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I’m not a morning person.
I hit snooze over and over. I don’t want to talk to people when I wake up. And I never understood why or how my grandmother gets out of bed singing, dancing and greeting the sun.
In fact, the reason why I started @breakfastcriminals is because I wanted to have a solid excuse to become a professional researcher of ways to bring more joy into my mornings – through recipes, rituals and events.
Because deep inside, I wish I could be just a little bit more like my grandma Natasha.
When I decided to take a DNA test to optimize my health (I wrote more about why I chose to do a DNA test here), I had no idea that I’d be getting information about my relationship with mornings.
Guess what… the DNA test I took – HumanCode’s DNAPassport available in Helix’s online store – suggested that I’m not a morning person.
The good news is that one’s circadian rhythm changes over a lifetime. The bad news is that our chronotype, or internal biological clock, is up to 47% dependent on our genes (although scientists currently only understand about 3-5 percent of that effect).
In this post, I’ll share some ideas for being a little more excited about mornings (even if you’re a night owl like myself) based on my research and years of experiments.
Let me preface by saying that there is no research showing that waking up early actually makes someone more productive or optimistic. Whew.
So I’m not saying that if you’re a night person, you need to change anything about how you’ve been your whole life.
All I’m interested in is finding ways to make you excited about your day, no matter when you wake up. So that when you do start your day, you kick it off in a good mood.
1. Get Enough Rest
Let me ask you this: have you ever noticed that you’re more patient, kind and present when you’re well-rested? That’s definitely true for me.
Knowing this, how many times a week do you get solid 7-9 hours of uninterrupted sleep? Yup, maybe it’s time to review your evening priorities and choose to take a bath over Netflix.
2. Set Up your Morning And Evening Rituals
This is a big one. You can’t expect your body to switch from running around town to rest in an instant. It takes some foreplay… or maybe fore-sleep? ;)
Intentional wind-down and wake-up rituals can make a huge difference to how you feel and the quality of your life.
Maybe it’s lighting a candle and writing a list of 3 things you’re grateful for before bed, or maybe it’s 10 minutes of meditation upon waking up followed by warm lemon water.
I wrote about upgrading your morning and evening routines here, post videos about morning routines on YouTube, and have wellness leaders from all over world take over the @breakfatscriminals Instagram stories every Wednesday to show you their morning routines. So don’t tell me you don’t know where to begin :)
3. Eat Breakfast
Your sleepiness may disappear from a cup of coffee – but only temporarily. Have a nutritious, nourishing breakfast to provide energy for hours. My nutritionist friend Klara Mudge explains why eating breakfast makes you a better person here.
And if you’re just not into breakfast no matter how pretty or nutritious it is, maybe coffee with butter and collagen is for you. It fuels you for hours and gives your metabolism and brain a nice jumpstart.
Bonus Tip:
Research shows that natural light can help adjust the internal clock, so let the light in with a sunrise-simulating alarm clock. Or if you’re into extremes, get yourself an alarm clock on wheels that makes you chase it to switch it off.
Ultimately, the key to feeling like your best self is honoring your body. So take the suggestions above, experiment, and see what works for your body.
And here’s a fun fact to give you a little more ease if you’re still not excited about revamping your mornings: research has shown that night owls have larger incomes than people who wake up early. Woot!
Here are other interesting results I learned from taking HumanCode’s DNAPassport test from Helix.
First, I’ve got to tell you that doing the test was way more quick, easy and affordable than I thought – you just mail your saliva to the lab using a provided box with pre-paid postage. The results are then neatly displayed in the DNAPassport app, and come accompanied by quirky facts related to each result.
What I especially liked about the test is that it takes into account the fact that the environment and genetics both influence how traits are expressed.
Every result comes with an estimation of the percentage to which environment affects a trait. For example, the omega-3 levels in my blood are 80% affected by the environment (aka my diet), while my skin color is affected by the environment by only 28%.
Let’s dive in! Here are some of the things I learned from doing a DNA test to give you an idea of what you can expect when you buy the DNAPassport product.
ANCESTRY
- My ancestry is up to 80% from Northern and Western Europe (Britain, Ireland and Finland). This is fascinating and surprising because I can only track down family members in Russia.
LACTOSE & CAFFEINE
- I’m likely to be lactose tolerant! I also found out that most people lose the ability to tolerate lactose as they age. I should really plan that trip to Italy soon to eat all the cheese!
- The test said that I’m “Likely to be a slow caffeine metabolizer”, according to my CYP1A2enzyme activity (which is responsible for metabolizing caffeine). This means that coffee has a more stimulating effect on me than someone who is a fast metabolizer, which is a good reminder to consume it mindfully. The good news (also from the test) is that my genotype has not been associated with increased habitual caffeine consumption.
- Under the “Cilantro Taste” tab, I learned that some people pick up tastes (like cilantro) and smells that others don’t. My test showed that I’m less likely to taste soap in cilantro, unlike Julia Child, who was a self-proclaimed cilantro hater and would pick it out of foods and throw it on the floor.
PHYSICAL TRAITS
- The test predicted my eyes to be blue. Bingo! They use a statistical model to calculate a person’s eye color, and they currently can predict three broad categories – blue, green to hazel and brown.
- My DNA test also predicted that I’m taller than average, which is true. I’m 5 feet 9 inches, which is the average height for U.S. men (!).
- I was also predicted to be fast. My genotype CC has been identified as more prevalent in elite sprinters and athletes based on my fast twitch muscle fiber insight.
NUTRITION
This part could be my favorite! Here are some things I learned about my body and how it absorbs nutrients:
- I’m predicted to naturally have lower B6 and B12 (crucial for healthy brain and immune system) levels. Maybe I should consider incorporating more foods rich in B vitamins (like fish and spinach) into my diet!
- I’m likely to have normal omega-3 metabolism.
Omega 3 facts from the DNAPassport app:
“Our body doesn’t make omega-3 fatty acids. We get them primarily from fish and to a lesser extent from nuts and seeds. Fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, herring, lake trout sardines and albacore tuna are high in omega-3 fatty acids. It helps lower the risk of heart disease, depression, dementia and arthritis.”
Overall, the DNAPassport product from HumanCode available in the Helix store was really fun to do, and I learned a lot as I was exploring my results. I’ll be trying out the SlumberType product from Exploragen (also available in the Helix store) next to learn more about my sleep patterns.
Curious to do a DNA test yourself? Get 30% off any product in the Helix store when you use my link here.
Thank you for reading this and thank you Helix for sponsoring this post and providing my first ever DNA test. All opinions, as always, are my own.