It’s the easiest thing to do. As soon as you wake up, you reach for your phone to turn off the alarm.

You then see the flood of notifications on your lock screen—emails, messages, news updates—and you’re tempted to scroll. A few minutes can turn into an hour, and the habit is not good for your health.

While comprehensive studies on the immediate biological impact of phone‑screen exposure after waking are limited, we can draw on separate research on sleep and digital media. Waking is a gradual process; sleep inertia—especially after irregular sleep schedules or deprivation—makes the brain sluggish. Blue light from phones can increase alertness, but it may also jolt the brain before it’s ready, heightening stress.

The endless morning doomscroll

Another problem is that this habit often turns into uncontrolled scrolling. The prefrontal cortex, the region responsible for executive function, problem‑solving, and self‑control, is one of the last brain areas to fully activate when you wake. A short “five‑minute” scroll can therefore stretch into a much longer session, making it harder to get out of bed and start the day.

What you read matters, too. One study linked exposure to mass‑tragedy news with a rise in anxiety. While findings on news consumption and anxiety are mixed, there is evidence that certain people experience increased worry when they consume distressing content early in the morning.

High levels of screen time are associated with poorer mental health outcomes. In the morning, when inhibition is already low, the phone can be a big temptation. Reducing screen time early in the day can help you avoid negative mental effects and create space for more positive habits like walking or meditation.

How to break your doomscrolling habit

Don’t beat yourself up if you’re a phone‑first sleeper. About 84% of U.S. adults turn to their devices within ten minutes of waking, so you’re not alone. The key is to spread out that “digital first” impulse.

One simple trick is to use a traditional alarm clock—digital or analog—so you can put the phone away overnight and start the day without a screen. If that’s not an option, switch your phone to Do Not Disturb or Airplane Mode; the lack of notifications will make the phone less alluring.

Replace the urge with something you enjoy: read a book, take your dog for a walk, or place a small treat in another room to motivate you to leave bed. Any new routine takes time, but consistency pays off.