(Note: This post is part of a series of posts I am writing on my own healing journey from complete adrenal depletion. Suggestions are my own experience and not meant to diagnose or prescribe for you. Suggestions will probably be helpful for those experiencing extreme stress or fatigue, whether or not from adrenal issues.)

Mornings are rough when you are experiencing fatigue or adrenal fatigue/depletion. There were nights I could have slept 12 hours! (And nights when I laid awake…exhausted but still unable to sleep — more on that in this post!)

AND with adrenal issues, you want to wean yourself off of artificial stimulants. Sugar and caffeine just make the matters worse and come with their own energy challenges.

You may notice I speak in the past tense with sleep issues. While I am still not healthy enough to wake feeling fully refreshed, I am sleeping much better.

I wanted to share some of the actions I took that have helped. We need to find ways to help you get up and get going when all you really want to do is roll over and go back to sleep.

First and foremost, do let yourself sleep if you can.

I am a firm believer that sleep is a crucial aspect of healing. Your body is craving rest for a very good reason – it needs it!

I still allow myself to sleep whenever I have a morning when I can sleep late, I take a little melatonin and let myself sleep…and sleep…and sleep. Luckily I have a husband who gets it and would get up with kiddos when they needed help. (Now that we have older teenagers, they are more self-sufficient!)

That said, we can’t always sleep 12 hours every night! So when you do need to get out of bed, here are a few suggestions to help you get up with a dose of aplomb.

First, I recommend choosing at least one of these tips to start. Incorporate it into your life. When it feels easy, add another. Keep it simple.

It is easy to become overwhelmed so start small.

1. Start with a few deep breaths: I know this may sound simplistic, but a few deep breaths can help you feel better, more awake.

2. Full body stretch: Do a few easy stretches right in bed. (Enjoy a gentle, 10-min, stretch for right in bed in the video below AND a longer flow for on your mat — if you can get there. :-))

• Reach your arms up and overhead and extend your legs.
• Bring your knees to your chest and release your back.
• Drop your knees to the left for a twist. Breathe and hold. Then to the right.
• Sit up and do some shoulder circles.

3. Take a sniff of Peppermint Oil. Better yet, grab a bottle of Young Living Peppermint Vitality oil. Take a drop on the palm of your hand and dip your pinky in it. Swipe the roof of your mouth with the oil and slowly begin to pass your tongue over it. It is strong so go slowly! Then rub your hands together and take 3 deeps breath of the oil. (Actually, essential oils are a potent aspect of my own journey. If you want to learn more about them, scroll down and hop on my essential oils e-course.)

4. Drink water. Drink at least a glass of water. Better yet, a full quart before breakfast is amazing. (Work up to it and be sure you finish the water at least 20 min before eating so you don’t dilute your digestive juices.)

5. Take a walk. Fresh air is an incredibly powerful tool. Now I take my walk in the middle of the afternoon as a post-lunch pick-me-up but I used to do it just before my yoga in the morning. I found it so helpful for waking me up in a natural way. The sunlight also makes a difference.

Also, remember, you WILL feel better. Really. AND when you start feeling a bit better in the mornings, you will occasionally have mornings that don’t feel good. You aren’t sliding back (unless you have been pushing yourself).

While I sleep great most nights, I have at least one night I week that I struggle still.

Morning Yoga – Flow!

Have energy to hit your yoga mat? This gentle series will be a bit more vigorous than the one in bed. 

Let me end by reiterating, choose one thing. Just one. And commit to it. Daily.

Let me be clear, when I say daily, I mean 5 out of 7 days. Life happens and daily doesn’t always happen — for good reasons! So when we commit to EVERY SINGLE DAY, we are setting ourselves up for failure.

Instead, plan on every day, schedule it in to get a routine, but when you miss a day you won’t feel like you failed.

What are you planning to do? I would love to hear from you. Comment below!