Your Morning Sets Your Biology for the Day
5 science-backed lessons to build a morning routine that upgrades your energy, focus, and nervous system
Here’s one of the biggest lessons my health journey taught me: how you live your days is how you live your life.
Your mornings aren’t just habits. They’re biological signals. The light you see, how you move, how you breathe, and what touches your skin all tell your nervous system what kind of day it’s about to have.
It’s a powerful idea. Stack enough positive, healthy choices and, over time, life improves.
But there’s a problem. That same idea can quickly become overwhelming.
When I first went down the holistic rabbit hole, I realized something uncomfortable.
I had a lot of bad habits.
My self-talk was harsh.
My self-care was inconsistent.
My diet was restrictive and nutrient-deficient.
And all of it showed up in how I felt every day.
But I also learned something hopeful. Your brain isn’t fixed. It’s constantly adapting, rewiring, and upgrading itself based on the inputs you give it.
That realization changed everything for me.
I wasn’t stuck. I wasn’t broken. I could change my internal environment — and in doing so, change how I felt, how I thought, and how I lived.
The most effective place I found to do that was in the morning.
Multiple behavioral and performance studies show that what you do early in the day sets momentum for everything that follows.
According to data summarized by Leaders.com and Harvard Business Review–linked research:
92% of highly successful people follow a consistent morning routine
88% of wealthy individuals dedicate at least 30 minutes a day to reading
63% of successful people plan their wake-up time the night before and rise early
The one theme here? The brain loves early wins.
Start the day with one small, intentional action—making your bed, getting sunlight, a cold shower, a few deep breaths—and something interesting happens.
That first win lowers friction. One action leads to the next. Dishes get done. A short workout happens. Journaling doesn’t feel so heavy.
Before you know it, you’re operating from forward motion instead of reaction.
From a biological standpoint, this matters.
Small, repeated actions reinforce neural pathways tied to motivation and follow-through. At the same time, those inputs—movement, light, breath, nourishment—send favorable signals to your nervous system and your genes, reinforcing the brain rewiring I mentioned earlier.
That’s how an ordinary morning becomes a launchpad.
Lesson 1: Your Morning Routine Starts the Night Before
The best way to start the day is with good sleep. Period.
I don’t care how much coffee, modafinil, or nootropics you have stocked. If your sleep is off, your performance will be too. Focus, mood, hormones, recovery — all of it depends on sleep quality.
That’s why my morning routine actually begins the night before.
Here’s how I set myself up.
1. Wind Down Two Hours Before Bed
Two hours before sleep, I stop working. No emails. No newsletters. No “one last thing.”
I also stop eating.
Late-night food increases digestive activity and body temperature, pulling resources away from repair and recovery. Your body can either digest or regenerate — it struggles to do both at once.
So find your ideal bedtime, then work backward. If you aim for 10 PM, start winding down around 8. Eat earlier. Close the laptop. Shift into a calmer gear.
2. Turn Off LED Lights
Artificial LED lighting is rich in blue light, which suppresses melatonin — the hormone that tells your body it’s time to sleep.
As the night goes on, I turn off LEDs and switch to red lighting. My house ends up glowing like a red Christmas tree, but it works.
If I’m watching Netflix with my girlfriend, I’ll even wear red-light glasses. It’s not about being perfect — it’s about reducing unnecessary disruption to your circadian rhythm.
3. Cool Your Space Down
I lower the temperature in my home to around 65–68°F.
Your body naturally wants to cool down at night. Supporting that drop in temperature aligns your environment with your circadian rhythm and improves sleep depth.
From a functional medicine perspective, cooler nighttime temperatures support mitochondrial repair, hormone regulation, and overnight recovery.
4. Make Your Bedroom a Cave
I use blackout curtains and aim for as close to total darkness as possible.
Humans slept in dark environments for most of history. Darkness signals safety and rest to the nervous system. Light, even small amounts, fragments sleep.
Simple rule: if you can see your hand in front of your face, it’s probably too bright.
5. Reduce EMF Exposure
At night, I turn off my Wi-Fi router.
This isn’t about fear — it’s about reducing unnecessary stimulation. Many people report deeper, more restful sleep when nighttime EMF exposure is minimized.
Low stimulation equals a calmer nervous system.
6. Calm the Brain With the Right Support
Right now, I’m using Sleep Breakthrough by BiOptimizers.
It’s melatonin-free and focuses on nutrients that support natural sleep architecture — things like L-theanine to promote calming brain waves, magnesium for nervous system relaxation, and vitamin B6 to support neurotransmitter balance.
The goal isn’t sedation. It’s waking up clear, rested, and not groggy.
7. Eye Mask + Mouth Tape (Optional, High Impact)
I’ll often use an eye mask and mouth tape.
The eye mask reinforces darkness. Mouth tape encourages nasal breathing, which supports nitric oxide production, circulation, and recovery.
I’ve seen measurable improvements in my sleep scores from these alone. From a functional medicine lens, nasal breathing enhances parasympathetic tone, immune function, and detoxification during sleep.
Do a few of these consistently, and sleep stops being something you hope for — it becomes something you engineer.
And when sleep improves, mornings get easier. Energy stabilizes. Focus sharpens.
Lesson 2: Wake Up With Gratitude
I wake up around 5:00 a.m., and before I do anything productive, I do something most people skip. I lie there and practice gratitude.
I thank God for waking me up.
For a functioning body.
For another day to do something meaningful.
Some mornings I feel excited. Some mornings I don’t feel much at all. But I still do it.
Because this moment sets the direction of the day.
Gratitude isn’t about being positive, it’s about changing your internal chemistry before the world gets a say.
A short gratitude practice activates dopamine (motivation), lowers cortisol (stress), increases oxytocin (calm and connection), and shifts the nervous system out of fight-or-flight before it ever spins up.
In other words, you’re choosing your baseline.
If you skip this step, your nervous system wakes up reactive—emails, noise, obligations run the show. When you start with gratitude, you wake up internally resourced instead of immediately depleted.
It takes 30 seconds. And it quietly determines how the next 16 hours feel.
Lesson 3: Self-Care That Actually Signals Health
Oral Care Comes First
After sleep, I head straight to the bathroom.
Before coffee. Before screens. Before anything else.
I scrape my tongue and take care of my mouth first thing. I brush with a probiotic-friendly toothpaste and avoid fluoride and harsh antibacterial agents.
Not because I’m anti-dentist.
Because the oral microbiome matters.
Your mouth is home to nitrate-reducing bacteria that convert dietary nitrates into nitrite, and ultimately into nitric oxide, one of the most important signaling molecules in the body.
Nitric oxide supports vasodilation, lowers blood pressure, improves cardiovascular health, enhances exercise performance, and even plays a role in erectile function.
When you aggressively wipe out those bacteria with harsh chemicals, you’re not just affecting your teeth. You’re disrupting systemic signaling and increasing inflammatory load throughout the body.
Oral care is one of the most overlooked upstream levers in health. I go much deeper into this in my gut health work, but this simple habit sets the tone for everything downstream.
Shower, Skin, Red Light, and Mobility
Then I hop in the shower.
My water is filtered and structured to remove chemicals that the body absorbs through the skin. Clean water matters — especially first thing in the morning when your pores are open and circulation is rising.
Filtered water reduces chlorine, fluoride, and contaminants that stress the skin barrier and endocrine system. Structured water supports better cellular hydration and detoxification, closer to what the body encounters in nature.
Sometimes I start the shower cold. Sometimes I finish cold.
Cold exposure increases catecholamines like norepinephrine and dopamine — in some studies by over 200%. The result is sharper focus, better mood, mental resilience, and a clean, natural energy boost without caffeine.
After that, I wash my face with a clean, holistic skincare routine. Skin is not just cosmetic, it’s an immune and detox organ. What you put on it matters.
Then I turn on my red light panel, apply moisturizer, and move straight to the floor.
Foam Rolling: Fascia and Lymph Activation
Foam rolling is one of the fastest ways to wake the body up after sleep.
After hours of stillness, fascia tightens and lymphatic flow slows.
Foam rolling helps rehydrate connective tissue, increase oxygenated blood flow, and stimulate lymphatic drainage — which is critical for clearing metabolic waste, reducing inflammation, and supporting immune function.
The lymphatic system doesn’t have a pump. It relies on movement.
A few minutes of self-myofascial release is enough to flip that system back on.
Mobility and Gentle Movement
From there, I layer in mobility — opening the hips, stretching tight areas, and flowing through light yoga.
Nothing intense. Just enough movement to restore range of motion, wake up joints, and bring awareness back into the body.
No perfection. No punishment. Just smart signals to the nervous system that the day has started and the body is supported.
Lesson 4: Prime the Brain Before the World Gets a Vote
Once I’m cleaned up, foam rolled, and warmed up, I head to the coffee shop.
Before driving over, I’ll usually take my nootropics. Think of nootropics as a combination of herbs, nutrients, and natural compounds designed to support focus, clarity, and cognitive performance — not stimulation, but optimization.
(You can explore my favorites separately, but this step is optional.)
Before the day starts pulling at me, I take a few minutes to get internal.
I’ll recline my seat, turn the music up, and do a breathwork session with binaural beats. I do a Breathe with Sandy session every single day.
Why Breathwork Works
Controlled breathwork — whether Wim Hof–style, guided patterns, or sessions paired with binaural beats — acts like a nervous system reset.
It creates brief, controlled hypoxia, increases nitric oxide for circulation and oxygen delivery, shifts the body out of sympathetic fight-or-flight and into parasympathetic recovery, and builds vagal tone for long-term stress resilience. Breathwork also increases BDNF, a key driver of neuroplasticity.
Ten minutes can dramatically improve clarity, emotional regulation, and mental bandwidth.
After that, it’s go time.
Lesson 5: Flow States Are Built, Not Found
I get to the coffee shop, say hi to everyone, grab a cortado, and open my journal.
The first thing I write is gratitude.
This does more than “set a positive tone.” Gratitude practices are shown to lower cortisol, improve emotional regulation, and increase a sense of connection and safety — which matters if you want to think clearly and create good work.
Then I write my get-to-do list.
Not a to-do list. A get-to list.
It’s a subtle but powerful reframe. Instead of “I have to,” it becomes “I get to.” That shift alone changes how your nervous system approaches effort.
From there, I usually read. Right now, I’m reading for my FMCA health coaching work. I’ll read a chapter, then immediately try to apply or write something related to it. Learning sticks when it’s used.
By 7:30 or 8:00 a.m., I’m fully in a flow state.
I put on binaural beats — either Brain.fm or a Spotify playlist — and start time blocking.
Deep Work and Time Blocking
I work in focused blocks: about 60 minutes on, 10 minutes off.
This is essentially a Pomodoro-style rhythm, inspired by Cal Newport’s work in Deep Work.
During these blocks, I don’t check my phone. I don’t multitask.
Multitasking destroys momentum. Research shows it can take over 20 minutes to regain focus after switching tasks. So when I’m writing, I’m only writing.
I used to struggle to hold focus past 30 minutes. But through repetition — neuroplasticity in action — my brain adapted. Now an hour of deep focus feels natural.
I’ll usually do two or three blocks like this, and that’s my entire morning.
Pomodoro Breaks: Movement + Sunlight
During those 10-minute breaks, I move.
I’ll step outside for morning sunlight, get a few steps in, stretch, do air squats, or shake things out.
Morning light is one of the most powerful circadian signals you can give your body. Early sunlight exposure increases dopamine, suppresses excess melatonin, sets your internal clock for better energy during the day, and improves sleep later that night.
Amazing science on this comes from Zaid K. Dahhaj.
Wrapping Up the Morning
That’s my morning routine.
I’ve been doing some version of this since college, and it has profoundly changed my life. It blends biohacking, functional medicine, and ancestral wisdom into something simple and livable.
You don’t need to do all of it.
Even one or two of these habits can noticeably improve your energy, mood, and focus.
If you have a day job, start small. Try one piece. Pay attention to how you feel.
Let the results guide you.
Drop any questions below. Let me know if you want deeper dives into specific morning biohacks.
Much love,
Jack
Really solid breakdown. The layering concept is what seperates people who just try random stuff from those who actually build sustainable routines. I've been doing someting similar with breathwork and cold exposure but never thought about timing foam rolling right after waking to jump-start lymphatic flow. That makes so much sense physiologically.