What is a Low Dopamine Morning Routine? | ADHD Morning Routine
Imagine starting your day driven by intention and calm rather and stress and immediate gratification.
Sound like a fantasy?
Maybe it doesn’t have to be.
The terms “slow morning” or “low dopamine morning” have been gaining traction in both neurotypical and neurodivergent circles over the past few years.
And I’ve been getting lots of questions from clients and my community about what it means and if they’re helpful.
That’s why we’re diving into what a low dopamine morning routine is, why it can support ADHD mompreneurs, and how to build one that works for you.
ADHD and Morning Routines
If you’re like me, you probably have a bit of a love hate relationship with the word “routine”.
We know structure helps—especially during transitions—but rigid routines can feel boring and soul-crushing to our novelty-loving brains.
So I understand how unappealing the thought of doing the same thing each morning when you wake up sounds like the worst way to start your day.
That’s why a flexible low dopamine morning routine might be the answer: something structured enough to support us, but gentle and adaptable enough to keep us engaged.
But before we get into the benefits and components of your low dopamine morning routine, let’s start by explaining…
What is a Low Dopamine Morning Routine?
A low dopamine morning routine starts your day with calming, low-stimulation activities to help preserve dopamine and support executive function.
Instead of high-stimulation or dopamine spike inducing activities like excessive phone use, scrolling social media, sugar and caffeine, or even an intense work out, you opt for activities that encourage calmness and sustained attention.
The goal? Avoid early dopamine spikes so your brain doesn’t crash later, leaving you unmotivated or overwhelmed.
Why does this matter? Because when you give your brain a dopamine high first thing—like scrolling TikTok or chugging espresso—it starts chasing that same stimulation all day. And after the spike comes the crash, leaving you searching for your next fix instead of focusing on what matters.
And you might be thinking “well, if my dopamine is low, can’t I just go back and scroll TikTok some more or drink another vente double expresso mocha?”
Well, no. Because a dopamine spike is often followed by a dopamine trough. Meaning you’ll often notice a crash after a dopamine spike followed by a slower recovery to get your back to your baseline.
But the short version for our purposes, early morning dopamine spikes can mean you’re on the hunt to recover for the rest of the day. Which is why a slow or low dopamine routine may be so beneficial for helping you ease into your day and protect your dopamine for when you’ll need it for the executive function later on.
Benefits of a Low Dopamine Morning Routine
Other benefits of a low dopamine morning routine could include:
Low Dopamine Morning Routine Benefits: Reduced Feeling of Stress and Anxiety
Your cortisol (aka stress hormone) is naturally lowest in the morning. But if you spike your dopamine and crash, your brain may turn to cortisol to keep going—even if there’s no actual danger. And cortisol spikes aren’t a terrible thing if you happen to be chased by a tiger and need to focus on creating an escape plan.
But when we rely on cortisol to muscle through our daily activities when there isn’t a tiger chasing us, we put ourselves at risk for higher stress due to consistently high levels of cortisol. These high cortisol levels can lead to reduced dopamine release and function, which is the worst thing for our executive function seeing as it is responsible for us following through on tasks, concentrating on a project, or remembering important details.
High cortisol levels may also contribute to increased feelings of restlessness, nervousness, and worry aka anxiety, even if we’re not actually experiencing the “danger” that cortisol response is linked to.
Because a slow or low dopamine morning routine can help you ease into your day and prevent dopamine crash, you may experience less need for cortisol, therefore reducing the feelings of stress and anxiety you feel.
Low Dopamine Morning Routine Benefits: Improved Mood and Emotional Control
The lower levels of stress and anxiety you may experience with your low dopamine morning routine may also impact your mood and emotional regulation throughout the day.
Because emotional regulation is an executive function. Which means it runs on dopamine.
So if we immediately spike our dopamine upon waking due to checking our email and realizing we’ve got 95 fires that need put out yesterday, it make complete sense why we may not have the gas in our executive function tank to keep from flying off the handle when we’re trying to get everyone out the door 2 hours from now.
We are in survival mode already and it is only 817am.
Protecting your dopamine helps you manage emotions more easily and avoid early overstimulation that can throw off your whole day.
In fact, as you start to notice the difference you feel from your slow morning routine, you’ll be experiencing the next low dopamine morning routine benefit…
Low Dopamine Morning Routine Benefits: Increased Self Awareness and Self-Discipline
Let’s be honest: I used to roll and scroll every morning. I still slip sometimes on weekends or vacation. That’s why I use an app blocker now—because I absolutely cannot be trusted to make good phone choices on my own. I need a phone babysitter.
It can be easy to slide into the addiction of instant satisfaction and stimulation first thing in the day. It’s just so easy to fall into the “just 5 more minutes” or “just 1 more Reel”.
But as we talked about earlier, those dopamine spikes we get from our instant gratification can lead to a crash that leads to searching for our next dopamine hit rather than focusing the tasks and projects that need our attention.
The more you delay that first hit of dopamine, the easier it becomes to stay aware, intentional, and in control of your choices. And it’s easier to take a few mindful moments to start the day, helping us to create better self awareness.
And to round out today’s episode, let’s talk a bit about what you might want to include in your low dopamine morning routine.
Build Your Flexible, Low Dopamine Morning Routine
Here’s the good news: it doesn’t have to be rigid, because ADHD hates boring and rigid. You can tailor your routine based on my 4 simple swaps—and bonus many of these can be done simultaneously
Swap Screens for Sunlight
Instead of reaching for your phone or flipping on the TV, step outside or open a curtain. Natural light helps regulate your internal clock and gently wakes your brain.
Swap Sugar & Caffeine for Protein & Hydration
By starting with a protein-rich breakfast and hydrating early, you’ll stabilize your energy by avoiding blood sugar spikes along with keeping your brain, which is 75% water, running optimally.
Swap Stress for Stillness
Rather than checking email or your to-do list right away, take a few quiet minutes. Try deep breathing, gratitude, or a short walk to ease into your day.
As I said earlier, you could totally combine these categories if you’re either new to creating a morning routine or don’t feel like you could wake up early enough to get it all done.
For instance, you could have a nice refreshing glass of water after you get out of bed, then take a short 5-morning walk outside while listing 5 things you’re grateful for before you get back to your house.
And remember, this isn’t about never having coffee or skipping your HIIT workout forever. It’s about timing.
If you sit down at your desk two hours after waking up and already feel drained or distracted, you may have spent your dopamine fuel too early. By shifting stimulating activities later, you can give your brain the gentle start it needs.
Try pushing stimulating activities like super hard workouts, coffee, or scrolling to a little later in the day to see if a slow morning help you get into your work day with a bit less resistance.
And if you’re struggling to stay consistent or start your morning routine, I’d love to help you get on track. Click the button below to book your free, no-obligation call with me to discuss how my ADHD coaching programs can help you juggle life as an ADHD mom and ADHD entrepreneur.
