24 Sep Making Your Bed Every Morning is a Gateway to Consistency

You can predict how your day will go by how you started it. You can choose to start your mornings with chaos or coherence; it all just depends on your habits.  

Are you one of those who have a thorough morning routine, or do you prefer to wing your mornings depending on your mood?  

What Does Your Morning Routine Say About You?  

Sometimes it is not enough to start with what just feels right. The right routine happens through reliable and structured patterns.  

Turns out having the decision to make your bed in the morning is the first step to being more structured.  

A 2022 study discussed that having wake-up tasks can help users effectively use available morning time and maintain their target behavior, which could be efficiency and productivity.  

It further discussed that when wake-up tasks, which could be making your bed, were completed, the morning time relieved the burden of performing the targeted morning behavior.  

Other benefits of making your bed include having:  

• A sense of accomplishment  

• A sense of calm  

• Better sleep  

• Improved focus  

• Relaxation and stress reduction  

It was also found that making your bed in the morning can help increase the release of dopamine, which is also called a “feel-good” chemical. Dopamine is also released during “pleasurable” activities.  

A University of Wyoming and Texas A&M University study found that a disruption of workers’ morning routines can cause them to be less focused and less productive.  

The study discussed that even as simple as missing one’s regular morning cup of coffee at the start of the workday can cause the employee to feel less calm and more mentally exhausted.  

It also noted that it ultimately led the employee to feel less productive. The study extended to other morning routines such as waking up on time, making time for breakfast, and commuting to work. It still found the same pattern of results.  

How Routines Get Disrupted  

Many factors can affect your routine, such as a change in your schedule or sudden life changes, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Both workers and retirees experienced changes during the COVID-19 pandemic due to confinement brought by the lockdown, according to a 2024 study. 

The pandemic changed a lot of things including fatigue levels, anxiety, and sleep habits, with fatigue levels remaining unchanged after lockdown. 

Experts also noted that sudden disruptions to your routine can worsen feelings of distress and make you pay more attention to your problems.  

It might feel like starting over again when you get your routines disrupted. 

Don’t be afraid to start again and find the routine that supports you and your health.   

Aside from routines that support your health, get a partner for your Better Health goals.  

At iCare, the best affordable HMO in the Philippines, we know how it is to be the partner that can be reliable, accessible, and have a proven track record in the industry.  

Learn more about iCare here https://icare.com.ph/  

Morning Routine Disruptions Hurt Worker Productivity, UW Researcher Finds | News | University of Wyoming. (n.d.). UWYO. https://www.uwyo.edu/news/2020/11/morning-routine-disruptions-hurt-worker-productivity-uw-researcher-finds.html

Oh, K. T., Ko, J., Shin, J., & Ko, M. (2022). Using Wake-Up Tasks for Morning Behavior Change: Development and Usability Study. JMIR Formative Research, 6(9), e39497. https://doi.org/10.2196/39497

McClean, S. T., Koopman, J., Yim, J., & Klotz, A. C. (2020). Stumbling out of the gate: The energy‐based implications of morning routine disruption. Personnel Psychology, 74(3). https://doi.org/10.1111/peps.12419‌

Maëlle Charonitis, Requier, F., Guillemin, C., Reyt, M., Folville, A., Geurten, M., Bastin, C., Willems, S., Muto, V., Schmidt, C., & Collette, F. (2024). The Influence of Changes in Daily Life Habits and Well-Being on Fatigue Level During COVID-19 Pandemic. Psychologica Belgica, 64(1). https://doi.org/10.5334/pb.1259

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