I’ve written here about my Miracle Morning routine. I’m almost two months in and still going strong. I wanted to write a short post here about an aspect that is not officially part of the routine. It was mentioned in the book, so I don’t take any credit. What I’m talking about is brushing your teeth and drinking water.

Like most people, when I immediately wake up I’m pretty groggy. Even when I magically have some pep in my step, if I laid down, I could easily drift off back to la-la-land. That’s why Elrod recommends people brush their teeth as one of the first things they do. The action of brushing, the clean feeling in my mouth and the zing I get with my minty toothpaste help wake me up right away.

The second thing is to drink lots of water. I had heard this before. The reason I heard earlier was that it fills the stomach and helps you go longer before eating, thus prolonging your fast. Elrod adds that when you spend 6-8 or more hours sleeping and not drinking, you get dehydrated. It’s important for mental as well as physical functioning to re-hydrate soon after waking.