Honestly, how many of us do that? We open our eyes and immediately pick up the mobile phone and go see what’s new. Or better yet, we get up and reach for the remote and turn on the TV before our eyes really open. News, discussions, events from the world, these are all things that overwhelm us even before the morning coffee, and the brain goes from pleasant rest to 100% performance basically immediately.
For some, a calming ritual, for others a necessity, because they need to have an overview and must not miss anything. But this automatic habit is starting to look less innocent than it seemed for a long time, according to psychologists. This is a long-term habit for us he can make a real mess.
Morning (bad) habit
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Interestingly, most people don’t turn on TV because they really want to watch content. It is often more about the need to fill the silence, to perceive half-heartedly and to let something “run in the background”. In the morning we get ready for work, or prepare the children, do breakfast and morning hygiene, and it seems like a great idea to fill the silence. It seems meaningful to turn on just the news – then one realizes that during preparations and duties still manages to absorb some informationwhich he does not have to deal with later.
However, psychologists raise a warning finger and warn that such behavior can seriously wave our emotional set-up. In the educational materials of Czech Television, the idea that one of the typical signs of modern overload is avoiding one’s own emotions appears repeatedly. And right now such overload is also caused by information overload. If we do not give our head peace even in the morning, when we have the space to start the day with undisturbed well-being and focus on ourselves, then in today’s modern age we won’t get it until the evening again, when we go to bed.
Stress right after waking up
But the consequences can also affect our experience. Intense stimulation after waking up loads the brain and can increase stress levels. In the long run, this either puts us on an emotional edge, when our psyche becomes dysfunctional at worst and then we are easily distracted even by apparent banalities, or we become emotionally numb. Emotional numbness sounds scary and of course it depends on how strong your psyche is. However, even the strongest of us can be subject to constant exposure to negative messages, brain overload, and artificial by increasing stress right after waking up, the so-called run out of juice. A state of reduced emotional experience, resignation, feelings of happiness will subside and our restlessness will increase.
How you start your morning affects your day
Morning is psychologically crucial. The brain wakes up, emotions “set” and the basic tone of the day is created. If we fill it with catastrophic news, information and discussions, it may happen that we there will be no room for your own emotions.
A foreign study from the Stanford journal points out that watching the news shortly after waking up increases anxiety and reduces positive mood even several hours later. In practice, this means that shortly after waking up, you have absorbed so many sensations that you are tired of it and can almost go to bed again. Ideal for overall health and good brain function is to start every morning by looking into the distance – perhaps to the horizon or a distant object outside, says the Stanford therapist.
Try skipping it for once
People who surround themselves with a screen right after waking up often don’t even realize that they can cause a lot of trouble. This gradually built habit, which we do automatically, does us no good at all in the long term. Quite the opposite. The ideal scenario, for which the brain will thank us, is to get up in the morning, stretch in silence, perform morning hygiene and let the head gradually wake up or fill with its thoughts.
Of course, no one claims that television is evil and that it should perhaps be banned. It is more a question of when and why we use it and if it brings us positives. So when you wake up tomorrow, try to leave the controller lying on the table this time and give yourself at least 15 minutes of silence and peace. Have a coffee and perceive only yourself and your senses. You will see that you will also go to work a little easier than usual.
Sources: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, edu.ceskatelevize.cz, lifestylemedicine.stanford.edu, medium.seznam.cz
