Wake up on the
best side of the bed
My bet: joy gets you out of bed more reliably than bullying. So instead of alarm,stress,snooze,repeat, I built this app to make waking up something to look forward to.
Free to download.
Why I built this
My mornings were stressing me out. I always wanted to sleep in, and it felt so good...
... until I actually had to get up for work, at which point my morning became a sprint. Everything got done, but I always skipped the most important part: s p a c e. I tried the other apps. Not naming names, but solving math problems to an ear-splitting siren was not the first seed I wanted planted in my day.
So I built the thing I couldn't find: an app that makes your mornings joyful instead of punishing.
- Josh
We've all had mornings like this
Pick your poison:
Sleep inertia is real, and its worse for the first few minutes. That's why cards are designed for half-awake before your willpower kicks in.
Your morning, your way
A deck of cards. Each one a ritual.
Each one has a mascot.
Cards are what you do instead of doomscrolling, simple enough to do while you're still waking up. Add the ones you like to your morning, skip the rest. No pressure, no guilt, and no streaks. (Not sorry!)
Calm Music
"Gentle wake up vibes"
Playlists that ease you in. Chill and Get Up for when you're ready to move.
Breathe
"Feel inspired"
Guided breathing to ground and energize yourself.
Dream Journal
"Your subconscious deserves attention"
Catch dreams before they evaporate; Dream Catcher for the 3 a.m. ones.
Check In
"What are you resonating with?"
Pick the image that matches your inner landscape this morning. No wrong answers.
Morning Review
"What's still on your mind from yesterday?"
Name the lingering thing. Then choose: let it go, or take action (with a follow-up).
Good News
"Look for the positive"
A curated dose of genuinely good news. The exact opposite of doomscrolling. Hopescrolling?
Stretch
"Your body and your mind are the same system"
Efficient oxygen delivery system to your limbs. Feels nice too.
Puzzle
"Piece the morning together"
A gentle photo puzzle to boot the brain up. No alarm math required.
The Three Musketeers
"Read a few pages of a classic"
A classic novel, serialized into morning-sized pages. More to come.
Plus affirmations, Looking Back at past mornings, an evening "Looking Forward" note, and absOrby (One of my games.) Every finished card mints a token for your Journal. The basics are free.
Try it right here
Build tomorrow morning
Select a few cards. No wrong answers, your morning is yours.
Pick your cards
Then set your anchors
The first things you do once you're actually out of bed.
Tomorrow morning
Alarm
Everyday
7:00 AM
Your morning flow
2 cards
Tokens you'd mint tomorrow
In the app, every finished card mints a token into your Journal. No streaks, just a record of mornings that happened.
How it works
How a morning actually goes
The alarm goes off
There's no snooze button. Stop the alarm and the app opens.
Swipe your cards
A sleepy sloth, a quote, and the note you left yourself last night. Tap "I'm Ready", then flow through your cards. Each one mints a token for your Journal.
Anchors, then out the door
Out of bed, into the real world: brush teeth, make coffee, feed the cat.
Give tomorrow a plot
In the evening, finish one sentence: "Tomorrow…" It'll be waiting for you at wake-up, under "Looking forward to:". Waking up is easier with a reason.
Backed by research
The science checks out, you can check out the science too.
None of this is magic. It's just what the research says about waking up, applied with a lighter touch. These are the same studies shown in the app — tap any card to read one.
Passive social media use raises depressive symptoms 33%; active use cuts them 15%
Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 2015
Verduyn, P., Lee, D.S., Park, J., et al.
5 minutes of daily breathing exercises beat mindfulness meditation for boosting positive mood
Cell Reports Medicine, 2023
Balban, M.Y., Neri, E., et al.
Weekly gratitude practice cut depressive symptoms 28% and boosted happiness for six months
American Psychologist, 2005
Seligman, M.E.P., Steen, T.A., et al.
Viewing nature images for just 3 minutes produced a large effect size improvement in mood
Psychological Science, 2008
Berman, M.G., Jonides, J., et al.
A brief self-affirmation lowers your cortisol stress response
Psychological Science, 2005
Creswell, J.D., Welch, W.T., et al.
Morning music reduces grogginess, and a meta-analysis of 9,617 people confirms music cuts stress
Health Psychology Review, 2020
de Witte, M., Spruit, A., et al.
Setting specific morning intentions makes you 2–3× more likely to follow through
Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 2006
Gollwitzer, P.M. & Sheeran, P.
Just 14 minutes of bad news increased sadness and catastrophic thinking about unrelated worries
British Journal of Psychology, 2023
Robertson et al.
Remembering dreams reduced emotional reactivity to negative images and improved emotional memory
Scientific Reports (Nature), 2024
Zhang et al.
A stretching routine produced greater decreases in waking cortisol than restorative yoga over six months
NIH, 2014
Corey et al.
New health behaviors become automatic in approximately 66 days through context-dependent repetition
British Journal of General Practice, 2012
Gardner et al.
Pricing
The basics are free. Forever.
Premium exists because... well... anybody else like food? But there's no hard paywall: skip it and keep the free deck.
Free
Everything a good morning needs
- The alarm (no snooze)
- Calm & Chill music
- Breathe
- Dream Journal & Dream Catcher
- Check In & Morning Review
- The Three Musketeers
- Evening notes & the Journal
Premium
For your brightest mornings
- Get Up music (the energetic deck)
- Good News
- Stretch
- Puzzle & absOrby
- Affirmations
$44.99/year with a 7-day free trial
or $1.39/week, no commitment. Cancel anytime.
Your App Store shows your local price. There's also a tip jar in settings: "No obligation, just gratitude!"
Early love
People are already waking up happier
"You’ve inspired me to rearrange my phone to have an app page for each part of my day."
— my Mom (love you!)
"This has been life-changing for me. I really love using The Morning App when I wake up or as soon as I get out of bed. It’s been super helpful to start my day on a positive note. Very easy to set up and it works as expected every day. Each card is beautifully designed and inspiring. Will definitely keep using it!"
— sombeline
Tomorrow morning
could feel different
Honestly? If a consistent alarm with no snooze button sounds like a nightmare, maybe don't download this. I can't make you become someone you don't want to be.
But if there's even a small part of you that wants to feel fresh before 9 AM, why not feed it?