The way you choose to start your morning will set the tone for the rest of the day – so make sure to start it on a healthy note
By: Pooja Gandhi
Nowadays, most of us are glued to the screens of our smartphones. While it does come with certain benefits like increasing productivity levels and improving quality of life, it is also a major contributor to stress and distractions. Day by day, it is becoming more evident that a lot of us are losing control over our usage of phones, which is negatively affecting productivity levels and more importantly, our mental health. A study from IDC Research states that 4 out of 5 people, nearly 80% of people, reach for their phones within the first 15 minutes of waking up (IDC, 2013). These statistics on their own outline how reliant we are on our smartphones, which is a problem.
When you start off your day by immediately checking your phone, you are bound to be overwhelmed with messages, emails and to-dos for the day, which often leaves a feeling of stress and anxiety. Right away, these factors are itching for your attention, which gives you no time to start the day off on a calm note. Additionally, a study done by the University of Arizona predicts that high smartphone dependency causes more depressive symptoms and can influence the feeling of loneliness (University of Arizona, 2019). So, to start the day off without feeling stressed, anxious, or hurried, stop checking your phone instantly after waking up. Rather, make it a priority to start the day off in a way that your mind can relax.
Aside from the negative mental health impacts, using your phone right in the morning can take over your attention and time. Checking social media, emails or replying to messages within the first 15 minutes of waking up can fill your mind with other people’s opinions and ideas, which leads to your focus being only on others’ agendas rather than your own. Along with attention, your time is being snatched away as well. The 5 minute scrolling time becomes 30 minutes – and before you know it, you are rushing to get your day started. Instead of using the precious morning time to see what others are up to, use it wisely to outline your personal goals and focus for the day. Prioritize the activities that will start your day off on a good note, but will also stimulate your mind in the morning, such as reading, journaling, making a healthy breakfast or even meditating/working out. These activities will divert your mind from staring at a screen while making you feel more productive and less stressed. By starting the day off distracted, you are setting the tone for the rest of your day.
Many people assume that it causes no harm to quickly scroll through a few social media platforms and then carry on normally with the rest of the day, however that is not true. According to the psychiatrist, Dr. Nikole Benders-Haidi, “The information overload that hits [you] before you’re fully awake interferes with your ability to prioritize tasks.” In other words, when we adopt habits as such, it takes away from the productive day we might’ve had planned as we face the fear of missing out,’ when we are not constantly checking social media. It is scientifically known that our brain releases dopamine, which is a chemical that makes one feel rewarded when we do things like checking social media, emails, messages, etc. (Hilliard, 2020). Once we feel rewarded, our brain craves dopamine, which leads to the repetition of the behaviours – allowing us to pick up on harmful habits. To avoid this, start training your mind to be used to lower levels of stimulating factors. From my personal experience, I can say that staying away from my phone in the morning, and filling that void with something productive has helped me feel calmer and in control, while feeling less stressed and anxious.
The change will only be visible when action is taken, therefore I encourage you to follow a few of these tips and avoid lengthy smartphone usage, especially in the morning. Remember, the way you choose to start the morning will set the tone for the rest of the day as well – so make sure to start it on a healthy note.
Works Cited
Hilliard, J. (2020, November 20). Social media addiction. Retrieved February 08, 2021, from https://www.addictioncenter.com/drugs/social-media-addiction/
University of Arizona. (2019, September 30). Which comes first: Smartphone dependency or depression?. ScienceDaily. Retrieved February 8, 2021 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/09/190930161918.htm
IDC. (2013, March). Always Connected. Retrieved February 08, 2021, from https://www.nu.nl/files/IDC-Facebook%20Always%20Connected%20(1).pdf
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