\u201cThe most important aspect of sleep is regularity,\u201d says Dr. Daniella Marchetti, a clinical health psychologist specializing in behavioral sleep medicine at Rise Science. \u201cGoing to bed every day at the same time and rising every day at the same time (regardless of how you slept that night) is the best thing someone can do to feel refreshed in the morning.\u201d<\/p>\n
So pick the window that works best for you: and stick to it, no matter what.<\/p>\n
The Best Morning Gym Routine<\/strong><\/p>\n For longevity, muscle mass is key. You don\u2019t need to be stacked<\/a>, but having a decent amount of muscle mass<\/a> is both useful and very hard to achieve in older age, so starting sooner rather than later is your friend here. Morning can be a good time to get it done: the gym\u2019s a little quieter, the crowd\u2019s a little more focused, and you\u2019ll go through the rest of your day with the smug satisfaction of having already done a hard thing.<\/p>\n \u201cMuscle mass is much harder to build in your 60s,\u201d says Richard Faragher, a Professor of Biogerontology (the biology of aging) at the University of Brighton. When you\u2019re in your 20s and 30s, it\u2019s as simple as ‘lift heavy, lift consistently, and supplement that with a [0.8 grams] of protein per [pound] of bodyweight,\u201d Faragher says. \u201cFor a 60 year-old, they need to eat 1.5 to twice that amount of protein to build muscle. That\u2019s really hard.\u201d<\/p>\n Cardio is important too, and you\u2019ll want to achieve a balance between lifting and running. The exact nature of that balance might depend on your goals. While gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time might be possible for some people, Faragher says that it\u2019s generally not a sensible plan to pursue both goals at the same time. So if you want to achieve both, focus on one for a while (more lifting<\/a>, more eating<\/a>), and then the other (more cardio, less eating). Provided you keep using your muscles during the latter phase, you don\u2019t need to worry too much about losing muscle. Maintaining muscle mass is much easier than gaining it.<\/p>\n Like with sleep, the best plan is the one you\u2019ll actually follow.<\/p>\n The Best Time to Eat Breakfast<\/strong><\/p>\n Consensus seems to be solidifying around the idea that delaying your first meal<\/a> might be a good idea. The thinking goes that doing so gives your gut a little more time to get itself in order, and avoiding a carbo-load helps avoid spikes in insulin (and therefore energy), which can be worse in the morning.<\/p>\n As for what to eat, Faragher says getting some protein is a good goal too. Some yogurt and a handful of fruit should do it.<\/p>\n Other Health Tips to Live By<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cMy advice is always get the basics right,\u201d Faragher says. \u201cThere are five behaviors that you should be adopting, and they are: don\u2019t smoke, moderate alcohol, watch your weight<\/a>, exercise, and try and get your five [servings of fruit and vegetables] a day.\u201d<\/p>\n In summary, if you want to devise the perfect morning routine for longevity, be consistent with your sleep pattern, exercise with the aim of building muscle, and keep breakfast light and vitamin-filled. What you do with the rest of the day is really up to you.<\/p>\n