In an interview with HT Lifestyle, Dr Sanjeev VK, attending consultant cardiology, Gleneagles Hospital, Chennai, revealed how this habit may affect your heart. For many of us, checking the phone is the first thing we do after waking up. But this seemingly harmless morning habit could trigger stress responses that may affect your heart health.
“The problem starts when we immediately expose ourselves to stress. That pushes the nervous system directly into fight or flight. There is a sudden surge of adrenaline. Heart rate goes up quickly, blood vessels constrict, and blood pressure can spike,” explained Dr Sanjeev. However, one day of this does nothing. But when this becomes a daily habit, the body never gets a calm start. And over time, chronic stress contributes to things we see a lot in cardiology, which include hypertension, poor sleep quality, insulin resistance, and endothelial dysfunction. Dr Sanjeev highlighted that sleep is the other big factor. If someone is scrolling late at night and then again first thing in the morning, sleep gets fragmented. Poor sleep by itself is a risk factor for heart attacks, arrhythmias, and metabolic issues. “We are also seeing this in younger adults now. People in their 20s and 30s are coming in with anxiety, palpitations, and elevated blood pressure. We are also seeing more discussion around heart rate variability. People who start every morning with stress tend to have lower HRV. That means the heart is less able to handle stress. The recommendation is not to throw away the phone. It is to create a gap. A simple trick is to charge your phone outside the bedroom or switch it to grayscale in the morning, so it is less stimulating. You should add some movement as well.
A work email, disturbing news, 50 notifications, or even seeing a Zoom or Google Meet reminder for 9 AM. Even 15 to 20 minutes makes a difference.
Often the common link is poor sleep and constant digital stress from the moment they wake up,” said Dr Sanjeev. Hydrate first, let the body wake up, avoid news and work messages in that window, and keep work app notifications off till you are ready, according to Dr Sanjeev.
But if every morning begins with stress and no basic routine, that pattern adds up over the years. And that is what impacts heart health. At the end of the day, checking the phone in the morning will not cause a heart attack tomorrow.
