Beating the Time Change Blues with H2O

Sunday morning’s switch to Daylight Savings Time hit me HARD.

For two days, I walked around in a morning fog, but then tossed and turned for an hour trying to fall asleep at a reasonable hour at night. When my alarm went off at 5:30am on Monday, it didn’t feel like 4:30am, it felt like 3:30am. I felt hungover when I hadn’t even imbibed. I was jet-lagged without the trip to Paris.

A couple hours later, as I sat stopped in the thick, Monday morning traffic on northbound 101, driving the children to school before a day in the office, I wondered to myself how many extra fender-benders — or worse — there are during the March madness when we “spring” our clocks forward to allow for more daylight in the afternoon and evening hours. How many of us  were feeling that heavy weight of sleep deprivation, which kept us from being fully present on the road?

Probably most of us. 

I tell you, that thought woke me up. I did not want to be one of those statistics. Feeling foggy was not going to do. At all. 

So I turned to Mother Nature for help. And no, I do not mean coffee! 

I know that some of you might consider this blasphemy, but it’s actually not good for our bodies to start our day with a cup of coffee, not first thing, anyway.  After all, we’ve been sleeping for hopefully at least 6-8 hours, and during that time, our internal organs have had a serious workout, digesting, restoring, detoxing, and repairing.

And what do you need after you’ve been working out?

Water. Hydration. Along with sleep, water is nature’s easiest and least expensive medicine.

For years, part of my morning ritual has been to drink a few sips of the glass of water that I keep at my bedside after I spray my zeolite under my tongue. On Tuesday, I drank the whole glass — about 8 ounces’ worth — before bounding to the bathroom for a quick shower. Then, when I got to the kitchen, I made myself another 16 ounces of warm honey-lemon water which I sipped as I emptied the dishwasher, made lunches, prepared breakfast, and rallied the troops for the day ahead.

And despite a short night of sleep, there was no brain fog for the whole day. Eureka!

Drinking warm water when we wake up helps our bodies on so many levels. Rehydrating in the morning can boost our metabolism and make us hungry, help get the bowels moving (so we can get rid of all the toxins our bodies processed in the night), and wake up our thirsty brains. I like adding a half-teaspoon of raw honey and a tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice (about half a lemon) to the second glass of warm water because the lemon stimulates my appetite further and provides a boost of vitamin C, while the honey gives my immune system some extra loving.

Fully hydrating our bodies in the morning allows us to be fully present rather than walking and commuting in a fog. It not only makes us feel more energetic, but it can convert a bleak morning into hours of productivity and creativity, which benefits our mental health as well. 

So the next time you feel that morning fog, remember to hydrate yourself with some warm water, and watch your whole day turn around.

Note: Some practitioners recommend drinking at least 16 ounces of water or even more right upon waking; however, I find this is sometimes too much, especially if I haven’t sleep well. Little scientific literature exists to support drinking excessive amounts of water first thing, so listen to your body and rehydrate as slowly as you need to, whether over the course of 15 minutes or over an hour. As always, if you have any questions about how much water to drink in the morning, feel free to reach out and ask me!