Scientist reveals the 4 best ways to start a morning and be your best self throughout the day

Waking up in the morning has been a tedious task ever since our childhood. We do not have the same enthusiasm every day. No matter how many alarms blare, some days our body just refuses to get out of bed, even though our mind says we must. To help us get through our day with great energy, this neuroscientist Emily McDonald—who goes by @emonthebrain on TikTok—shared four effective ways. In this viral video, McDonald explained how her simple morning routine helps her be her best self throughout the day and people felt inspired by it.

The neuroscientist revealed that she followed this routine every morning and found herself powering through the day. McDonald refrains from checking her phone and social media immediately after she wakes up. "The first thing to know is that when we are waking up in the morning, our brain waves are transitioning from delta, beta, alpha and then into beta when we are more awake and alert," she said. "If you check your phone first thing in the morning, you're causing your brain to go straight into high beta waves and you are priming yourself to have more stress throughout the rest of your day."

"Checking social media first thing in the morning also spikes dopamine and lowers your baseline dopamine level rules to make you continue to crave checking social media throughout the rest of your day," said McDonald. But one thing that she would use her phone for was to play affirmations. She explained that when we wake up, our theta and alpha brainwave activity is high, which makes more room for learning and remembering things and reprogramming our subconscious minds. So, listening to uplifting affirmations can shape our minds positively. Her next step was to exercise in the morning, as she said, "Exercise increases dopamine, norepinephrine and endocannabinoid. So, you get energy, focus, motivation and a mood boost for the rest of your day."

As per the neuroscientist, exercise is the best way to start the morning as it increases blood flow and oxygen to the brain. Being a person with ADHD, she felt that exercise was a crucial and essential part of her routine. The next thing she mentions is that she gets enough sunlight in the morning to regulate her circadian rhythms. "If it's gloomy outside, I'll do red light therapy," she said. Finally, McDonald emphasized the need for meditation, saying, "Meditation has an extensive list of health benefits as well as improving focus and productivity." She added, "Meditation gave me superpowers and it completely changed my life."

This video garnered over 1.4 million views and 154K likes. Moreover, thousands of users found it motivational as they shared their views in the comment section. "Love this! I'm all for empowering my friends/family/patients to practice gratitude/mindfulness with evidence-based medicine," commented @doctor.mika. "Exactly, use the time in the morning wisely to visualize and program the day for success!" wrote @valdemarsberkans. "This is helpful, especially regarding the dopamine level regulation," commented @wdaveh2. "Okay, officially done looking at my phone in the am," commented @kayladurck.