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When our eyes open with the first rays of the morning, how our day goes depends on how we start our day. But in today’s digital and modern era, more than 90 percent of people’s morning starts not with darshan of God or fresh air, but by moving fingers on the screen of their smartphone while lying in bed. Reading WhatsApp messages, social media notifications, emails and early morning scary or stressful news from around the world as soon as you open your eyes has become a common thing these days. We think that this is just a simple habit, which is just a way to spend time. But the revelations that have come out citing neuroscience, cardiology and medical research are very scary. This habit of scrolling on mobile as soon as you wake up in the morning is increasing your mental stress manifold and it has a direct and dangerous connection with your heart health. Let us understand deeply through the eyes of a health and lifestyle reporter how this digital addiction is hollowing our body and heart from within.
The circadian rhythm of the human body and the nervous system of the brain are designed in such a way that the early time after waking up from sleep is the most calm, stable and relaxed. When we wake up in the morning after sleeping overnight, our brain is in ‘Theta’ or ‘Alpha’ brain wave state, which is considered a state of meditation and peace. But as soon as you open your eyes, you pick up your phone and start looking at social media feeds or negative news from around the world, your brain immediately goes into ‘beta’ state, which is a sign of high alertness, stress and anxiety. Lying in bed, your brain suddenly goes into fight-or-flight mode due to work emails, accidents around the world, or the pressure of the virtual world of social media. Imagine, if you have started the day with stress and anxiety, how fatal that entire day can prove to be for your mental health.
When you wake up in the morning and see stressful or exciting news on your phone or comparative pictures on social media, your body immediately starts releasing large amounts of stress hormones like ‘Cortisol’ and ‘Adrenaline’. These are the same hormones that give energy to humans to run or fight in times of crisis or danger. But when you willingly subject your body to this hormonal flood every day as soon as you wake up in the morning, your nervous system is constantly in overdrive mode. High levels of cortisol in the body for a long time can lead to high blood pressure, chronic fatigue, headaches, mood swings and severe depression. This hormonal imbalance completely disturbs your entire physical and mental balance.
Now coming to the most important and shocking aspect, which is related to your heart. Medical science has proved that there is a deep and direct relationship between mental stress and cardiovascular health. When you become a victim of digital stress as soon as you wake up in the morning, your heart rate suddenly increases and the blood pressure graph starts moving upwards. Due to such sudden stress continuously in the morning, your blood vessels start shrinking and the pressure on them increases. People who have become accustomed to this daily routine, the risk of swelling and plaque accumulation in their arteries increases manifold, which in turn leads to high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat (Arrhythmia) and the risk of heart attack or cardiac arrest at an early age. Your heart, which is rested overnight and is getting rested in the morning, is thrown into the furnace of stress every day at the beginning of the morning.
Morning is considered the best time for introspection, exercise, meditation or just sipping tea peacefully with loved ones. But mobile phone addiction has taken away that precious peace from humans. As soon as you wake up in the morning, your attention and focus gets badly distracted by getting trapped in the infinite scroll of social media. You are unable to concentrate on important tasks throughout the day because your dopamine levels have crashed early in the morning due to those virtual likes and notifications. Due to this, your efficiency decreases, irritability increases and you feel a strange mental restlessness all the time. This digital addiction has become the biggest enemy of your creativity and mental peace.
If you are also among those millions of people whose morning starts with looking at the mobile screen, then now is the time to be careful. To change this habit of yours, you will have to take some drastic and small steps. First, start keeping your smartphone away from your bedroom at night and use a traditional analog clock for your alarm. After waking up in the morning, make a strict rule of not touching the phone for at least the first 30 to 60 minutes of your day. Take this free time to take deep breaths, do light stretching, spend a few moments in nature or start the day smiling with your family. Believe me, when you start your morning peacefully by staying away from the phone, your heart will get relief, your stress level will automatically reduce and your whole day will be full of energy, positivity and excellent health.