Morning Anxiety? Try This Science-Backed Plan
- Swarali Karulkar
- Aug 9
- 3 min read
If you’re like me and wake up with dread, a knot in your stomach, resistance in your body, feeling unmotivated and consumed by negative thoughts . . You’re not broken!!! You’re just experiencing something very human.
How is our brain different in the mornings?
🧠 Cortisol—our stress hormone—is naturally at its highest in the morning. That’s what helps us wake up. But here’s the catch: After 6–9 hours of sleep, when the body is stagnant, it is still holding onto the stress from the day before.
Add morning cortisol on top, and you’ve got a perfect storm for waking up anxious. And if you check your emails or social media first thing upon waking up . . . . add in the comparing of self, I am not doing enough, my boss is an Ahole thought spiral to this anxiety cocktail.
But there's something else that happens in the mornings, too!
Morning anxiety is real—and yes, cortisol is naturally high when you wake up. But our brain is also priming itself for the day. It’s scanning for information to figure out: What’s important to you today? What should I filter for? What should I ignore?
Whatever message it gets first… becomes the lens it uses to process everything else. So if your first thought is: “Ugh, life sucks.” Your brain goes: “Got it! Life sucks. I’ll look for more evidence to prove that.”
If the first thing you see is a social post from that one person who seems to have the perfect life— Our brain starts our day with a heavy dose of jealousy, frustration, and not enoughness. And it keeps looking for more of that all day long.
And let’s be honest—You don’t have time for a 60-minute yoga flow or a deep meditation practice. Your boss needs you at your desk in 30.
Good News: You only need 10 minutes to go from anxiety to agency.
These two non-negotiable agreements will change everything!.
1: Don’t Snooze—Just Move 🛏️➡️🧍🏽♀️
I know it’s tempting, but the longer you stay still, the more cortisol your body produces.
Get up. Right away. Don’t reach for your phone just yet.
(Research from the University of Gothenburg shows that early screen exposure—especially doomscrolling—can spike anxiety and disrupt attention regulation for the rest of the day.)
2: Move Your Body for 10 Minutes
You don’t need motivation. You just need to move. Intentional movement first thing in the morning helps: release stored tension and reset your nervous system. It will also metabolise cortisol before it turns into panic
And most importantly, prime your brain to look for calm, joy, and clarity all day long. Start your day with movement, and your brain will spend the rest of the day searching for expansion, not contraction.
Don't know what movements to do in just 10 minutes?
Here's your personalised plan! 🤗
Pick any 5 of these movements from below. Move through each for 45 seconds. Repeat the whole set 3–4 times. That’s it! 🧘🏽♀️ Just 10 minutes to shift your body—and break that anxiety loop.
Squats and calf raises
Spinal Twist
Cat and Cow
Plank with one leg hold
Warrior poses
Arm circles and full-body standing twist
Side lunges
Contract and extension of the chest
Jumping jacks or burpees
Neck exercises while holding the power pose
✅ Why Do They Work?
These movements create a shift in your spine and activate the largest muscle groups in the body—your core and lower body. This does three powerful things:
Signals safety and strength to your nervous system.
Triggers a physiological shift from freeze to flow.
Brings agency and creativity back into your life! The entire day you might work for someone else, but let's start the day with you paying some well-deserved attention to YOU!
In just a few minutes, you go from anxious to present, powerful, and ready to lead your day.
Movement isn’t just exercise. It’s a form of emotional hygiene. Try this reset every day for a week. See how it shifts your mood, your focus, your energy.
You don’t need to feel ready. You just need to move. Let your body lead. The mind will follow.
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