Chelsea Handler Reveals Who Gets Her First Cuddle in the Morning — and Why She Wears a Bra to Bed (Exclusive)

Chelsea Handler, whose latest book, I'll Have What She's Having, is out now, shares how she starts her day for PEOPLE 's wellness series My Good Morning.  The comedian, who just released her new Netflix special The Feeling, dishes on sleeping in her bra, who she wants to wake up to (hint: he's cuddly — and furry) and why, despite her party persona, "I'm a morning person for sure."

I need sleep. I usually am in bed by 10 o’clock, and I get up at 7. Even if I set my alarm, I will wake up before it. I have an internal clock that is very sharp. I don't think I've ever been late to a single thing in my life. I’m habitually early. My parents never picked me up from school [on time], so I blame them.

First I say hi to my dog Doug. He comes in bed, and I roll him around for as long as he’ll permit me. Then I let him out. 

I sleep in my bra every night. You get used to it—and your boobs remain perky forever. I feel weirder when I don't have it on when I'm sleeping than when I do. I wear my Chantelle lace bras. They come in nude and black, and I have about 50 of each. If I have family over, then I have my Pour Les Femmes pajamas. I love those. Robin Wright, that's her company. She sent me tons of those years ago, so I always sleep in those if people are at my house and I need to be in pajamas. Otherwise I sleep in my bra and underwear religiously. I run hot so I like to have something to cool me down.

I like to meditate before looking at my phone.  It’s a good way to say, “I want to be a kind person today. I don’t want to lose my patience. I want to spread good vibes.”

I eat something first thing. I have a protein bar. Think Thins are my favorite. They have a nice balance of protein, carbs, and sugar, Then I’ll have a real meal, a heartier meal around 11. I try to feed my body every three to four hours. I try to eat something to keep my metabolism kicked on all day.

I stretch every morning. I weight-train mostly. I'm all about the weights. Usually I work out with my trainer Ben Bruno. He's been my trainer for, I think over, 10 years. When I'm here in L.A., I work out with him every single day. And when I'm on the road, I do the workouts myself. If I’m on vacation in Mallorca, my house is on the water, so I’ll walk across the street in my bra and underwear into the Mediterranean and wake myself up that way.

I’ve never been a coffee person. Instead, I drink an energy drink called BrainJuice. Coffee makes me sweat. Once in a while I'll have an iced coffee if everyone's drinking coffee and I feel left out. 

I start my day with electrolytes. I'll have some LMNT electrolytes that I pour in my water every morning. Raspberry salt is my favorite. I also like grapefruit salts. And then there's this other brand, DripDrop that I like the fruit punch one. I rotate those three.

I try not to watch news these days. I read my news. I read Politico Playbook. I read The New York Times. I listen to The Daily every day. I’ll read Fox News to see what they’re saying. I make sure that I'm informed, but I don’t make it an all-day thing.

I like to get reading in every day. I just finished Small Things Like These. It’s important for me to put my phone down and fill myself up in other ways. The only time I don’t read books is when I’m writing books. [Handler's latest, I’ll Have What She’s Having, is a bestseller.] Most of my writing happens in the morning, but when I'm zhooshing it and I'm rewriting, or I'm editing, that can happen on an afternoon — around happy hour with a cocktail.

I don’t like night showers. I could be out all night, come home a mess and still get into bed. I'm not one of those people who needs to be clean before I get into bed. I'm just trying to get in and out of there as quickly as possible. I don't sit there and linger. I don't sing. I'm not in there for 15 minutes. I can take a morning shower in under three minutes. Showers to me are a necessity, not an enjoyable excursion.

I’m low-maintenance. It doesn’t take me long to get ready. I’ve been using Gold Bond Healing Hydration Lotion when I wake up. [She teamed up with the brand in March to attempt a Guinness World Record for the most participants in a swimsuit ski run.] If I'm by myself and I'm not going anywhere, I'm not really doing that much to myself. That’s pretty much all I do, moisturize. I like to keep my beauty [routine] fresh and natural.

I’m a morning person for sure. I’m good about returning texts and emails. That's usually how my morning is made up. I try and make sure that I don't have a lot of things hanging around, people waiting for answers. People are appreciative when you are really responsive. I like to get everything done between 8:00 and 11:00. And then I turn into a type Z. At around 11:00 I like to wrap up my day and then get the party started.