Feel Less Stressed By Skipping The Phone In The Morning

Do you find yourself reaching for your phone first thing in the morning? I have done it and before I knew it, 45min went by. But there is more to this besides "wasting" time on your phone in the morning. Your brain is in a state of wakeful rest when you wake up. In this state, your brain produces more alpha waves. It is an important transition time from sleep to being active. You feel calm, less anxious. If you take your phone and start reading posts on social media, the news, or emails, your brain immediately has to work much harder. Your brain will start producing more beta waves and fewer alpha waves. Anxiousness is associated with decreased alpha waves, increased beta waves. You might not feel anxious but you are already "filling your bucket" of stress from a brain perspective. Think again before reaching to the phone if you want to reduce stress and anxiety throughout your day. Be kind to your brain and start your morning with a healthier routine.

Five common types of brain waves that you experience every day:

All waves are present but one type will dominate at any given time, based on whether you’re awake or asleep, focused or solving problems.

Delta - When you’re deep in a state of dreamless sleep, your brain is producing delta waves, which are the slowest type of brainwave. They measure between 0.5 and 4 Hz.

Theta - When you’re sleeping more lightly or when you’re extremely relaxed, your brain may produce more theta waves. Theta waves measure between 4 and 8 Hz.

Alpha - Your brain produces alpha waves when you’re in a wakeful rest state. You are not focusing too hard on anything in particular and feeling relatively calm and relaxed. These waves measure between 8 and 12 Hz.

Beta - Beta waves are more present when you’re wide awake, alert, and focused. Higher-speed beta waves measure between about 12 and 35 Hz.

Gamma - Gamma waves are the fastest waves and present when you’re actively involved in processing information and learning. You’re concentrating and solving problems. They measure upward of 35 Hz

Tip #1 Change Phone Setting: Downtime

Most smartphones let you schedule a Screen Downtime. Go into your setting and customize your downtime. During downtime, only the apps that you choose to allow and phone calls will be available. 

Tip #2 Leave Phone Out of Your Bedroom

 The best is to turn off your phone and leave it at a place other than your bedroom. This simple strategy seems harder to execute for some. FOMO (fear of missing out) creeps up and most feel that tip #1 is their preference. Let's be real here, do you really need it in the bedroom?

Tip #3 Plan Your Morning Routine

 Cut the phone out of your morning routine and plan something else instead: meditate, set intentions, journal, exercise, breathing drills.
 Relaxation techniques like mindfulness and meditation may help increase your alpha waves.

Bonus Tip #3 Blue Light

Are you a person that really struggles with waking up in the morning and you feel the phone helps with waking up? The reason why you feel that your phone may help you is the blue light that it admits. Blue light waves will slow down melatonin production. Melatonin is a hormone that is produced more when the sun goes down to help us sleep and stops as daylight starts. Instead of grabbing the phone, open your curtains and let daylight in. If that does not help then a blue light admitting device may help. It will help to stop the melatonin production but without producing more beta waves.