When I was in high school, I absolutely hated winter mornings.
The snow was pretty and I didnβt have any issues with the season itself, but the mornings were just torture!
Iβm not really a morning person or a night person- I mostly just really like sleep– and waking up in the dark to get ready for a long, cold day was not something I looked forward to. I didnβt like getting out of my warm, cozy bed to be hit by a wall of cold. The lack of sunlight left me drowsy and lethargic.
Basically, there was nothing encouraging me to get up at all in the morning.
In university, things were a little different.
I rarely had a class before 11:00 am, and so I had the freedom in my morning to make it slower and to take time for the things that bring me comfort. It soon occurred to me that winter was not the problem and that my choices could make all the difference! I finally started to look forward to my morning routine, even in the middle of the cold and dreary winters!
Today, I want to share with you a few things you can put into your morning routine to give you more comfort during those dark winter mornings. Some of these suggestions require some extra time, but others simply require a change in your environment.
If you donβt have a lot of flexibility in your schedule due to work or kids, these tips can still be used since they wonβt be taking up any extra time once theyβre set up. So no matter who you are, you will be sure to find a few tips that you can use to brighten up your cold-weather morning rituals.
If you want more cold-weather morning routine ideas, you can also get some inspiration from these articles: Your Perfect Fall Morning Routine for a Better Season, Natural Ways to Survive Autumn When You are an Asthmatic, How to Make Your Shower Routine a Restorative Practice
Changes that wonβt require extra time in the morning
These tips will take some time to set up, but they are changes that you can make to your environment one time to help you every morning without you having to do anything extra.
Add Warm Lights to Your Home
When it is dark and gloomy outside, the sunlight isnβt doing much to light your home. If you work a 9 to 5 job, it is likely that the sun hasnβt risen at all yet!
What you need to do instead is add as many warm lights as you can. Choose lights that give off a more yellow glow than a pure white. Hang fairy lights wherever possible. Light some candles. These things will help to warm up your space.
Bring the Garden Inside
In the winter, there usually isnβt an abundance of greenery to enjoy from your window in the morning.
To combat that, create a garden inside your home. In the practice of Hygge (creating comfort in your life), it is recommended to designate certain areas that will have tons of plants rather than dispersing the plants throughout the house.
So choose a space in your home where you can fit lots of plants altogether and start a little indoor garden. It will bring life into your mornings when all the plants outside are gone.
Create a cozy winter playlist
I love the snowy silence of winter when Iβm taking walks outside, but the lack of birds chirping in the morning during the winter does make my winter mornings feel a little too empty. Create a cozy winter morning routine by adding some background music to your activities. It doesnβt take any extra time, but it definitely adds a bit of warmth.
Swap Your Cereal for Warm Breakfast Food
If you followed the suggestions made in the fall morning routine article, then you already made the switch to warm food for all your meals. I wanted to provide a few new suggestions that are hearty enough for cold winter mornings.
Extra Note: The cook time for these recipes is long, but the prep time is only about ten minutes. Plan around this so that you are not wasting any time.
- Sweet potato breakfast bowl
- Roasted Rice with Dates, Cinnamon, and Cardamom
- Fall Fruit Bake with Cinnamon or Ginger
Use a Light Alarm Clock to get up
Winter mornings can be especially difficult for your circadian rhythm since your body relies on natureβs cues to tell it when to get sleepy and when to wake up.
Instead of jolting yourself awake with a sound alarm this winter, try to use an alarm that mimics a sunrise. It will help your body wake up more naturally and will help you feel more awake and less stressed upon waking.
If you want to test out how it works without spending a fortune on some fancy alarm clock, you can get this one for a very reasonable price. When I first wanted to test out the idea, I bought this exact light alarm, and it was well worth it! I actually never ended up buying a more high-end one, because I found that this one worked wonderfully! I’d highly recommend it if you are wanting to try to make the switch to a light-induced wake-up. Buy one and see how you feel!
Sunrise Wake Up Light Alarm Clock with Touch Control
Changes that require extra time in the morning
Some of these changes that you make to your cold-weather morning rituals will take some time. However, most of them can still be very quick if you want them to be. Iβll make suggestions on how you can vary the activity according to how much time you have.
Do Sun Salutations to wake up your body
This quick yoga move will get your body warmed up and working right away! Itβs sort of like a slow burpee, and one round takes about thirty seconds to do, so if you only have a little bit of time, just do two or three Sun Salutations. If you have more time, then do more and take some extra time to breathe in between each round.
Drink a warm beverage (ideally lemon water)
Iβm sure youβve already heard a lot of stuff about the benefits of warm lemon water in the morning, but really anything warm will help you to feel cozy in the winter mornings. Plus, it’ll help remind you to drink more water throughout the day.
If you’re struggling with anxiety, it is best to steer clear of caffeinated drinks in the morning, but there are lots of other delicious and comforting options. You can make a drink to go if youβre in a rush, or you can sit down and enjoy a slow moment with your drink if you have more time.
Do a warming self-massage
Giving your body a quick massage in the morning can be a great cold-weather ritual to introduce. It will wake your body up, keep your skin healthy, and start your day with some nice smells and sensations- ideal for comfort!
Sesame oil is a good winter massage oil (coconut oil is better for the hotter months), but if youβd rather use a moisturizer that doesnβt have any scent or has a more wintery scent, that is fine, too. Do what makes you feel cozy and warm! If you are in a rush, just a quick application will do, but if you have more time, you can really focus on giving yourself a full massage.
Get some sunlight
One of the hardest parts about winter is the lack of sunlight. Seasonal Affective Disorder becomes quite problematic because of this. It is important that you get enough sunlight every day to stay healthy and to naturally promote good mental health.
Your morning might be a good time to do this if you happen to be able to get outside before work starts. Once the sun is out, take a walk outside to soak in the rays. If you donβt have time to go for a walk, at least try to catch some sun through the window. You canβt get vitamin D this way, but you can enjoy the light of the sun regardless.
Conclusion
Try some of these activities the next time you wake up and notice how much easier it is to start the day with these small comforts.
If none of these ideas appeal to you, think of things that bring you comfort throughout the day and try to introduce one of those activities into your morning, or try some of the other healthy morning practices suggested on this site. Here are a few you can check out: Morning Brainwash: How to Start Your Day Right, Morning Pages for a Better Day, How to do a Brain Dump to Start Your Week Right. Good luck!
Almost spring time? Read A Spring Morning Routine for Success: 7 Tips You’ll Love!
What about you?
What do you do on cold winter mornings to ease into the day? Do you struggle with winter mornings? Share your thoughts in the comment section! Iβd love to hear from you!
What an excellent post with winter just around the corner. I’m from northern Ontario, Canada and we get very cold long winters. I myself do alot of what you recommended and bundle in layers and go outside to play or work regardless of the weather. Life must go on! I personally love parts of winter I just wish we could have more natural light and longer days! However I love the evenings by our roaring fireplace!
That’s cool, Anna- I’m from Ontario, as well! Like you, I definitely wish for longer sunlit days, but it helps to make the atmosphere inside cozy with warm lights and fuzzy blankets. Thanks for sharing! π
This post is perfect! I always hate climbing out of my warm comfy bed in the winter so I love the idea of bringing a garden inside and things and that makes it feel more cozy.
Thanks, Faith! I am definitely not a fan of winter mornings, either, so anything I can do to make it more pleasant is worth a try! Thanks for commenting π
Well, thankfully, I live in L.A., so waking up on winter mornings isnβt as hard as it was when I lived in the Midwest, but it is still hard. I do not like getting out of my warm bed. Turning the heat up is very helpful as it gets toasty inside fairly quickly. Also, even though winter is the rainy time of the year, I definitely appreciate that we get a good bit of sun every day. I agree, changing from a cold breakfast to a warm one is a must; I put the smoothies away until spring (for the most part, since it stays pretty warm here). And last, I love wearing my uggs! They are the epitome of comfy, Cozy!
I love saving smoothies for the spring and summer! It’s such a nice way to feel like you’re in a different season (even if the weather doesn’t change much)! You have some awesome ideas for staying cozy; thanks for sharing! π
I have very few cold mornings where I live. but when it is cold, I like to sip some ginger tea. I love the light box alarm clock idea. Thanks for the suggestions!
Mmm, I love ginger tea! It warms me from the inside out π Thanks for the comment!
I love how thoughtful your posts are! Mornings can be rough in general, and winter ones can be even harder. I think your ideas for creating cozy mornings are wonderful.
Thanks, Alyssa! I’m glad you like the ideas π I feel like mornings have so much potential to be a nice time of day, but it can be hard when they lack something cozy. Thanks for the encouraging comment!
THese are great ideas. I love winter and it doesnt get too cold where I live but something that really helps me is making sure that i am all rugged up and also a nice warm drink helps too. I like the idea of the plants inside and bringing as much light and warmth into the place.
It sounds like you’ve got some great ideas to help you enjoy the mornings, too! Thanks for sharing! π
Wow I seriously want to save this post and do ALL of it! So helpful. I am definitely a morning person, however winters are so tough for me, more so evenings, so I’m going to take some of these tips into the evening! Let me know if you ever have an evening post!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this, Nicole! I also struggle with winter a lot. The cold and the darkness affects my mood if I don’t do something to make my days cozy and warm, so these routines matter so much to me. And yes, for every morning routine I’ve got an evening routine to match! Check it out here: https://initsseason.com/10-simple-ways-to-warm-up-your-winter-nights/
Omg! I love winter mornings. Waking up cozy in bed wrapped around your blanket. Yes! I love these tips for making it even more cozier. I cannot wait to try these!
I’m glad you liked these suggestions! I always love to hear about other people’s cozy routines!
I love the cozy winter playlist idea. I’ve been working from home so mornings are definitely easier these days. Rushing out the door into the cold is definitely hard. I love a little music on in the mornings when I get ready!
Yes! On days when I used to commute to work, a warm car and some nice music always made the trip much easier. Thanks for the comment! π
Thank you for sharing! nothing beats a hot, yummy coffee for my mornings!
I totally agree! Something about a warm drink in the morning is just so unbeatable π Thanks for commenting!
Winter mornings are the hardest for me. The bed is so cozy and the idea of stepping onto the cold floor, or walking the dog on a blustery day is so not motivating. Especially love your suggestion for a lightbox! My son has one…maybe I should get one for myself!
The lightboxes really are a game-changer! I feel like I wake up so much more naturally because of them. I totally understand your feelings, though. Cold winter mornings can be so difficult! Thanks for sharing! π
I love this post! Iβve never thought about adding warm lights to my house! I also have an alarm clock just like that- I need to actually start using it!!
I absolutely love what a set of cozy lights can do for a room! It can make an otherwise cold room so welcoming! I hope the alarm clock works for you- it has definitely made a big difference in my mornings. Thanks for sharing! π
These are absolutely wonderful recommendations. Winter mornings can be challenging sometimes, but these tips would definitely make it so much better! I need to take your advice when it comes to warmer foods in the morning and warm lighting!
Thanks, Stephanie! It definitely does help to have warm foods in the morning; not only does it feel a lot easier on the digestive system, but it offers so much comfort! Thanks for commenting! π
These are great ideas. I always find my motivation a little less amped during the cold winter mornings, but these are great ideas to help reverse that trend. Thanks, Genesis!
I always find my motivation pretty low in the winter, too, so I myself rely on these tips! I’m glad you found them helpful!