Brain Longevity Tip: Morning Routine for Mental Clarity

I am often asked what a person can do for a great morning routine to have more, and
better mental clarity.

The ironic answer to this question is that your routine starts the night before! It is
necessary to create an optimal sleeping length and sleeping conditions, so your brain
has the optimal opportunity to help you heal, adapt, and restore. GREAT SLEEP is a
foundational platform in Empire Longevity as part of the Pyramid of Health. So making
sure you have a consistent bedtime, and a consistent rise time is critical for your
longevity. It costs nothing to improve your sleep, but it can cost everything if you don’t.
Once up, I drink two glasses of water before I start my day.

Physical motion is another critical aspect for brain health. Your body learns more when
you are moving. So MOVE more. The morning is a fantastic time to exercise, go for that
walk, bike, swim, literally anything that gets your body moving, working up sweat and
pushes you will help your brain.

After the exercise and shower I make sure to do 30 seconds (which may be the longest
30 seconds of my day!!) in cold, or colder water. You can just have the water on your
face, but I start with my face, go to the top of my head and let the water go down my
back and then to my face again. I count to 30 in my head and somedays, I honestly do
count quicker as I am cold. But the RUSH afterwards!! I feel like whatever was holding
my thinking back has been taken away.

I like to eat simple and well in the morning, many times even having the leftover of the
dinner I had the night before. I am a big fan of hearty soups and stews so I may make a
soup or two on the weekend and love to easily heat that up for breakfast.
Once those are done – game on. I already made a list of my targets for this day the
night before. Now is action time.

These are simple, reasonable, effective, and cost-effective steps to take. Tell me how
you do with them.

-Dr. Otto Janke, Chief Pilot
Empire Longevity