Most of us commonly reach for our phones first thing in the morning. A study from reviews.com says over 71% of us check our phones within the first 10 minutes of waking up. Regardless of how many people do it, waking up to your phone in the morning could impact your day more than you know.

When you first wake up in the morning, your brain is transitioning from sleep to wakefulness, and when you wake up and immediately check your phone, you are disrupting the cycle and putting your brain into a state of high alertness, which can affect your entire day.

Checking notifications and social media alerts can start your day off with stress and anxiety that continues throughout the day. Dr Adeola Adelayo said, “Scrolling through social media might leave you comparing your life to others’ curated, filtered posts, increasing feelings of inadequacy or anxiety.¨ Checking notifications can also put you in a state of urgency, which puts you in a reactive mode opposed to a proactive mode, which can induce stress throughout your day.

When you check your phone immediately after waking, it scatters your focus, making it hard to stay on task and focus throughout the day.

Social media gives you a rush of dopamine, and when you start your day with that much dopamine, it sets a baseline for the day, and when you’re not getting as much dopamine throughout the day, you keep chasing that rush and are continually tempted to look through social media to get that rush again.

Now that you know the effects of grabbing your phone in the morning, you might be wondering how long you have to wait to be able to be on your phone without any negative effects. Doctors recommend that you wait at least an hour before being on your phone to allow your brain enough time for the transitions from sleep to wakefulness. If that seems like too long, try building up in small increments to make it easier. 

Instead of waking up and grabbing your phone, open your curtains and let some sunlight in. Sunlight in the morning can help regulate your circadian rhythms and induce feelings of alertness.

  Using a traditional alarm clock instead of your phone as an alarm can help reduce the temptation to get on your phone and start checking your notifications.

Consider leaving your phone on a desk or bedside table away from you. If your phone isn’t within easy reach, then you’re less likely to try to get on it immediately after waking up.

Starting your day with physical activity like yoga, stretching, walking, or any exercise can help you start your day off on a good note and can also have many other benefits. Exercise Physiologist Jasmine Theard said, “Morning workouts help reduce the possibility for obstacles to present themselves.”

Building a strong morning routine that doesn’t involve your phone will help structure your day and enhance your mood and productivity. FMHS sophomore Kale Case said, “Waking up without a phone helps because I get more things done, and I can concentrate better on things like school and sports.”

Though our phones are amazing and can have many benefits in our lives, we should keep them out of our morning routines and not reach for them as we wake up.