5 Things That Guarantee a Healthy Start to Your Day

A consistent morning routine not only sets you up to (in theory) make it out the door to work on time, but it can also help establish healthy habits. We've rounded up our top five tips to make you rise and shine to be your absolute best:

Eat Breakfast About 15% of Americans are breakfast skippers. The reasons vary, like not being hungry, being too busy rushing to work, or too tired to even think about cooking. Missing out on breakfast doesn't just make people hangry, it can can cause them to overcompensate with extra calories later in the day or to choose more processed options like a drive-thru meal or those doughnuts in the break room. Still got a few good excuses as to why breakfast just isn't for you? Find a way to beat each of these with our guide to eating breakfast.

Actually Take Your Vitamins While vitamins provided by food are always ideal, not everyone is meeting their daily needs through this route. Try to improve this by upping your intake of fruits and veggies, and possibly taking a multi-vitamin. Not sure what type of vitamins to reach for? Find out which vitamins to take and which to skip.

Hydrate Besides possibly making you a better driver (which could help in your morning commute) staying hydrated is important for a healthy lifestyle. Since our bodies can't hydrate themselves, it's vital to be vigilant about consuming water. The average woman needs 13 8-ounce cups of water per day, and a man requires about 16. If you forget to hydrate throughout the day, rubber bands might help with reminding you, or there several other ways to trick yourself into drinking more water.

Loosen Up Stretching and loosening up muscles, especially if you hit it hard in the gym yesterday, is a great way to get relaxed and warmed up for the upcoming day. Doing simple stretches or setting aside a little extra time to do yoga can make a real difference in both body and mind.

Take Care of Your Skin There's something to be said about literally putting your "best face forward" each morning. Washing (and sometimes exfoliating) your face will both help you wake up and have a glowing look. Don't forget to use a moisturizer or foundation with SPF protection to keep your skin from getting sun damage during day-to-day exposure.