5 morning habits that go to waste all day

1. Rearrange the alarm

“Well, five more minutes! - we think in the morning. - Better than 10 or 15! And we rearrange the alarm over and over again. However, in this way we risk not only oversleeping work, but also damage our health: both physical and mental.

When we turn off the alarm and fall asleep, a new sleep cycle starts, which after 10 minutes will be interrupted by another call.

And so - several times. As a result, instead of a good rest, we get a dream fragmented into many fragments. And in this way we expose the body to stress - after all, with each ring of the alarm clock, cortisol enters the bloodstream. Therefore, it is better not to rearrange the alarm and get up right away. Or, if you really want to sleep a little more, give yourself a full 30 minutes.

2. Do not make the bed

According to habit formation expert Charles Duhigg, making your bed right after you wake up will make your day more productive. True, it is not entirely clear where is the cause and where is the effect. Maybe it's not cleaning the bed that makes people productive and organized, but disciplined and productive people are more likely to make the bed after sleep.

One way or another, Charles Duhigg considers cleaning his bed as one of the cornerstone habits - that is, those that lead to changes in all areas of life.

3. Start your morning with coffee

A cup of coffee in the morning for many has become a ritual, without which the day will not work. But neuroscientists believe that it is better to give up this habit. The thing is that with a more or less stable daily routine in the morning, the level of cortisol rises in our blood - a hormone that, among other things, gives us vigor and makes us more active.

Therefore, in fact, we don't really need the additional invigorating effect of caffeine.

Moreover. Caffeine, presumably, comes into confrontation with cortisol, the production of the latter is suppressed, and the person no longer feels a surge of energy in the morning. That is why it is so hard for coffee lovers to wake up without a cup of their favorite drink.

The peak of cortisol release occurs between 8 and 9 am. And in order not to interfere with natural processes, it is better to drink the first cup of coffee after half past nine. Until then, limit yourself to a glass of water, herbal tea, or any other caffeine-free drink.

4. Grab the phone immediately after waking up

Four out of five people do this. And this is not at all surprising, because most of us use the alarm clock set in our smartphone. But then, instead of putting the gadget in its place, getting out of bed and starting a new day, we start checking mail and instant messengers, updating the feed in social networks, leafing through the news.

As a result, we lose our reserve of motivation and waste time that we could have devoted to sports, meditation, books, or just calmly getting ready for work.

And often we also spoil our mood right in the morning: there is little joy in the news, and other people's posts on social networks sometimes cause envy. Therefore, it is better to start the day without a phone. Buy a regular alarm clock, leave the gadget in another room at night, and install services that limit the use of your smartphone.

5. Gathering in the dark

In autumn and winter, when daylight hours are shortened, you have to get up while it is still dark outside. And if, at the same time, you do not turn on bright lighting, the brain will decide that it is night outside and it is not at all necessary to wake up.

In the dark, the pineal gland produces the hormone melatonin, which, among other things, helps us sleep. In the morning after waking up, the adrenal glands synthesize cortisol - it is needed to make us feel active. The balance of melatonin and cortisol is linked to circadian rhythms and ensures healthy sleep / wake cycles.

Gathering in the dark, we delay the production of cortisol, which means we prevent ourselves from waking up for real. And so that this does not happen, you need to get out of bed and immediately turn on a bright light.

UPD. Text updated on October 2, 2019 with more scientific evidence from verified sources.