Dr. Katharina Mahadeva Cadwell is a physician and health coach with interest in leveraging AI to create and achieve personalized health visions through her tailored programs. She is the founder of Vivo, Ltd., a health coaching company dedicated to reversing pre-diabetes by integrating Blue Zone principles and evidence-based behavioral strategies.
Digital solutions are everywhere these days. Everyone is talking about it and it may help solve most of our health problems. As a medical doctor, I would be the last to scoff at digital medicine’s place in our lives. Without it, we would not be capable of predicting diseases, finding tumors earlier than ever, or analyzing complex patient data like from continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) to map out the best insulin regimens for brittle diabetic patients. It has saved countless lives and will continue to do so.
Yet as a result, we are glued to our screens even more, its bleeps and notifications to tell us what’s next in our health and wellness journey. I tried some of those apps myself – fitness, food, dancing, body shaping and weight loss, you name it. Mostly I found myself glued to my screen much longer than I cared to, despite receiving relatively helpful information. But aside from my screen time oozing into my daily routine with unstoppable force, I noticed something else that had me wondering: my sudden spike in sugar treat consumption. So I took to – well, yes! – my screen to find answers.
Those extra-sugary treats and carbs I didn’t need, a shortened focus, and a shrinking attention span were a side effect of my digitally hijacked brain. Did you know that starting your day by immediately getting lost in your screen has a major impact on how you function later in the day? Let’s take a look at what happens when you disappear into your screen first thing in the morning:
Your brain on a digital diet
1. Dopamine hijacking
When you check your phone first thing in the morning, you’re giving your brain a quick hit of dopamine, the neurotransmitter associated with reward and feeling good. This starts a cycle of seeking short-term gratification throughout the rest of your day. Over time, your phone becomes the best quick fix for positive mood kicks and pleasure and can distract you from meaningful activities and more long-term rewards. This one morning habit sets the tone for your entire day.
2. Reduced focus
Constant exposure to instant digital rewards conditions your brain to crave quick hits of satisfaction. This then diminishes your ability to delay gratification. You may find yourself growing impatient in the face of such delayed gratification (projects not moving fast enough, people not responding quickly enough, etc.). Aside from reducing your focus and productivity, it undermines your motivation and perseverance for longer, more effort-driven tasks. Your brain becomes less tolerant of anything that doesn’t provide immediate rewards, impacting everything from attention span to creativity.
3. Increased need for external validation
Phone notifications (especially social media, because let’s face it: once on your phone, do you never take a quick detour to Instagram or TikTok?) and the constant flow of likes, comments, and messages reinforce a need for external validation. Over time, this makes you more reliant on others’ approval, which makes it harder to cultivate validation from within. The result? Heightened anxiety, insecurity, and a compulsive need to check your phone.
It’s pretty frightening when you consider the long-term effects of these habits. I’ve been there myself–telling myself that checking my phone was simply to catch up on news, only to end up doom-scrolling before my morning coffee and feeling like I’d just gorged myself on digital junk food. It left me groggy and disconnected – not a good note on which to start a successful day.
How digital overload triggers sugar cravings
Checking your phone first thing in the morning and hijacking your brain’s dopamine pathways are also setting you up for poor food choices. Here's how:
1. Dopamine disruption
The same dopamine release that keeps you hooked on your phone also fuels cravings for quick energy boosts (we’re looking at you, chocolate chip brownies!). With your brain’s reward system overstimulated, you are now more likely to reach for high-sugar and high-fat processed foods. These foods are designed to hit your dopamine circuits just right to become more appealing when your brain is already craving quick fixes.
2. Increased stress and emotional eating
As we saw above, notifications can trigger stress and anxiety, which leads to elevated levels of cortisol, your body’s primary stress hormone. Cortisol is closely linked to cravings for high-calorie, high-sugar foods as your body seeks to quickly replenish energy in response to stress. Even if the stress isn’t real, your brain reacts the same way. If food is a coping mechanism for you already, this can exacerbate emotional eating patterns and perpetuate the negative stress cycle.
3. Dysregulation of hunger signals
Using your phone for prolonged periods throughout the day can override your brain’s hunger and satiety signals, especially if you’re distracted while eating (think phone use at the dinner table). This disconnect between brain stimulation and body cues can lead to mindless eating, and again, particularly high-sugar and processed foods that soothe your overstimulated brain.
Breaking away from our screens can be difficult, and at times just not possible. But there are a few simple steps you can take to set the right tone for each day – and for your health in the long run.
3 steps to breaking the digital binge cycle
1. Tech-free morning routine
If you do only one thing to get a good start into the day and do your brain and health the biggest favor, it’s this: create a morning routine that leaves technology out of it. Do you have a morning coffee or tea ritual? Engage all your senses in this activity. Maybe you are writing morning pages (something I love doing and highly recommend; find the link here), or practicing mindfulness in another way. Start your day with intention to set a calmer, more focused tone for your day.
2. Leave your phone
Distance yourself physically from your phone to break the habit of automatically reaching for it. Consider leaving your phone in another room before bed and using an old-fashioned alarm clock instead. This simple step makes it easier to resist the temptation to check your phone as soon as you wake up.
3. Set clear boundaries
Set intentional limits on when and how you use your phone in the morning. For example, commit to not checking your phone for the first 30-60 minutes after waking up. You can use reminders or place sticky notes on your phone as a visual cue to stay off the screen. Gradually, as your brain adapts to the new routine, you will feel less dependent on your phone and more in control of how you start your day. You can devise similar rules throughout the rest of your day, say around meal times.
By adopting a digital-free morning routine, you’re not just boosting your mental clarity and productivity. You’re also helping your brain regulate its reward system and hunger cues with a powerful ripple effect on your eating habits. As business leaders and entrepreneurs with demanding lives, it’s critical to protect both your mental and physical health. A digital detox is one of the key ingredients to sharper focus, better energy, and healthier food choices.
Since implementing these changes in my own life, I’ve noticed massive improvements in my mood, productivity, focus, and how I respond to stress. What surprised me most, however, was how it positively impacted my eating habits.
If you want to learn more about how you can optimize food and lifestyle habits to improve your health, energy, and productivity, send me a message directly to my email.
Read more from Dr. Katharina C Mahadeva Cadwell
Dr. Katharina C Mahadeva Cadwell, Integrative Nutrition Health Coach
Dr. Mahadeva Cadwell is a thought leader in health and lifestyle as medicine with a focus on reversing pre-diabetes and insulin resistance. As an Internist, Palliative Care physician, and Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, she was inspired by her decade-long work with patients as well as her own family history. With a penchant for technical innovation, she was inspired to take on the challenge of leveraging AI to develop a tailored approach to optimizing health, making health and wellness more accessible for all.
She is the founder of Vivo, Ltd., a health coaching company that seeks to realize that vision. Her mission: live healthy longer at your most vital.
