It’s easy to do: Wake up, check your phone. If this is how you start your day, you may want to reconsider your morning routine.
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An increasing amount of research supports that this is a terrible habit and it is detrimental to your health and wellbeing. There are many reasons for that. Let’s break them down.
1 | It drains your energy levels.
Instead of using more natural processes to wake up in the morning, you can suddenly drain your mental energy very quickly based on what you’re seeing on your smartphone. Negative content that you may see can in particular “lower our mood, creativity, productivity, and confidence,” per psychology studies from Fielding Graduate University. Not a good way to start the day, as these emotions can snowball.
2 | Screen time can be addictive.
Now and then, it might be acceptable. But – “If it becomes a habit, day after day, month after month, this behavior can take a toll,” said Maris Loeffler, MA, a therapist who is part of the Stanford Lifestyle Medicine Cognitive Enhancement team. Instead, Loeffler says you should look outside at natural light when you first wake up – look for the horizon or an object far away.
3 | Smartphone use disrupts your circadian rhythm.
We’ve all heard about the negative effects of going to bed with your phone. We have natural circadian rhythms related to light, and using our phone at night (or first thing in the morning) is proven to mess with “sleep physiology and alertness in the morning,” per sleep research from the University of Salzburg in Austria. Keep in mind that waking up is part of a good sleep cycle.
4 | Even phone alarms can be stressful.
Remember alarm clocks? Now we have alarms with our phone, but these can be problematic too. According to research from the University of Virginia’s School of Nursing, being forcefully awaken by phone alarms can lead to “morning blood pressure surge.” This is especially troublesome because it can be a risk factor for cardiovascular events. Instead we should just wake up more naturally with quieter sounds or light.
5 | It can contribute to eye problems.
Excessive use of smartphones in general can lead to eye problems, such as digital eye strain, per the American Optometric Association. Poor lighting, which is more common when you first wake up, is a significant contributing factor to eye strain.
6 | It replaces more healthy habits.
Perhaps most worrisome, if you’re on your phone, there are things you’re not doing. A 5-minute check can easily become 20 minutes, 30 minutes, even an hour – we’ve all been there. This includes more healthy habits such as eating a good breakfast, going for a walk outside, or other healthy habits like doing a detox from technology. Now that you’re equipped with these facts, work on improving your morning routine.
