Your brain isn’t just resting while you sleep—it’s actively working to solve problems, process emotions, and integrate new information.

When you spend your last waking moments doom-scrolling, you’re basically planting a nightmare in your brain before you even close your eyes. Instead of preparing for deep, restorative sleep, your nervous system gets hit with stress, overstimulation, and a touch of dread—just for fun.

And that, my friend, is a major part of why you wake up feeling like you got hit by a truck instead of rested.

The Science Behind It (Because This Isn’t Just Vibes)

Your nervous system is constantly scanning for safety or threat. When you consume stressful content—bad news, emails, or endless social media comparisons—right before bed, your brain perceives this as a potential threat, triggering the sympathetic nervous system (fight-or-flight response).

Instead of winding down, your body releases stress hormones like cortisol, making it harder to fall and stay asleep.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, research from Harvard Medical School has found that blue light from screens suppresses melatonin, the hormone responsible for sleep. So, between stress hormones and disrupted melatonin production, it’s no wonder you’re tossing and turning.

And Then You Start Your Morning in Chaos

Let’s talk about the first thing you do when you wake up. If it’s reaching for your phone, you’re setting yourself up for another round of nervous system dysregulation before you’ve even had coffee.

Research from the University of California, Irvine, shows that checking your phone first thing in the morning spikes stress and cognitive overload.

Instead of easing into your day with intention, you’re throwing yourself straight into reactivity—notifications, emails, news, and whatever chaos is unfolding online.

That hijacks your parasympathetic nervous system (rest-and-digest mode) before it even has a chance to do its job, leaving you feeling scattered, stressed, and somehow already behind.

Your Nervous System Nurture Plan:

To create a sense of safety and regulation, implement a small buffer around sleep and waking:

• At Night: Turn off screens at least 30–60 minutes before bed. Instead, engage in a nervous system-friendly activity like deep breathing, journaling, or light stretching. This signals safety to your brain, allowing for deeper sleep.
  
• In the Morning: Delay checking your phone for at least 30 minutes. Instead, regulate your nervous system by grounding yourself—stretch, take a few deep breaths, get early-morning sun exposure, or set an intention for your day before engaging with external demands.

Your nervous system craves consistency and safety. By making this small but powerful shift, you create a foundation of regulation, clarity, and resilience—helping you move through your day with more ease and focus.