iPhone upon Waking?

Eventually I will relay teenagers’ behaviors and make suggestions for helping them become aware and mindful of their own habits and patterns with their digital devices. For now, I am looking at my own, and then asking you the same questions. In order to make changes, we need to want to make changes. This may be harder for teenagers.

In one of Rosen's study's he found that 35% of Americans opened up smartphone apps, 18% checked Facebook, 23% used a web browser, and 24% checked email before getting out of bed in the morning. Those percentages seem low to me because I am someone who instinctually or impulsively checks her iPhone before getting out of bed in the morning, and often in the middle of the night when unable to fall back to sleep. 

Kelly McGonigal asks whether we check our phone first thing in the morning, and if we do could we set a reasonable goal to do something else instead. My first inclination was to make coffee, do some sun salutations, and meditate for 15 minutes, but that felt too hard to do first thing. Instead I’ve taken to writing ten reasons I am grateful in my gratitude journal. I am happy to report that I have done this three days in a row before checking my phone. Since I make coffee and write in the kitchen, I’ve taken to leaving my phone upstairs. At some point before making Olivia breakfast and driving her to school, I have checked my phone.

Do you check your phone in the middle of the night? Do you check it first thing in the morning? What could you do instead?