For many people, the morning begins with a mobile phone notification beep before they have even left their beds. In a world where the day can begin with a flood of digital stimulation, neuroscientists suggest that there may be value in doing something remarkably simple instead: staying quiet.
The first few minutes after waking represent a transition for the brain as it moves from sleep into full alertness. Rather than immediately filling that window with news, conversations or notifications, allowing some time for silence could give the mind an opportunity to settle before the demands of the day begin.
Precious Morning Time
The brain’s gradual shift from sleep to wakefulness is important. According to Dr Praveen Gupta, Chairman of Marengo Asia International Institute of Neuro and Spine (MAIINS), Marengo Asia Hospitals, the brain does not switch instantly from sleep to complete alertness. “When we wake up in the morning, the brain is transitioning out of sleep-associated slow-wave and theta activity into full alert wakefulness — a process that is not instant,” Gupta says.
During this period, the brain’s default mode network, which is associated with reflection and internally focused thought, can be relatively active. Immediately reaching for a smartphone may interrupt this gradual transition by introducing multiple demands for attention. Gupta says that even five or ten quiet minutes could allow attention systems to become engaged more gradually.
Notification Effect
The problem with checking a phone first thing may not be any single notification, headline or message. Instead, it could be the accumulation of small demands placed on the brain within a short period. “Every notification, headline, or conversation is a small demand for evaluation — is this urgent, relevant, threatening?” Gupta says. When these demands arrive one after another, they can contribute to cognitive load and encourage rapid switching between unrelated tasks.
Dr Arvind Sharma, Secretary of the Indian Stroke Associa-tion and Senior Consultant Neurologist, similarly descri-bed immediate exposure to digital information as a potential trigger for a reactive state. “Immediately consuming notifications and news can put the brain into a reactive mode, making it respond to other people’s priorities before establishing its own focus for the day,” Sharma says.
Power Of Silence
A quiet morning does not necessarily mean sitting in complete silence for an extended period. It could simply involve delaying the first phone check, having breakfast without a screen, taking a few slow breaths or beginning the morning routine without immediately consuming information. Sharma says that a quieter start may reduce rapid switching between unrelated information and provide more time for the mind to establish priorities.
“The brain is moving from a sleep-dominant state to active alertness, and this transition does not need to be filled with information immediately,” he says.
However, experts caution against presenting morning silence as a guaranteed productivity technique. Individual
factors such as sleep quality, stress levels, daily habits and overall brain health can influence attention and mental
performance.
Effects of Stimulation
There is an important distinction between a sensible behavioural strategy and a scientifically proven intervention. While reducing early stimulation may help some people feel more organised
and less reactive, researchers have not established a precise amount of morning silence that produces a specific cognitive benefit.
Gupta emphasizes this uncertainty, noting that there is no established formula linking a particular number of silent minutes to a fixed period of improved concentration. “The honest answer is that silence removes a source of load rather than adding a special ingredient,” he says. In other words, the potential benefit may come less from silence having a unique neurological effect and more from removing unnecessary demands on attention.
Reclaim Your Mornings
As smartphones increasingly become alarm clocks, newsstands, workplaces and social hubs in a single device, the boundary between waking up and entering the information stream has almost disappeared.
A quieter morning offers a small opportunity to redraw that boundary. “Six months ago, I would check my phone first thing in the morning. Now when I wake up, I deliberately delay seeing my phone. I enjoy my tea in silence, tend my balcony plants and then start my day,” says Rituraj Sawant, a media professional from Mumbai.
Varying Attention Span
Delaying notifications and media may allow people to begin the day by deciding where their attention goes rather than immediately responding to whatever arrives on a screen.
For Sharma, the approach is best viewed as a practical behavioural strategy rather than a medical prescription. “A quiet start may allow attention systems to become engaged gradually rather than being pulled in different directions by messages, news and social media,” he said.
The evidence may not yet prove that a few silent minutes can transform an entire day. But in an environment where attention is constantly being claimed, choosing not to consume information immediately after waking could offer something increasingly rare: a few moments in which the brain is allowed to wake up before the world starts asking for its attention.
Immediately consuming notifications and news can put the brain into a reactive mode, making it respond to other people’s priorities before establishing its own focus for the day.”
— Dr. Arvind Sharma, Sr. Consultant Neurologist
When we wake up in the morning, the brain is transitioning out of sleep-associated slow-wave and theta activity into full alert wakefulness — a process that is not instant.”
— Dr. Praveen Gupta, Chairman, MAIINS
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: deccanchronicle.com
