The three ingredients of a perfect morning: Water, (no) caffeine and sunlight

Your morning matters. What you do first thing is crucial for your alertness and productivity throughout the day. Specifically, there are three ingredients to a perfect morning. First, dehydration – which naturally happens during the night – is one of the main drivers of low alertness. The fix is easy: have a glass of water right after getting up.

Second, consuming caffeine is great, but timing matters. When ingested too soon after waking, caffeine intensifies our natural dip in alertness in the afternoon. It’s better to let your body wake up naturally and then use caffeine for a lift in alertness later in the morning. The solution might be difficult to get used to at first, but it makes a huge difference: avoid caffeine earlier than 60 to 90 minutes after waking up.

Third, sunlight exposure in the morning is key. It is the primary driver of our so-called circadian clock. Getting sunlight in our eyes soon after waking up – even when it’s coming through cloud cover – is vital for our alertness throughout the day. Besides, it’s also critical for our physical and mental health. The take-away: get 2 to 10 minutes of sunlight in your eyes before 10 am.

In a nutshell, the recipe for a morning that sets you up for a perfect day in terms of alertness and productivity has three ingredients. Have a glass of water right after getting up. Avoid caffeine earlier than 60 to 90 minutes after waking up. Get 2 to 10 minutes of sunlight in your eyes before 9 am. That’s it.