5 things you should never do first thing in the morning

1. Don’t snooze

Snoozing triggers your brain back into its sleep cycle, according to popular science explainer YouTube channel ASAP Science. And when you wake up again, you’re likely to interrupt a deeper sleep, which will leave you feeling groggy. When you wake up after a full night’s sleep, you’re more likely to be in a lighter sleep - so as hard as it may seem, avoid pressing snooze. 

2. Don't stay in bed

Yes, okay – exercise is always part of the answer when the question is about being healthier/happier/more productive. But more specifically, pre-breakfast exercise can have its own benefits. A study in Belgium found that exercising before breakfast can help you lose weight by burning more fat than you would later on in the day. 

3. Don't stay in the dark

The body’s clock – AKA our circadian rhythm – is influenced by light exposure. It will suppress the release of hormone melatonin, which tells your body it’s time to sleep, when it’s light outside. This is why people can find it easier to wake up in the summer, according to a scientist from Harvard Medical School. 

4. Don’t check your email

When we wake up and check our emails straight away, we frame our morning as “all the things I missed yesterday”, according to an expert in how technology affects us. In other words, we give ourselves retrospective FOMO (fear of missing out). Not a great start to the day. 

5. Don't make unimportant decisions

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in an interview that he wears the same T-shirt to work every day to limit the number of decisions he has to make, rather than spending his energy on “silly or frivolous” things. So there you go – buy 20 identical outfits for a more productive day. Or, the less extreme option: just choose your outfit the night before.