I have never been someone who likes to stick to a strict routine. I’ve always been someone who eats when I’m hungry, sleeps when I’m tired and does most things when I want to rather than following a schedule. Of course there are the necessary moments when you have to follow a timetable, when you are student for example or working. However, I’ve done quite a lot of reading recently that states if you follow a set schedule, your body becomes less stressed. Anxiety slowly begins to fade when you find a steady routine you can follow. Waking up, going to bed and eating around the same time everyday can really make a difference.
I wanted to try this out for myself before I wrote a quick post for you guys to let you know if it actually helps. I forced myself to wake up at the same time, give or take 30 minutes, even on the weekend, ate all my meals around the same time everyday, including breakfast (not an easy task for me since I’m never hungry in the morning) and went to bed around midnight. After about 5 days I have to say I really got into the rhythm quite easily. I really noticed a difference after a week when I would wake up before my alarm went off and started to fall asleep standing at the stroke of midnight. I also noticed that I felt much calmer throughout the day when I would eat within 1 hour of waking up, even if it was something small. I always try to have a breakfast that is high in protein and healthy fats to keep me full and energized for a longer period of time. This too will help in terms of keeping anxiety at bay.
The best part of the whole exercise was that I really did feel more in control of my day and was able to know how my day would turn out for the most part, which did make me feel calmer. Of course guys, this is life we are talking about, you can never plan everything. However, having control over a few basic elements of the day makes a difference. I would highly recommend trying this, especially for someone who has more free time and struggles with anxiety.
Let me know in the comments below if you agree or disagree and are willing to try!
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