Office Hours: The Perfect Morning Routine for a Longer, Sharper Life with Dr. Mark Hyman

Mark Hyman, MD

Dr. Mark Hyman is leading a health revolution—one focused on using food as medicine to support longevity, energy, mental clarity, happiness, and so much more. Mark Hyman, MD is a practicing family physician and an internationally recognized leader, speaker, educator, and advocate in the field of Functional Medicine. He is the founder and director of The UltraWellness Center, Founder and Senior Advisor for the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine, a sixteen-time New York Times best-selling author, and Board President for Clinical Affairs for The Institute for Functional Medicine. He is the founder and chairman of the Food Fix Campaign, dedicated to transforming our food and agriculture system through policy.

He is a co-founder and the Chief Medical Officer of Function Health. He is the host of one of the leading health podcasts, The Dr. Hyman Show with 150+ million downloads. Dr. Hyman is a regular medical contributor to several television shows and networks, including CBS This Morning, Today, Good Morning America, The View, Fox, and CNN.

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Full Transcript

Automatically generated. Please forgive any typos or errors in the following transcript. It was generated by a third party and has not been subsequently reviewed by our team.

Dr. Mark Hyman
Welcome to Office Hours. This is our dedicated one on one space to go deeper, get clear, and explore what truly moves the needle for your health. I'm doctor Mark Hyman, and each week, we're gonna pull back the curtain and share the insights, the research, the lessons that don't always make it into our conversations with guests. Because at the end of the day, you are the CEO of your own health. And for many of you, your family's health too.

And you might not feel it all the time, but you have far more power and agency than you realize. I'm glad you're here. This episode is brought to you by Function Health, empowering you to live a 100 healthy years with over a 160 lab tests for just $365 a year, and use the code Mark twenty twenty six to get $50 off your membership. Morning routines have become a big focus in health and wellness, and it's not just about productivity or checking boxes. How you start your morning has a direct impact on your brain, on your energy, your metabolism, even how well you sleep at night.

Because your body is constantly taking cues from your environment, light, movement, food, stress. And those early signals, well, they help set up your internal clock. They regulate your hormones, they shape how you feel for the rest of the day. Things like getting morning sunlight, moving your body, creating consistent rhythm, and not just habits. They're biological inputs that affect everything from your focus to your mood to your long term brain health.

So today, we're going to break this down in a very practical way by walking through my actual morning routine, what I do, why I do it, and how you can apply these same principles in your own life without overcomplicating it. I built my morning routine by doing the things that are scientifically proven to make a difference. And the first thing I do when I wake up is I go to the kitchen and I have at least 16 ounces of water with electrolytes to get rehydrated from the night. And then I'll go outside if it's a nice day, or I'll sometimes use full spectrum light glasses if I'm not able to get sunlight for about twenty minutes. And light's so important because it's how your body resets your circadian rhythms, and it's how your brain comes online.

It's how your hormones start to regulate. It's how you set yourself up for a good sleep that night. So getting twenty minutes of morning sunlight is really important. It helps cortisol timing, sleep quality, and all those things are really, really essential if you want to have a healthy balanced sleep and also circadian rhythm. And I'll do my breath work just to get my system going in the morning for probably ten, fifteen minutes.

I'll do some qigong, which is gentle movement and getting blood flowing and energy moving in my body. And then I'll do a meditation after that for anywhere from five to twenty minutes. And that's kind of how I get started right at the beginning. And then I'll usually if I have time, I'll journal just to kind of get my thoughts out and kind of consolidate my memories and metabolize my experience, and that helps me just stay emotionally and kind of spiritually healthy. And usually after that, I'll work out, and I'll go to the gym.

I'll do a workout. I didn't start strength training till I was in my late fifties, and I didn't really know what I was doing. I didn't wanna hurt myself. So I thought it was important to find a trainer to learn the skills and to have someone watch me. Also, I've had a lot of back surgeries, and I have to be very careful.

So I I want someone supervising me. Not everybody needs that. You there's plenty of free online trainings and apps and YouTube videos. So you don't actually need a trainer. You can do body weight.

You can use bands. You can use weights. It doesn't matter. But it's important to get started, whatever it is, and do it right. Part of the reason to get a trainer is to make sure your form is right, because people often will do the wrong form and actually end up in trouble, or do the wrong form and end up not actually getting the benefit of the exercise.

If you don't have a trainer, you want to make sure you at least get some basic guidance. And there's, again, many online tools and resources. If you can have someone work with you a few times just to kind of teach you the basics, it's important because people can get in trouble. And I think movement is so key. It's so key for everything.

The more you move, the better you're going be. We're all meant to be moving. It helps your cognitive function, brain growth. Brent's Alzheimer's is walking every day. Lymphatic system circulation depends on movement.

It helps boost your energy. You know, often when I'm tired, if I exercise, I'll feel better. So it's not necessarily just something you only have to do when you feel amazing. You can do it as a way to reshift and shake up your energy. So after I do my basic foundational things to get my nervous system set in the morning, gather myself, and get grounded, and after my workout, usually around eight, nine, I'll have a protein shake.

And I usually do a fourteen hour overnight fast. So if I eat dinner at, you know, 06:00 at night, I can eat it eight in the morning, and that's that's a fourteen hour fast. And my go to breakfast is typically when I have all my stuff with me at home, I'll have a a shake. Usually, I use goat whey, put in creatine, put in urolithin a, spermidine, these ingredients that help with longevity, and also put in some prebiotic fibers. I might put in some probiotics.

I make kind of a of a medicine shake for me, really, because I can get it all done in one. And then I'll have that shake with the rest of my supplements to help the absorption of those supplements. So most supplements really require fat and and food to absorb. So I have a multivitamin, my fish oil, my vitamin d, and my omega my omega threes. I I use a very specific kind.

And I'll take other cocktail of things depending on what's happening and what I'm working on in my health, but often I'll take a cocktail of mitochondrial supplements. I'll use N acetylcysteine to help glutathione. Lipoic acid also helps. This is a great booster for detoxification as an antioxidant. And if I'm out and about and I can get a shake, I'll do it.

And if not, I'll, you know, have eggs and protein and fat for breakfast. Really important. Avocados, tomatoes, eggs, olive oil, omelet. Not sugar for breakfast. I think most Americans eat sugar for breakfast, cereal, pancakes, muffins, bagels, you know, French toasts, sweetened yogurts, sugared coffees.

I mean, these are just disastrous for your metabolism, and shouldn't be what we're not eating for breakfast. So don't eat dessert for breakfast. Have protein and fat for breakfast.

Dr. Mark Hyman
I will also say I travel a lot, but For me, there's

Dr. Mark Hyman
certain non negotiables. Like, I make sure I have always with me at least a day's food in my backpack, and that could be protein sticks. I have Maui Nui venison sticks. I have nuts like macadamia nuts, very calorie dense, very nutrient dense, very high in fat, very high in protein. I don't have sugary snacks in my back.

I don't eat those. Really important because you don't want to be in a food emergency. I have my supplements packed in little packets so I can carry them with me and travel with them. And I always carry bands with me because sometimes I can't get to a gym or there's no gym ram, so I'll have bands that I use for working out. So I can all I need is a floor and a door, which I can usually find.

And and that's kind of nonnegotiable for me. And so those are really important things. And I think I just keep those consistent, and that just makes all the difference when I travel. Even meditating one minute is better than meditating no minutes. Even exercising five minutes is better than exercising no minutes.

So consistency really matters, and it it's like compounding interest. You do it every day, you'll just get in the habit, and it becomes much easier. Now sometimes you can't. Your routine's off. You're traveling.

Whatever happens, fine. But it's important to not just use that as an excuse to kind of screw off and never do it again. So I think I try to do those things when I can when I'm traveling. Obviously, if I'm changing time zones or I can't always do it, but I always when I get somewhere, I always, like, go right to the gym. I work out.

I have a sauna. I try to get a massage, and that kind of resets my system. So really important to try to get your system reset when you're traveling. I mean, over time, I'll change it depending on new things I'm learning or new practices I have or different breath work practices or types of meditation or different kinds of fitness routines I'm doing. But it's basically the same structure, and I I'll adapt it depending on, you know, what what I'm doing in my life and where I am and where I'm at in the world.

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I know my routine may sound like a lot to some people and may even feel overwhelming, but if you're overwhelmed, just start simply with some simple practices. You know, everybody can try to get outside for ten, fifteen, twenty minutes in the morning, take a walk. Very simple. Hard to hard to kind of make that complicated. Make sure you drink a good glass of water every morning when you wake up.

You can put a little bit of electrolytes in it. Easy to do. Not hard to do. These things stack on each other. And if you can, you know, listen to a meditation app for ten minutes.

It doesn't have to be a long time. Just simple even five minutes. It can be a lot. So five minutes meditation. If you don't have five minutes to meditate in the morning, there's something wrong with your life.

You better figure out. And then movement, you know, do what you can. If you can just do 10 jumping jacks between phone calls, do that. You don't have to be rigid about it, but start building these habits, and you'll find over time your health will improve, your well-being will improve, and and you'll just be better for it. The other thing people do is is, you know, get on their phone before they go to bed and get on their phone as soon as they wake up.

And I think a good rule of thumb is keep your phone in another room. Put it out of the bedroom. Keep it in your office or keep in the kitchen or somewhere else. Charge it there, and don't look at it first thing in the morning. Don't look at it last thing at night.

You know, we don't need to, and it's good to gather yourself for yourself, into yourself, so you can be more grounded as you go through life rather than being immediately pulled into the dopamine hits of your phone. If I just wake up and go right to work, or I go right into stuff, or jump on email, I typically don't feel like I have as good a day. When I start the day grounded, and when I start the day with my practices, with breath work, with meditation, with journaling, and and exercise, it just sets me up for the whole day to have a great day. And I don't end up having dips in energy. I have to stay motivated.

I stay connected to myself, and it just provides me a foundation for my life. We all live such a crazy stressful life, and so I find it really important to incorporate things to help regulate my nervous system. That includes breath work, meditation, and there are different techniques. I used to do TM when I was younger. I studied Buddhism.

Mindfulness breath work is is a really simple practice that you can use. The, you know, mindfulness stress reduction training from John Kapitzan. There's a million different varieties. It doesn't really matter. Whatever works for you.

And that really has tremendous amounts of science in terms of how it affects the immune system, your cardiovascular health, your immune health, your brain health, your risk of diseases, chronic pain. It's so many different things. So it helps sleep. It's it's one of those foundational things that we tend to ignore, but it's it's it's just important as eating or breathing or sleeping. Let me go through a few kind of key questions that people are asking about.

Coffee, should you have it before or after food? Coffee and empty stomach is how most of us drink it. It's probably not the best thing to give yourself a jolt of caffeine and adrenaline before you eat. So having it with food is probably a better idea. What's the best five minute habit that you can do in your life?

Well, probably just a five minute breath work meditation. Just slow into the count of five, hold for five, out to the count of five, do that for five breaths. Super simple. Like, how it take five. It's really, really easy.

The biggest mistake people have in the morning is just not taking a little bit of time for themselves to establish their day. And I mean, just simple practices that are so simple that everybody can do, whether it's just five minutes of meditation, a simple stretching routine, glass of water, you know, making sure you have the right breakfast. These these are the really important things. And I think people just skip over these things and kind of rush right to life, but it's important to really get grounded into good habits in the morning as a foundational practice for your health. So as you can see, a powerful morning routine isn't about doing more, it's just about doing the right things.

Because those early moments in your day are when your body's most responsive to light, to movement, to rhythm, and those signals shape everything that follows, Your energy, your focus, your metabolism, even how well you sleep that night. But the goal here isn't to create a perfect complicated routine. It's to start simple. To get some morning light, to move your body, to just create a little consistency because those small inputs done consistently, they can have an outsized impact on how you feel. And over time, they compound.

So don't feel like you need to overhaul your entire morning tomorrow. Start with one or two things and build it from there. Let your routine work for you. So if you found this helpful, share it with someone who's trying to feel better, think clearer, or just start their day with more intention. And we'll see you next time on Office Hours.

What if brain fog, anxiety, and mood swings aren't simply all in your head? What if the health of your mind actually starts deeper in your body, in your gut, in your hormones, metabolism, and your immune system. Well, let me tell you, the connection is real and it affects how you think and you feel every single day. And that's why I created Brain Shaping Academy, a six week program that shows you how healing your body can help you heal your mind. Brain Shaping Academy relies on the same targeted nutrition and lifestyle strategies that I've used for thirty years to help my patients improve their mental, emotional and cognitive health.

So if you want to feel calmer, clearer and more in control and stay sharp and protect your brain as you age, check out Brain Shaping Academy at doctorhymen.com/brainshaping. That's doctor hymen dot com forward slash brain shaping. Thanks for joining me for office hours. I love diving into these topics with you. Remember, you are the CEO of your own health, and every choice you make can move you closer to healing and vitality.

I wanna keep these episodes as relevant and useful as possible. So tell me, what do you want to explore next? What questions are you wrestling with? What breakthroughs are you chasing? Share your ideas in the comments on social media or through the link in the show notes.

I'm listening. Until next time, keep taking charge, keep asking questions, and keep showing up for your health.

Dr. Mark Hyman
If you love this podcast, please share it with someone else you think would also enjoy it. You can find me on all social media channels at Doctor Mark Hyman. Please reach out. I'd love to hear your comments and questions. Don't forget to rate, review, and subscribe to the doctor Hyman show wherever you get your podcasts.

And don't forget to check out my YouTube channel at Doctor Mark Hyman for video versions of this podcast and more. Thank you so much again for tuning in. We'll see you next time on the Doctor Hyman Show.

Dr. Mark Hyman
This podcast is separate from

Dr. Mark Hyman
my clinical practice at the Ultra Wellness Center, my work at Cleveland Clinic, and Function Health where I am chief medical officer. This podcast represents my opinions and my guests' opinions. Neither myself nor the podcast endorses the views or statements of my guests. This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional care by a doctor or other qualified medical professional. This podcast is provided with the understanding that it does not constitute medical or other professional advice or services.

If you're looking for help in your journey, please seek out a qualified medical practitioner. And if you're looking for a functional medicine practitioner, visit my clinic, the Ultra Wellness Center at ultrawellnesscenter.com, and request to become a patient. It's important to have someone in your corner who is a trained, licensed health care practitioner and can help you make changes, especially when it comes to your health. This podcast is free as part of my mission to bring practical ways of improving health to the public. So I'd like to express gratitude to sponsors that made today's podcast possible.

Thanks so much again for listening.