One in three Americans now consider meditation an essential part of their morning ritual

Coffee, exercise and meditation now beat catching up on the news when it comes to the perfect morning ritual, according to a new study.

The findings emerged in a survey of 2,000 Americans which sought to explore people’s morning routines, lifestyles and the way in which they wish to spend their time.

Results showed over half (52%) find time for coffee in the a.m., while a further two in five want to exercise first thing in the morning — even before jumping into reading the news and starting their workday.

These days, Americans celebrate the self-care movement and embrace the concept of activities such as meditation in regard to its contemplative and mood-elevating abilities — 36% said that they would meditate if given the freedom to design their perfect morning.

In fact, one in three now considers meditation an essential element to the perfect morning.

The research, conducted by OnePoll in conjunction with Thermador, saw that exercise or some form of meditation is more essential to any perfect morning than even reading the news (31%) or watching it on TV (33%).

Still, dreams of meditative contemplation or relaxing post-yoga lattes can seem distant for most respondents, and the freedom to design their own schedule elusive. Two-thirds (65%) long for more control of their mornings and 77% rate their mornings as busy.

A lively one in five said they are always in a rush to even get out of the door each morning.

“No matter your individual lifestyle, customizing your day is an indulgence we all wish we could have,” said a spokesperson for Thermador.

“This survey illustrates the need that today’s luxury consumers share to personalize their morning experiences so that they can better achieve the ever-elusive perfect start to the day.”

The trend toward more self-reflection time in the morning was also apparent in other core morning must-haves that luxury consumers would regularly indulge in if given the opportunity to design their life: yoga (24%) and juicing (26%) were among the things professionals would love to prioritize when it comes to customizing their busy schedules.

Time is such a precious commodity that even the slightest boost is welcomed – one in four respondents said simply having 10 extra minutes per day would make all the difference, while a mere 30 minutes was deemed the average response for the sample as a whole.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, three quarters (74%) of those surveyed agree that having more time in the morning would be a true luxury.

So, is this dream of an “extra 30 minutes per day” attainable? Well, with cooking and food preparation taking up the most time of any given day, the secret may lie in kitchen automation.

When asked to consider the latest time-saving kitchen innovations — from fully automatic coffee machines, to dishwashers designed to complete a wash cycle in just 20 minutes, respondents estimated that they could save 27 minutes on average with a fully automated smart-home kitchen.

The Thermador spokesperson added, “With connected appliances across all product categories, Thermador is empowering consumers to maintain control over their daily routines, while at the same time providing access to culinary experiences — from recipes sent directly to the oven, to notifications that meals are ready to be enjoyed.”

This story was originally published on New York Post. Read the original story.