My Morning Routine: Humorous, but Healthy

I have a morning routine that I've been doing for years, but I only recently shared it with a stranger while we were discussing our daily habits. It occurred to me that my routine is quite ritualistic and resembles a luxurious spa treatment. As I was describing my routine, I thought about how I sounded like Christian Bale's character, Patrick Bateman, from the movie American Psycho, when he described his morning routine. The movie, although dark, is also comical, and It dawned on me that I was channeling Christian Bale’s character, and I saw the over-the-top comedy in it. As much as I see the benefits to doing it, it also sounds outrageous, so I am going to share it in this post to amuse most of you and, maybe, enlighten some of you about some lesser-known health interventions. I hope you enjoy it.

Nighttime: Setting the Table

Prior to bed, I heat up in a hot tub. It relaxes me, but more importantly, it also causes my body to dump core heat. This effect exacerbates a natural tendency to dump core heat to induce sleep. Lowering core temperature is one of the basic circadian rhythms involved in good sleep. For more info, read my post on sleep and body temperature here.

I go to bed early and try to get eight to nine hours of mattress time in complete darkness. Light exposure during sleeping hours disrupts our circadian rhythm and ruins sleep. Read this primer for more information. During the night, I sleep on a grounding mat for additional health benefits, such as rapid activation of the parasympathetic nervous system and the corresponding deactivation of the sympathetic nervous system, improved bone health, less clumping of red blood cells, less inflammation, increased energy, and increased heart rate variability. The mats are cheap and readily available. You can read more about grounding, also known as earthing, in this post.

Additionally, I use a pulsed electromagnetic frequency (PEMF) mat. The benefits are more energy, more antioxidants, stabilized DNA, improved cell life cycle, lower pain response, diminished inflammation, improved blood flow and wound healing, and improved cartilage growth. You can read more about PEMF in my post here. PEMF mats can be expensive. I bought mine new, but like most health equipment, you may be able to find used ones. 

 Morning

The first thing I do is let my two little Italian Greyhounds out of their crate and have a cuddle session for a minute or two. It is my priority, and the benefits are improved social attention, behavior, interpersonal interaction, and mood; reduced cortisol, heart rate, and blood pressure; reduced fear and anxiety; improved mental and physical health; improved heart health; lowered stress-related hormones like epinephrine and norepinephrine; strengthened immune system; help with pain management; increased trust toward others; lowered aggression; increased empathy; and facilitated learning. Read my post on pet dogs here.

My next move is to take five or ten minutes to take another soak in my hot tub with a double espresso with the jets off for peace and quiet. I do this purely to embrace a sense of relaxation and well-being. Although the heat does confer health benefits, I rely on my sauna much more for those benefits. I will address using my sauna later. I love sitting there in the dark under the stars while I make sure to validate how good it feels. For me, it is hard to feel bad in such a setting. So, even if some things are not going right, I can shut them off for a time, and the better mood almost always stays with me for most of the day. Incidentally, I got the tub for $500 years ago from a neighborhood estate sale.

I then head to my unfinished basement, which has a number of other pieces of equipment. The next thing I do is take twenty minutes of red light therapy that includes visible and near-infrared (NIR). I have written extensively on red-light therapy; for more information, click here and here. The benefits of red-light therapy are reduction of pain & inflammation, improved cognition, prevention of age-related vision loss,  less inflammation of the eyes, skin rejuvenation through increased collagen formation, improved sleep, muscle recovery, improved energy, weight reduction, increased intracellular antioxidants, and improved wound healing. Additionally, studies have proven that subjects first exposed to NIR light before UV exposure protect the skin from damage equivalent to SPF 15. I use the JOOVV Quad, which, although expensive, was a worthwhile investment. 

Incidentally, I do the red light therapy while standing on a vibrating platform. The benefits are increased lymph flow,  increased bone density, strength, weight loss, improved balance, and lower blood pressure.

Next, I spend about one minute in a used tanning bed that I purchased for $300. I only do this in the winter. The UV exposure keeps my vitamin D level consistently high in the winter months. People say that we should not expose ourselves to the sun, which is unhealthy. How is it that all the food our ancestors hunted and gathered was outside under the sun, yet we are to believe that we have evolved an inadequate capacity for moderate sun exposure? People also say that tanning booths are also dangerous. However, the bulbs have a similar percentage of UV to the sun. UV in moderate non-burning amounts is beneficial. After the red light therapy, which acts as an SPF of 15, I will take my chances that the benefits of one minute of UV far outweigh the risks of zero sun exposure for six months. The scientific literature supports this. For more information, read my posts here, here, and here. 

Next, I work out. I work out in my shed and have purchased most of the equipment used over many years, even decades. I have portable heaters for the colder months. The health benefits associated with resistance training are not under debate and include decreased gastrointestinal transit time, reduced risk of colon cancer, increased resting metabolic rate, improved glucose metabolism, improved blood-lipid profiles, reduced resting blood pressure, improved bone mineral density, pain, and discomfort reduction for those suffering from arthritis, decreased lower back pain, enhanced flexibility, and improved aerobic capacity. Read my post about it here if you want to learn more.

Lastly, I spend thirty minutes in a hot far-infrared sauna. The benefits are more energy, decreased risk of death from cardiovascular disease, detoxifying heavy metals and other harmful chemicals, lower blood pressure, better oxygen delivery to tissues, higher growth hormone levels, improved neuroplasticity, improved immune system, and better mood. Read my post on saunas here. The sauna was moderately expensive, but I have had it for 20 years, so I have gotten more than my money’s worth with it. Used saunas and other equipment like red light therapy can be found online at reasonable prices. I also do a brief cold shower immediately after the heat of the sauna. The benefits of cold therapy include pain relief, better sleep, less anxiety, improved immune system, and weight loss. 

I confess I have a full-body massage chair that I seldom use because I no longer experience much muscle stiffness and soreness. This is due to my sleep, diet, sauna, and red light therapy. I also did several sessions of structural integration a few years ago. It is also called Rolfing and is a method of permanently resetting fascia (compartmentalized full-body connective tissues), and I have no soft-tissue pain to speak of. If you are interested in learning more about structural integration, you can read more about it in my post here.

Next, I eat a nutrient-dense breakfast, including animal-based foods and excluding processed carbohydrates and seed oils. A typical breakfast can include egg yolks, liver, salmon, seafood, shellfish, meat, cheese, and occasionally chicken. I also prepare something similar to have for lunch. 

After that, it's the usual stuff to get myself to work.

Mother Nature Calling

Most of the things I do are meant to mimic what occurs in nature. We used to get infrared and heat from the sun because most of our time was spent outside, unlike today. We even got it from the old incandescent lights, but they are increasingly rare. We also experienced cold. We got UV from the sun until we were told not it is harmful in any dose. We all used to be grounded to the earth prior to the advent of rubber soles. We used to get pulsed electromagnetism from being outside without the dirty electricity from things like radio towers and 5G. We all used to get maximized sleep, without blue light. We all used to be more active for survival. My routine sounds like something we would pay a high-end spa to do as a treat, but the way I see it, every one of our ancient ancestors had the things I discussed today in their lives every day. I am just trying to recreate that; after all, ancestral health is my thing.