Lea Hellmann Midtgaard

Lea Hellmann Midtgaard has a background as a management consultant, the classic CBS high-achiever and straight A-student. She pushed herself hard, driven by ambition and a need to perform. But life caught up with her. At just 25, she lost her father, lived with a mother who struggled with alcohol, and battled chronic sinus pain that few could see but she felt every single day. It was during that period she began to question what all the striving was really for, and what she was truly running after.

Today, Lea Hellmann Midtgaard has dedicated her professional life to strengthening mental health through Mind Care Collective. She’s 35, mother of three small children, and openly admits she does what she does because she needed it herself.

“I’ve always loved psychology, health, and behavior. As a management consultant, I missed having passion in my work, and I was under pressure. I quit my job because I wanted to explore a new path where performance and well-being could go hand in hand. I believe we can achieve and have ambitions, but we must do it in a way that doesn’t compromise our well-being and health along the way.”

For Lea, the morning always starts the night before. She goes to bed around 10 p.m. no screens, with her phone parked outside the bedroom. Instead, she’s bought an old-fashioned alarm clock. Sleep is her foundation. She prioritizes eight hours because she feels her nervous system and mood are significantly better when she does.

“I don’t feed my system with emails or news before grounding myself. Phone-free mornings let me choose my inputs - and be more present with my children.”

Loving chaos and conscious choices

With three kids aged 7, 5, and 1, Lea describes her mornings as “loving chaos.” But she sticks to one rule: no phone before the kids are out the door. After the kids get oatmeal with apple and blueberries, Lea starts her own day with her go-to green smoothie; which she calls “my green porridge”:

“It’s not pretty, but it works: frozen spinach, broccoli, parsley, blackcurrants, kiwi, bean sprouts, lemon, ginger, seaweed, walnuts, fish oil, and always a scoop of aioss. It gives me peace of mind to know that I’ve filled my body with something good before the day begins.”

She waits a bit before having coffee, and limits it to two cups a day, preferably with oat milk. “I really enjoy my coffee, but it should support me, not control me.”

Calm, intention, and mental health

Once the kids are out the door, Lea takes a moment for herself. Some days it’s meditation, other days just breathing and silence on the terrace.

“I’m not dogmatic, a little is better than nothing. Mental health should never be black and white. It mustn’t become another discipline we try to master perfectly, but important conscious actions I take. So if I miss my mentally healthy morning routines one day, there’s always a new day tomorrow. We were never taught how to take care of our mental health in school, and we’re up against evolution, and the fact that everything has to move fast.”

She uses this moment to visualize and set intentions: “I ask myself: what is the one or two things that truly matter today? We live fast, we chase the next thing, we constantly compare ourselves to what we don’t have or achieve. But what are we really running after? For me, it’s about defining my own success, not just buying into society’s definition of it.”

What can we learn from Lea’s morning routine?

1. Take care of your sleep, and your pace “Prioritize your sleep. And use the day to create a foundation for good sleep at night. Light, air, movement during the day, and screen-free time before bed.”
2. Be mindful of your digital habits “I don’t let my phone control my nervous system. I start my day on my own terms.”
3. Set intentions before the new day begins Check in with yourself and make a list of what to bring with you - and what to leave behind - day by day or week by week.