CHARLOTTE — If you check your phone first thing in the morning, you’re not alone. It can be hard to ignore, but experts say this habit can be damaging to your mental health.
“How we use phones has definitely negatively impacted our mental health,” Ayo Johnson with Mental Health America of Central Carolinas told Channel 9’s Elsa Gillis. “I think that we have gotten pretty addicted to them, and most of the time, it’s the first thing that we reach for in the morning.”
Johnson says how you start your day matters.
“I do recommend staying off of it first thing in the morning,” she said. “If you can be awake and do some other things — meditation, drink water, hydrate, do some self care for at least the first hour of your day, people will notice that it’s going to set a different tone."
There’s not a one-size-fits-all solution, but Johnson says setting phone boundaries, especially first thing in the morning, will make a difference.
Johnson recommends:
- Scheduling emails and texts ahead of time
- Turning off nonessential notifications
- Using Siri to verbally turn off your phone alarm, so you avoid picking it up
- If you work across multiple time zones and feel the need to be responding 24/7, set auto-responding emails to let people know when you’ll be back to checking your email
Johnson says these changes are “absolutely worth it.”
“We have got to take our mental health as seriously as we do our physical health,” she said.
If you are struggling with mental health, there is hope and help. For resources near you, check out this county-by-county mental health guide.
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