80% of us reach for our phone 1st thing in the morning without knowing the impact on how our bodies start the day!

Most of us nowadays are glued to our smartphones. And, while they can help us be more productive and improve the quality of our lives, they can also be a significant source of distraction and stress.

Smartphones make excellent servants but poor masters.

Despite the numerous advantages, it is becoming increasingly clear that most people have no control over their smartphone use, which has a negative impact on their productivity and mental health.

Approximately 80% of smartphone users check their mobile devices within 15 minutes of waking up each morning, which is a major issue.

1: Increased Stress And Anxiety

When you wake up and immediately check your phone 1st thing you are bombarded with new messages, emails, to-dos, and other stimuli, which can cause stress and anxiety.

Immediately, external stimuli vie for your attention, leaving you with no time or space to begin your day calmly.

According to research, “immediately turning to your phone when you wake up can start your day off in a way that is more likely to increase stress and leave you feeling overwhelmed.”

In addition, a Swedish study tracked the effects of smartphone use on people in their 20’s over the course of a year. The study found that high mobile phone use was directly correlated with increased reports of depression in both men and women, which is concerning.

So, if you want to avoid starting your day feeling rushed, stressed, and anxious, stop checking your smartphone right after waking up. Instead, aim to begin in such a way that your mind can relax.

2: Your Time & Attention Are Hijacked

By checking social media, email, or messaging immediately after waking up, you allow other people’s opinions, requests, and advertising to enter your mind, polluting your thinking.

The new messages, emails, and notifications that you’ve received immediately hijack your thoughts, ideas, and focus. In other words, you will be preoccupied with other people’s agendas rather than your own.

Instead of starting your day by proactively focusing on your own goals, you’re being forced to react to the actions of others.

Consider this: you wouldn’t invite hundreds of people into your home and blast their requests and opinions at you. So why would you allow them to enter your mind via a device?

Aside from your attention, your time is also being hijacked.

What begins as a 5-minute check of social media quickly becomes a 15-minute check, which then becomes a 30-minute check. Before you know it, you’re rushing to get to work on time, beginning your day hurried and stressful.

Instead, use the morning to better yourself, work toward your goals, and prepare for a productive day. Train your brain to accept less stimulating — but more beneficial — activities like reading, meditation, journaling, prioritising your tasks, planning your day, or making a healthy breakfast.

Unlike checking your phone, these activities reduce stress, help you become more focused and productive, and provide mental clarity, which is a much better way to start the day.

3: You prepare your brain for distraction for the rest of the day.

You set the tone for a distracted day by starting the day distracted. Most people believe they can easily transition from distraction to intense focus, but this is not the case. According to studies, information overload that occurs before you are fully awake interferes with your ability to prioritise tasks.

In other words, by checking our smartphones first thing in the morning, we become distracted much more quickly throughout the day and jeopardise our productivity.

Smartphones, Dopamine, and your Brain

When you check social media or email, your brain produces a large amount of dopamine, a neurochemical that makes you feel rewarded. Because the brain craves dopamine like an eight-year-old craves sweets, it will stimulate the repetition of behaviours that resulted in the release of dopamine in the first place.

In other words, if you begin your day by mindlessly scrolling through email or social media, your brain will stimulate you to continue doing so throughout the day because it knows it will quickly and easily make you feel good.

Overall, you’re fighting a battle against your brain’s cravings, which isn’t an easy one to win.

So, if you want to avoid priming your brain for distraction, don’t check your phone right after waking up. Instead, begin your day relaxed and calmly. Prepare your brain to become accustomed to lower levels of stimulation.

Two Ways to Stop Checking Your Phone 1st Thing in the Morning

Method 1:

Before you go to bed, put your phone in flight mode. This way, when you wake up, you aren’t bombarded with new messages and notifications.

Because I use my phone as an alarm clock, it’s critical that I put it in flight mode. If I don’t do that, I’ll be bombarded with new notifications on my screen, making it ten times more difficult to resist the urge to check them.

You could also try using a traditional alarm clock instead of your smartphone. This way, it will be much less tempting to check your phone first thing in the morning.

Method 2:

Make sure you have alternatives to checking your smartphone. If you don’t have something to replace your smartphone habit with, you’ll quickly become bored and be tempted to check social media or email again.

As a result, make a list of at least seven things you could do instead of checking your smartphone. For example, you could use your extra free time to do the following:

•  Exercising
•  Meditating
•  Making a healthy breakfast
•  Connecting with your kids or spouse
•  Scheduling your day
•  Prioritising your tasks
•  Setting goals
•  Making a cup of coffee

Then, instead of checking your smartphone in the morning, choose one or more of these activities to follow. Personally, I’ve found that starting my day in this manner makes me feel calm and in control. I also don’t feel as stressed or anxious as I used to. Furthermore, when I start my days well, they are much more focused and productive.

Take action Now!

Taking action is the only way to bring about change. As a result, we urge you to follow the advice above and avoid using your smartphone for the first 60 minutes of your day.

Remember that the way you begin your day sets the tone for the rest of the day, so make the most of it.