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Anthea Rowan

Are you a morning person? Are you happiest and functioning at your best early in the day?
Many of us might be, more than we think. A study published last month by University College London suggests that people generally wake up feeling in the best frame of mind, and that their mood is at its worst around midnight.
Michael Beckham, a clinical counsellor at Central Minds HK, says that treating anxiety has given him the opportunity to explore in detail people’s mood upon waking and variations in their energy.
Not everyone is in a positive mood upon waking, he says, but many factors can affect that. One in particular, he says, is their level of cortisol, the so-called stress hormone.

It fluctuates throughout the day, he says, “peaking in the early morning to help us wake up and feel alert”.
Its level can be affected by several factors: “sleep quality, lifestyle choices, negative thoughts, fear, anxiety and even environmental influences”, Beckham says.
“Inadequate sleep or poor sleeping habits can lead to elevated cortisol levels, which may cause feelings of anxiety or irritability upon waking, setting a negative tone for the day.”
Beckham says nutrition, exercise and light exposure also affect morning mood. A balanced breakfast rich in nutrients can enhance energy levels and improve cognitive function, whereas skipping it may result in fatigue and mood swings.
Exercise, especially if undertaken earlier in the day, can trigger the release of endorphins, hormones that relieve pain and give a feeling of well-being.
The mental state we cultivate before bedtime also plays a crucial role in how we feel in the morning, Beckham says.
“Stressful activities or negative thoughts before bed can carry over into the next day, leading to a pessimistic outlook.”
Having a habit of mindfulness, perhaps through meditation or journaling, are effective ways to get into a more positive mindset. Routines can also be helpful.

Understanding the connection between cortisol levels and morning mood, says Beckham, “opens up avenues for improving the way we start our days”.
Research shows a poor mood can negatively affect relationships at home and in the office.
Nancy Rothbard, a professor of management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in the United States, discovered how your morning mood affects your whole work day in an often quoted 2011 study.
“Waking Up On The Right Or Wrong Side Of The Bed: Start-Of-Workday Mood, Work Events, Employee Affect, And Performance,” published in the Academy of Management Journal, studied customer service representatives in an insurance company over several weeks and found that those who started out happy or calm usually stayed that way through the day. Dealing with customers tended to enhance their mood.
Imagine getting up, taking a shower, getting dressed, all the while being grounded and calm – there’s nothing bad happening.
Michael Beckham, Central Minds HK
Most people who started the day in a bad mood, though, did not really shake it, and felt even worse by day’s end, Rothbart found.
To get off to a positive start and maintain a good mood during the day, Beckham advises focusing on what is within your control.
This will not only affect personal well-being, but can also enhance your productivity and interactions.
Beckham teaches his clients “pre-sleep” and “upon wake” techniques to help them shift focus to the here and now and stop fretting about what is outside their control – a big cause of stress and anxiety for many.
One method is “Walking Through The Day”; this can be done as you prepare to sleep or as you awaken.

“We just imagine ourselves in each aspect of our day, broken down into time frames, moving through the day, and playing everything out in a calm, productive way,” he says.
“Imagine getting up, taking a shower, getting dressed, all the while being grounded and calm – there’s nothing bad happening.”
Walking through these stages in our imagination can help us to feel in control of our thoughts, he says, and doing that makes us feel better, so our day goes better.
This can be a powerful way to keep the positive morning momentum going, he says, because we have already persuaded ourselves that everything is going to go well rather than imagining all the things that are going to go wrong – which almost never occur.
Beckham’s tips for becoming and staying positive

Invest in and set an alarm clock, rather than relying on your phone. There will be no risk of oversleeping and feeling rushed – a sure way to lose that morning glow in an instant. You will not be as tempted to start doom scrolling the moment you wake up. A sunrise-simulating alarm clock that uses light in place of sound is kinder than the shrill scream of a conventional one, and you will awaken more gently and naturally.


Drink a big glass of water slowly soon after you wake up to redress the mild dehydration that has set in overnight. Research shows this improves mental performance.


Open the windows to allow the fresh air to energise you, even on a cold day.


Organise yourself the night before – know what you are going to wear, for example – so you feel less harried when you get out of bed.



Stretch and breathe deeply on waking. This will boost your circulation and release any tension.


Take a cool – cold if you can bear it – power shower to pummel your senses awake.


Eat breakfast with your coffee or tea so it won’t irritate an empty stomach and affect your sensitive cortisol levels.


Get outside as early as you can – walk a bit of the way to work or have a short walk before work if you work from home. It will help get your heart pumping, and getting natural light early helps ensure better sleep at night. “Exposure to natural light in the morning helps regulate the body’s internal clock, potentially improving mood and boosting alertness through mechanisms linked to serotonin production,” Beckham says, serotonin being the feel-good hormone.

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Your mood upon waking can determine how you feel the whole day, research shows. A Hong Kong-based counsellor offers his tips for getting out of the right side of the bed. Photo: Shutterstock

A sunrise-simulating alarm clock that uses light in place of sound is kinder than the shrill scream of a conventional one, and you will awaken more gently and naturally. Photo: Shutterstock

Nutrition, exercise and light exposure affect morning mood, as does bad sleep, says Michael Beckham, a clinical counsellor at Central Minds HK. Photo: Michael Beckham

Practising mindfulness and getting exposure to early morning sunlight are two ways to help nurture a positive mood in the morning that lasts throughout the day. Photo: Shutterstock

Stretch and breathe deeply on waking to boost your circulation and release tension accumulated while you slept. Photo: Shutterstock

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Bruce Springsteen, 75, follows the Omad diet, but could you live on one meal a day?

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