Morning Phone Habit: Why does the hand start moving towards the phone first as soon as the eyes open in the morning? Know the surprising scientific reason behind this

Don’t you also start your morning without looking at your phone screen? Do you also keep your phone near your pillow while sleeping at night so that the first thing you can do as soon as you open your eyes is check social media or notifications? If your answer is yes, then you are not alone. In today’s digital world, most people start their morning with a mobile screen. Often we and you consider it to be just a bad addiction, but you will be surprised to know that behind it is not just addiction, but a special behavior and natural need of our brain. Let us understand from the viewpoint of science why the brain plays this game with us as soon as we wake up in the morning.

Our brain searches for new information

The habit of checking the phone first thing in the morning as soon as we open our eyes is directly related to the behavior of our brain. When we wake up in the morning after a long night’s sleep, our brains are immediately eager to reconnect with the outside world and seek out new information. The curiosity to know what’s new going on in this world, whether I have received any message from anyone or whether I have missed any important update, remains in the mind. To reduce FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) i.e. the fear of missing something, our brain forces us to pick up our phone first. Gradually this curiosity turns into a firm habit and we start doing this work automatically without thinking.

This habit is the trap of ‘cue-routine-reward’ cycle

According to psychology, this entire process of looking at the phone as soon as you wake up in the morning works on a fixed ‘cue-routine-reward’ cycle. First of all you get the ‘cue’ signal, as soon as your eyes open, your brain sends you a signal to check your phone. After this the ‘routine’ starts in which you immediately unlock your phone and start scrolling through social media or chats. Finally comes the ‘reward’, as soon as a new notification or message appears on the screen, the brain gets a kind of satisfaction and relief that you are not cut off from the world. This mental satisfaction becomes a reward for the brain and then it starts insisting on repeating this cycle every day.

Is it really a serious smartphone addiction?

It is very important to understand that looking at the phone for a few moments after waking up in the morning is not always a serious addiction. This may simply be the result of your mind’s natural curiosity and desire to learn new things. However, if this small habit quickly turns into scrolling social media for hours without any work, it can seriously impact your mental health, focus, and productivity throughout the day. So start the morning with meditation, walk or deep breathing and not with the blue light of the mobile screen.