Waking Up on the Right Side of the Bed!

I have told you these things so that my joy may be in you, and your joy may be complete. My commandment is this – to love one another just as I have loved you. John 15:11-12

 Each morning we wake up and we feel something. I’m not talking about our bodies, yes, there are a lot of feelings there when I wake up, I’m talking about our hearts. What hits your heart first thing in the morning? A need for coffee? Excitement for the day ahead? Dread? Do you feel joy or despair? Would you like to feel joy? I’d like to share with you how.

Oftentimes we are woken up by an alarm. If this reminds us of where we need to be and how late we already are, it is hardly a foundation for joy! A common thing to do these days when you first wake up is to grab your phone. You open it up and see your notifications. You are reminded of an appointment coming up that you’re not necessarily excited about. You have an awkward email you have to reply to. And then you see the news. I don’t have to say any more about that! I did a little searching on what happens to your brain when you look at your phone first thing in the morning and you might be surprised at what I found:

·       Brain Waves: Your brain operates on different wavelengths at different times of the day. When you are sleeping, you are, ideally, operating in the delta wave state. As you wake up, your brain slowly transitions into the theta wave state, this is the groggy, daydreamy state. BUT, if you look at your phone right away, instead of the slow transition through the theta wave state, you jolt your brain right into beta waves, or your more alert state. This is kind of the equivalent of waking up to the smoke detector going off in your home or someone pounding on your front door. You can imagine the chaos this causes in your psyche!

·        Feelings: The same article shared that skipping the important theta wave state primes us for distraction for the whole day. If you were to read something stressful, an email, a facebook post, a news article, etc. you are likely to carry that stressed state into your day as well. You don’t even realize it, but your setting yourself up for a stressful, harried life first thing in the morning. Your cortisol, the stress hormone, levels are highest in the morning and exposure to stressful content can spike them even further, causing you to be in a stressful state the whole day

·       Information Overload: reading emails, posts, news articles, etc. right away overwhelms your brain as it is transitioning out of its sleepy state. This can lead to reduced cognitive performance and decision fatigue.

 So what can you do instead? You use your phone as your alarm clock, of course it needs to be near your bed? Does it? Jolting awake to an alarm is hardly the soothing transition through theta waves that you need. I know this sounds crazy, but maybe try ditching the alarm. But you have to wake up on time? Go to bed on time (heresy, I know!). Also, leave the blinds open enough to allow light to come in in the morning. It might take a bit for your body to orient, but your circadian rhythms will thank you! If you must, set an alarm for a little later than you would usually wake up just in case. Ideally, you would get an alarm clock – they’re pretty cheap – and leave your phone charging outside your room at night.

 What’s next? How should you greet your day? Let those dreamy theta waves take charge and pray your way into your day! Start with “Good morning, God,” and go from there. You might thank Him for your sleep, however much of it you got. You might thank Him for waking you before your alarm or for the soft, cozy bed you’re in. You might thank Him for the blessing of the person you’re waking up next to – it’s a great way to start your day with them too! Then you could transition into thinking of what’s coming up in your day and handing it over to Him once again. Thank Him for opportunities. Ask Him for help with upcoming challenges. Trust Him for things you don’t anticipate going well. Starting your day carefree starts with letting go of your worries and giving them a safe home.

 Then, try to keep it going just a little longer. If you can manage 30-60 minutes phone-free, you’ll be surprised at the difference it makes in your life! They say it takes six weeks to form a habit, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you saw benefit the first week of doing this. And what’s it going to hurt? Let me know in the comments if you give this a shot and what your experience is. Wake up, pray, take your shower and get ready, then check your phone.

Here's the thing: Our joy comes from God. It is not dependent on our circumstances, because they can’t change our connection to Him. We can get sidetracked from our joy though when we start putting our focus on the things of this world. Let His joy be in you so that your joy may be complete!