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Starting the morning on the right foot can pave the way for a successful day.
A new wellness trend focuses on the “5 to 9 before your 9 to 5,” which entails a healthy regimen between the hours of 5 a.m. and 9 a.m. before heading to work.
Behavioral scientist and happiness expert Arthur Brooks, professor at the Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School in Boston, has proven these benefits through his six-step morning protocol to live more positively.
In an in-person interview with Fox News Digital, Brooks broke down each of the six steps that set him up for a productive day, which he says have “dramatically improved” his life.
“You need to be disciplined, and you need to structure your day, and it turns out that what you do first thing in the morning really matters a lot,” he said. “I follow [this] almost every day.”
1. Wake up before dawn (4:30 a.m.)
Brooks said he was not a morning person for years, as he was a musician in his 20s who never woke up before sunrise and thought of himself as a “night owl.”
“The truth of the matter is, you can change your chronotype,” he said. “You can be more of a morning lark. It’s actually not that genetic, and it’s a really worthwhile endeavor to try to change that.”
“If you get up before dawn, you’ve kind of won the day, but not just morally — you’ve won neuro-scientifically.”
According to the “Office Hours” podcast host, research suggests that waking up before dawn promotes better focus, creativity and mood. This is rooted in an “ancient idea of Indian wisdom” called Brahma Muhurta, which means “creator’s time” in Sanskrit.
“But it’s not just religion. It really does have a lot of science behind it,” Brooks said. “I get up at 4:30 a.m. — it works for me; it works with my schedule. You’ve got to figure out what yours is. But if you’re getting up when the sun is already warm, you’re already kind of behind the eight-ball.”
Brooks noted that he uses a real alarm clock to wake up, as he keeps his phone out of the bedroom at night to avoid overexposure.
2. Move your body (4:45 a.m.-5:45 a.m.)
Brooks begins his day with a workout in his home gym, noting the importance of getting “real exercise” first thing in the morning.
Armed with an electrolyte drink, he typically does 75% resistance training and 15% Zone 2 cardio — steady-state aerobic exercise that feels easy to moderate — for an hour.
There are a variety of ways to exercise, from endurance to yoga, Brooks noted. “If the first thing you do when you wake up is pick up heavy things and run around, you’re going to have a much better day,” he added.
For those who are just starting out with a fitness and early wake-up routine, Brooks recommends light exercise, like walking.
3. Get metaphysical (6:30 a.m.)
After showering, Brooks heads out of the house for a 6:30 a.m. Catholic mass.
While not everyone is Catholic, or even religious, Brooks recommends participating in some type of “transcendent activity” that connects the body and soul.
“You need to do something to not focus on yourself,” he said. “Worship is great for that. Meditation is good for that. There are a lot of different ways you can actually undertake this, but the whole point is to zoom out and get little.”
“When I am on the road, which is about half the time, I stay in places where there’s a morning mass if I can possibly find it, such that I’m focusing on my soul just as much as I focus on my body.”
4. Coffee (7:15 a.m.)
Most people who wake up before 5 a.m. will feel inclined to immediately head for the coffee machine, but Brooks discouraged this impulse to reach for caffeine first thing in the morning.
Caffeine blocks a chemical in the brain called adenosine, which swarms the brain at night and makes you groggy in the morning. As a result, drinking it makes you feel more alert.
But Brooks said this is “not the best use” for coffee, as he instead recommends a morning workout to help clear any remaining adenosine.
By the time coffee is introduced into the system, about an hour or two after waking, the brain is clear of adenosine, and the caffeine can focus on providing the body with energy.
“You’re not going to wake up with caffeine, you’re going to focus with caffeine,” he said. “It’s going to vacuum dopamine into your prefrontal cortex, and you’ll be more creative, you’ll be more stimulated to come up with new ideas, and that means you’re setting yourself up for a brilliant workday.”
5. Eat a high-protein breakfast (7:30 a.m.)
Protein is “critically important” for getting the most return from your morning workout, building strong muscles and shaping a balanced diet, according to Brooks.
For breakfast, he prefers non-fat Greek yogurt, topped with walnuts for micronutrients, mixed berries for antioxidants, whey protein and sometimes stevia for sweetness.
“I get 60 grams of protein with less than 400 calories. And man, I am ready to go,” he said. “With that caffeine and that meal, I’m ready to work.”
These “clean protein” breakfast options also contain tryptophan, the chemical best known for its presence in turkey that can cause sleepiness. In smaller doses, tryptophan can improve mood and mellow out the nervous system, Brooks noted.
6. Enter a flow state (8:00 a.m.)
Between 8:00 a.m. and noon, Brooks said he gets four solid hours of productivity and creativity, “with a level of focus I was never able to get earlier in my life before I set up this morning protocol.”
He enters and remains in a “state of flow” during his morning work, uninterrupted by social media or phone notifications.
“I can do more in four hours than I used to be able to do in two days. And I’m happier when I do it,” Brooks said.
By the time he eats another high-protein meal for lunch, he has completed his essential tasks and can take on other objectives in the latter part of the day.
“It’s really important that you not wreck that period of focus and concentration, spoiling it with your devices,” Brooks added. “Stay clean. Stay focused. Stay creative. And stay happy.”
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