I get asked a lot about what I actually do every morning… like, is there some secret formula, some perfectly optimized routine I follow to the minute? Honestly, no. Some days I have 30 minutes, some days I have 5. But there are a handful of things I try to do every single morning because I genuinely believe they make a difference in how I feel, how I age, and how my body functions. None of it is fancy. None of it requires you to wake up at 5 am and meditate on a mountain. It’s just… stuff that works, that I’ve built into my life one habit at a time.
So here’s a real, unfiltered walk-through of my morning. Take what serves you, skip what doesn’t.
A quick caveat before I dive in: this routine works best on the mornings when I’ve actually gotten a full 8 hours of sleep. I love those nights, and I wake up before my alarm with a good hour (sometimes more) to get through everything below before my day officially starts. I won’t pretend I sleep great every single night — some nights are rough — but I do have a night routine that helps me get there more often than not. I’ll be writing all about that one soon, so keep an eye out.
1. Oil Pulling (5-10 minutes)
The second I roll out of bed, I put a tablespoon of coconut oil in my mouth and swish it around for at least 5-10 minutes. This is one of those habits that sounds a little odd if you’ve never heard of it, but it’s an ancient practice with real benefits for oral health — pulling bacteria and toxins out of your mouth before you swallow or brush anything away. I’ve written a whole post on the how and why of oil pulling if you want the deep dive, but the short version is: it’s easy, it’s free, and I noticed a difference in my mouth (and honestly my skin) once I made it a daily thing.
THE BENEFITS OF OIL PULLING: A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO ORAL HEALTH
2. Air Out the House (15 minutes)
While I’m oil pulling, I go around and open every window and turn on every ceiling fan in the house — hot or cold outside, doesn’t matter. This habit has fallen out of fashion, but it used to be totally normal. People aired their houses out every single day. Fifteen minutes of real airflow clears out the stale overnight air, cuts down on that musty closed-up-house smell, and gets fresh air circulating through your space. It costs nothing and takes no real effort — just a little discipline to do it even when it’s freezing or blazing hot outside.
3. Hydrogen Water + Apple Cider Vinegar
Next, I fill my hydrogen water bottle so it’s ready to drink as soon as I finish oil pulling. I’ve written a full post on hydrogen water and why I use it, but essentially the hydrogen water bottle infuses water with molecular hydrogen, which has antioxidant properties. After I finish oil pulling, I add a tablespoon of organic apple cider vinegar to that water and drink it all. I’ve also got a post on ACV if you want to understand what it’s doing for digestion, blood sugar, and gut health — but pairing it with the hydrogen water first thing is my way of getting hydration and a gut-health boost in one glass before anything else happens.
WHY HYDROGEN WATER IS WORTH THE HYPE (AND WHY I’VE BEEN DRINKING IT SINCE 2021)
I DRANK APPLE CIDER VINEGAR EVERY MORNING FOR 2 WEEKS—HERE’S WHAT HAPPENED
4. A Little Something in My Stomach
Before I ever touch my coffee, I put a few small things in my stomach:
- One Brazil nut — this is my selenium for the day. Selenium is a trace mineral that plays a big role in thyroid function, immune health, and acts as an antioxidant in the body, but most people don’t think about getting it from food. A single Brazil nut can cover your daily selenium needs, which I love because it’s a whole-food source rather than a synthetic supplement. Whole foods tend to come with the cofactors and nutrients your body needs to actually use what it’s getting, instead of just isolated compounds in a pill.
- A forkful of sauerkraut — for the probiotics and gut health benefits. (I haven’t shared my homemade sauerkraut recipe, but I’ll add it to the list of blogs to write.)
Both of these give my stomach something to work with before I introduce coffee, which brings me to… an article I wrote about the gut. Read it here: IS YOUR GUT HEALTHY? THE SIGNS ARE PROBABLY IN YOUR POOP
5. Coffee (Heavy Cream + Cayenne Pepper)
My coffee isn’t just black coffee — I add a splash of heavy cream and a few dashes of cayenne pepper. I’ve got a full post breaking down why I do the cayenne specifically, but the short version is it’s not just for flavor; there are real benefits tied to circulation and metabolism that made me want to make it a daily habit rather than an occasional thing.
THE FIERY SUPERFOOD: 9 HEALTH BENEFITS OF CAYENNE PEPPER + MY TESTIMONIAL
HOW TO MAKE A HOMEMADE IPSENTO-STYLE SPICY LATTE THAT’S SERIOUSLY DELICIOUS
6. Vibration Plate + Red Light Therapy (15 minutes, when I have time)
This one doesn’t happen every single morning — I’ll be honest about that — but when I have the time, I stand on my vibration plate in front of my red light panel for about 15 minutes. I’ve written posts on both if you want to understand the research behind them. While I’m standing there, I’m not just standing still — I usually work in some lymphatic movement: squats, twists, side bends, arm swings, that kind of thing. It’s a nice way to combine a few things at once — vibration therapy, red light exposure, and gentle movement to support lymphatic drainage — without adding extra time to my morning.
MY FAVORITE AT-HOME EXERCISE TOOL FOR STRENGTH, RECOVERY, AND RELAXATION: LIFEPRO VIBRAPLATE
THE HEALING POWER OF RED LIGHT THERAPY: BENEFITS, RESEARCH, AND REAL-LIFE RESULTS
Then I Get Ready for Work
That’s it. That’s the whole routine. It’s not glamorous, it’s not a strict protocol, and some mornings I skip pieces of it or add other things depending on how much time I have. But these are the habits I keep coming back to because I feel the difference when I do them — and don’t feel it when I don’t.
If you’re looking to build your own morning routine, my advice is: don’t try to copy this exactly. Pick one thing from this list that sounds interesting to you, try it for a couple of weeks, and see how you feel. That’s how I built mine — one small habit at a time.
Have a morning habit you swear by that’s not on this list? I’d love to hear about it — drop it in the comments or send me a message!
Pin it for later
Leave a Reply