‘I’m a doctor – here’s one thing to never do when you first wake up in the morning’
The popular habit can have detrimental effects on your brain function and overall wellbeing.
Establishing a bedtime and morning routine can contribute significantly to stress reduction and improved sleep quality. However, there’s a common habit ingrained in many people’s daily rituals that warrants reconsideration.
Naturopathic doctor Dr. Janine Bowring issued a cautionary note on her TikTok channel, targeting a behavior prevalent in most individuals: checking the phone. She emphasized the adverse effects of this practice, stating, “You don’t want to do this; it raises your dopamine levels, which can be overly stimulating to your brain and nervous system.”
Moreover, the act of glancing at your phone immediately upon waking can impact your voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCC). Dr. Bowring explained, “The electric and magnetic fields (EMFs) from your cell phone cause an influx of calcium into your cells via VGCC, necessitating additional magnesium to maintain a balance against this surge of calcium.”
“This morning routine could significantly impact your metabolism, energy levels, and potentially induce headaches due to exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMFs),” cautioned Dr. Bowring, underscoring the potential health risks associated with certain habits.
Dr. Bowring also emphasized the peril of blue light on our overall well-being, particularly when exposed to it through phone screens.
“The blue light emitted by your phone sends signals to your brain, indicating that it’s midday, thereby disrupting your circadian rhythms,” she explained.
Jay Rai, a specialist in empowerment psychology with a focus on the neuroscience of mental health, echoed Dr. Bowring’s concerns and urged individuals to reconsider their morning phone-checking rituals.
Writing for Forbes, Rai elucidated, “Upon waking up, your brain transitions from delta waves, associated with deep sleep, to theta waves, characteristic of a daydream-like state. Subsequently, it progresses to alpha waves, indicating wakefulness with relaxed cognitive processing.”
Rai cautioned against the common practice of immediately engaging with the digital world upon waking up. “By reaching for your phone right away, you bypass the crucial theta and alpha stages, catapulting your body directly from delta, a deep sleep stage, to a state of full wakefulness and alertness (beta state).”
Citing Scientific American, Rai explained, “The theta state is conducive to unfiltered, free-flowing ideation without censorship or guilt. This makes the theta state an opportune moment to tap into your subconscious mind, visualizing goals and guiding your brain to propel actions toward realizing your vision.”
Rai warned against the pitfalls of skipping these essential brainwave states and immersing oneself in the online realm immediately after waking. “This practice primes your brain for distraction. Confronting something negative or stressful in the morning can trigger the stress response, setting a tense tone for the entire day. Moreover, encountering unanswered work emails may create a sense of obligation to respond while still in bed. However, as author Julie Morgenstern advises in her book ‘Never Check Email In the Morning,’ these requests and interruptions can generally wait for at least 59 minutes, allowing for a more deliberate and focused start to your day.”
