Bupa Life Insurance recently featured Enterprise Fitness’ own Mark Ottobre in a post about morning rituals to help boost your health and well-being. How you begin your day dictates how you will feel throughout the rest of the day so it is important that you start it off right.
Read on for the best ways to power-up for the day ahead…
Get Some Exercise
Although it may require you to get up a bit earlier in the mornings, fitting in your workout early has a host of benefits both for your body and for your life. You’ve heard of paying yourself first in finances? Well, the same is true for your daily energy. Pay yourself first with a morning workout.
Working out in the morning also greatly increases the chances that you will stick to your fitness routine and eliminates excuses that you might have later in the day about being too tired or stressed after work to exercise.
Fire up Your Brain
The three neurotransmitters you want to concern yourself with are dopamine, acetylcholine and neuropeptide Y. These are basically the three neurotransmitters that determine your focus and motivation for the day. Neuropeptide Y is known as the ‘peptide of motivation’.
So what are the best foods to eat in the morning to produce the most dopamine, acetylcholine and neuropeptide Y?
The answer is something high in protein. This includes eggs, red meat, fish, chicken and other white meats. The amino acids carnitine and tyrosine are powerhouses for optimising dopamine and acetylcholine, these amino acids are found in the highest values in red meat.
On the flipside, we have another neurotransmitter called serotonin which is also crucial. However, if you want to be as productive as possible, you don’t want to start our day with a big hit of serotonin as serotonin tends to make us sleepy and relaxed. Serotonin is known as the ‘happy’ neurotransmitter. Preferably, serotonin is highest in the later part of the day or before bed.
Getting a healthy start to your day isn’t just good for your body, but good for your brain as well. When you fuel your body with the nutrients, oxygen and exercise it needs, you’ll quickly find that you have more energy and can concentrate better at work and in your daily activities. For more great advice on getting the most out of your mornings from Australia’s leading wellness experts, check out Bupa Life Insurance’s latest article, ‘Lifestyle Experts Share Their Healthy Morning Habits‘.
