleepy). Step outside for the morning sunshine or read your morning newspaper sitting by a sunny window.

Start the physical activity. Kick starting your day with a 45 minute run outside or by visiting the nearby park for a quick walking session with friends, will help in shaking off that grogginess. Even though we already know the endless benefits of exercising, using morning sunlight to do so is a great way to start the day!