When I was in high school, I absolutely hated winter mornings. 

The snow was pretty and I didn’t have any issues with the season itself, but the mornings were just torture!

I’m 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 didn’t 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 don’t have a lot of flexibility in your schedule due to work or kids, these tips can still be used since they won’t be taking up any extra time once they’re 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 won’t 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 isn’t doing much to light your home. If you work a 9 to 5 job, it is likely that the sun hasn’t 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 isn’t 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 I’m 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 doesn’t 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 nature’s 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. I’ll 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! It’s 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) 

I’m sure you’ve 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 you’re 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 you’d rather use a moisturizer that doesn’t 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 don’t have time to go for a walk, at least try to catch some sun through the window. You can’t 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! I’d love to hear from you!