It’s the time of year that everyone is making New Year’s resolutions. The 2 resolutions on top of people’s list last year (and almost every year) are:
But few people actually follow through on these resolutions? Why is that?
Well, when you start a new habit, it’s fragile. A small slip up can derail the whole thing. Psychologists call this the What the Hell Effect. Basically, it’s a frame of mind where you feel like you’ve already messed up, so you might as well completely abandon the goal.
For example, if you skip your morning workout one day, your new morning routine is likely to fail altogether. Your brain feels like you’ve missed once, so you’ve already failed. Might as well fail completely.
So how do you prevent this? One of the ways is to examine your routine and find exactly when it breaks down.
For a morning exercise routine, the most common breaking point is right at the beginning: getting out of bed. Once you’re out of bed, you’re more likely to continue with your routine.
So here are some tips to help make that part more automatic using smart home products.
Cool and cold rooms can help you get a good night’s sleep. But by the same token, they also make it more difficult to get out of bed.
Do this: Have your smart thermostat set to start warming up your home about 30 minutes before you want to wake up. High to mid 70’s is a good target temperature, but adjust for what you find comfortable.
Humans are diurnal creatures (we sleep at night and are active during the day). Light tells our brain it’s time to wake up. Use this to your advantage.
Set your smart home lights to slowly turn on in the morning (simulating a sunrise). They should be set so that your room is bright when your alarm goes off.
If it’s light out by the time you wake up, you can do the same thing by having your blinds automatically open.
A sudden, loud, and annoying alarm going off can cause you to roll over and hit snooze.
Instead, wake up gradually with music. You can use your whole-home audio setup to play your favourite songs. Create a playlist that starts with something soft and slowly builds to a blood-pumping crescendo to get you ready for your workout.
According to psychologist and Cambridge PhD candidate, David M. Greenberg and Spotify’s data team, good wake-up songs have these 3 characteristics:
Check out their list of 20 top wake-up songs here.
If you’re doing a video workout in your home, have the video queued up and ready to play. You can even have your TV start playing your workout at a set time or use a motion sensor to start playing your workout when you enter the room.
BriteBox provides home automation, electrical services, security, and entertainment systems for people in the greater Atlanta area. Contact us for more information.
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