Tone says: mornings are very precious in our household and we treasure the time to get ready. Most days I am really busy in clinic, so I need to get myself ready both mentally and physically.

Here are ten things I do to help me get going each morning.

  1. Mattress: Firstly I believe it is essential to have a good mattress. We bought a Mammoth mattress last year and it is like sleeping on a supportive cloud. We recommend that you try lots and lots of mattresses and compare them all with each other.
  2. Fresh air: The Scandinavians also love sleeping with the window open. It makes me feel groggy if I sleep with the window closed and I am more tired when I wake up. I just get another blanket in the winter to keep me warm. It is the best medicine for a good day.
  3. Cold showers: In Scandinavia we like to take morning dips in the sea, on our summer holiday, even if it is cold. It is kind of a Viking thing…I started taking cold showers in the spring to prepare for this summer routine, and now I cannot stop. It wakes me up and feels like a ‘shower-espresso’. It has been found to have great health benefits and literally waking the body up. I have to say I use warm water first, and finish with the cold.
  4. Time: I need to get going slowly in the morning. So we all give ourselves an hour and a half to get ready, slowly waking up, having our breakfast and getting dressed. Setting the alarm a little earlier also gives me the time to check emails and admin before attending to my patients which allows me to concentrate on them rather dealing with admin.
  5. Apple cider vinegar: This might not be truly Scandinavian, but I love my little sip of water and apple cider vinegar to get my inner gut balance in place. Since I started with this I feel better in myself and feel lighter in my body. I do this for most of my meals now and it works.
  6. Good breakfast: Currently I have a home-made granola with A2 milk, or ‘fil’, a Swedish yoghurt for my breakfast, or I like sour-dough bread with good Scandinavian cheese, a kind of yoghurt or mature cheddar. We also like Swedish crisp bread.
  7. Meditation: I used to have a coffee each morning to wake me up. Now I set my alarm a quarter an hour earlier to meditate. I personally use Headspace, but can also recommend Calm, and Insight timer and there are many other apps for meditation and mindfulness. This sets me up for the day and I find it has made a big difference to how I manoeuvre through my day.
  8. Morning smoothie: As I work non-stop up to lunch at one, I do need something to keep me going during that time. So I try to make a smoothie which I bring to work. It varies what I have in it, but the key ingredients are always almond butter, chia and omega seeds, coconut water and water. Maybe some live yoghurt. Then I add berries, maybe picked and frozen from the garden or just frozen berries. We have recipes on our website by our nutritional therapists Pippa Mitchell. I miss it if I don’t get time to do this.
  9. Foot rolling: I find that if I roll my feet on a spikey ball or a foot roller, it not only massages my plantar fascia muscles under my feet, but they feel lighter and wider, and I do feel more alert too. It kind of gives you a reflexology massage and I am sure it wakes up the brain too. I also really like the reflexology sandals from Scholl to do this.
  10. Balancing on one leg: This comes from yoga and also the mindfulness reading I have done. When you balance on one leg, they say you clear the prefrontal cortex from over stimulation and it can also clear the mind-fog. Whenever you are overloaded, balancing is a great way to calm the brain. So starting you day like this is a great way to collect your thoughts or take 5 minutes out from your desk during the day to keep relaxed.