Can a good morning improve your whole day?
It can. Mood at the start of the day may carry over: in a study of 29 call-centre employees, start-of-day mood was linked with how they saw their work, how they felt after calls and how they performed. Light, movement and a calm start are simple ways to begin well.
The cortisol cascade
Cortisol rises sharply over the 30 to 45 minutes after waking, the cortisol awakening response (Stalder et al., 2016), which is thought to help the body prepare for the day. Rushing and stress add to the pressure, so a calmer start is worth planning for.
Mood carryover
Rothbard and Wilk (2011) followed 29 call-centre employees for about three weeks. Their mood at the start of the workday was linked with how they saw customers and how they felt after calls, and those feelings were in turn linked with how they performed. The study shows links, not cause and effect, but starting calm may pay off through the day.
Practical design
Bright light, hydration, no phone for 30 minutes, light movement. Even a 10-minute version of this routine is a good start.
Sources
- Rothbard & Wilk, Academy of Management Journal, 2011. Waking up on the right or wrong side of the bed: start-of-workday mood, work events, employee affect, and performance
- Stalder et al., Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2016. Assessment of the cortisol awakening response: Expert consensus guidelines
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