Less than half achieve their ideal morning; over 80% want to review their mornings for a new lifestyle, with 'mental space' being the top demand.

Island Co., Ltd. (Head office: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Risako Aihara), which operates Japan's largest morning lifestyle magazine "asajikan.jp" (https://asajikan.jp/), conducted a survey among its users regarding "Morning Time and New Lifestyles."

The survey results showed that 83% of respondents want to "review how they spend their mornings" before starting a new lifestyle. However, only 43% of people are able to achieve their "ideal morning," revealing a gap between ideal and reality. The top reason for wanting to review their mornings was "to have more mental space" (65%), surpassing "to improve work or study efficiency" (22%). The results indicate a need to utilize mornings not just for efficiency or time performance, but as a time for "self-care" to maintain physical and mental well-being.

[Survey Summary]

・Less than half (43%) of people achieve their "ideal morning."

・83% of respondents want to "review how they spend their mornings" before the spring new lifestyle season.

・The top reason for reviewing mornings is "to have more mental space" (65%), rather than "to improve work or study efficiency" (22%).

・65% of people are increasingly interested in "self-care" for a new lifestyle.

[Survey Results]

・Gap between Ideal and Reality: More than half are not spending their "ideal morning."

In response to the question, "Are you able to spend your ideal morning?", 43% answered "Yes (3%)" or "Mostly yes (40%)," indicating that more than half are not achieving their ideal morning. This suggests a gap between ideal and reality in busy daily lives.

Comments such as "I want to wake up refreshed in the morning but end up lounging around," "I actually want to wake up early and create time just for myself, but I find it hard to get up and can't make it a habit," and "I want to secure time for reading or studying, but I end up spending it on housework and preparations" were also observed, highlighting the reality of feeling a gap between ideal and reality in busy daily lives.

・Motivation for a New Lifestyle: Over 80% hope to "review morning habits."

In response to the question, "Do you want to review how you spend your mornings with the start of a new lifestyle?", 83% answered "Strongly agree (28%)" or "Somewhat agree (55%)." This suggests that the current inability to achieve an ideal morning leads to a desire for review, triggered by the start of a new life.

・What people seek in the morning is "mental space and self-care" rather than time performance and efficiency.

The most common reason for wanting to review morning routines was "to have more mental space (65%)." This was followed by "health management (46%)" and "to regulate my daily rhythm (43%)," indicating a tendency to view mornings not just as a time for shortening tasks or increasing efficiency, but as a time for maintaining physical and mental well-being.

・Rising self-care awareness as a background.

In response to the question, "Has your interest in self-care increased for a new lifestyle?", 65% answered "Increased (26%)" or "Slightly increased (39%)." This suggests that morning time is also considered important for self-care to maintain daily condition.

・What people want to incorporate from spring is "morning time for oneself" (free response).

In free responses about morning habits people want to incorporate from spring, it was evident that there is a growing desire to utilize mornings as a time for "self-regulation" with the start of a new lifestyle. Exercise such as "walking" and "stretching," and self-investment such as "morning reading" and "studying" were also mentioned, indicating a desire to regulate daily life within a manageable scope.

・ I want to write a diary or a to-do list to feel more positive (50s, female)

・ I want to incorporate writing tasks like studying, even if just a little (40s, female)

・ I want to do morning reading and journaling (40s, female)

・ I want to make it a habit to decorate my room with spring flowers, change the water daily, think about what kind of flowers to choose, and eat breakfast while looking at the flowers (20s, female)

・ Even if it's just 10 minutes, I want to have the余裕 to do or think about what I like with a relaxed feeling (50s, female)

・ I don't want to come home to a disappointing house, so I want to do housework like cleaning (30s, female)

・ I want to wake up 20 minutes earlier than usual to prepare for commuting with more time (30s, female)

・ Making stretching a habit (40s, female)

Initiatives of asajikan.jp

asajikan.jp proposes morning habits that can be easily incorporated into daily life. The results of this survey also revealed the current situation where people desire "a relaxed morning" and "time to face oneself" but are unable to achieve it. Against this background, we plan to hold an event themed on morning time for self-reflection, coinciding with the new lifestyle season. We will continue to propose hints for morning habits that are easy to incorporate into daily life and ideas for spending one's time comfortably.

Learn from Chie Ikeda, a pioneer of morning activities: "Morning Notebook" Habituation Event Recently, habits originating from overseas such as "journaling" and "morning notes" have been gaining attention. In this event, themed "Morning Time x Writing (Notebook Time)," we will deliver hints for morning habits that are easy to incorporate into daily life and ideas for spending one's time comfortably. The latter half will include a practical workshop where participants actually use notebooks to organize their thoughts. Even those who "don't have a habit of writing in a notebook" or "don't know what to write" can easily start a new morning habit for self-regulation.

・Date: April 25, 2026 (Saturday) 10:00-11:30

・Venue: Gaienmae Island Studio (Jingumae IK Building 2F, 3-1-25 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo)

・Details: https://asajikan.jp/article/315590

[Survey Outline]

・Survey method: Questionnaire conducted on the "asajikan.jp" website

・Target audience: "asajikan.jp" users nationwide, aged 20s to 60s and above

Female: 92% Male: 7% No answer: 1%

20s: 4% 30s: 14% 40s: 30% 50s: 30% 60s and above: 22%

・Number of responses: 205

・Survey period: February 19, 2026 (Thursday) - March 18, 2026 (Wednesday)

About "asajikan.jp"

Japan's largest "morning" lifestyle magazine, with the concept of "Both ordinary mornings and special mornings." Targeting women in their late 20s to 40s who want to utilize their mornings more effectively and richly, it provides hints for enjoying a morning lifestyle, such as breakfast recipes, morning cafe spots, yoga, sleep columns, and morning scenes delivered by reporters from around the world. As of March 2026, the supervised book "Kurashi no Zukan Asagohan" (Shoeisha) is on sale.

・URL :https://asajikan.jp/

・Facebook :https://www.facebook.com/asajikan

・X :https://twitter.com/asajikan

・Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/asajikan.jp/

・LINE :https://line.me/R/ti/p/@oa-asajikan?from=page

・iOS App :https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/chao-shi-jian.jp/id400435286?mt

About Island Co., Ltd.

Island Co., Ltd. operates services such as "Foodist Service," "Otoriyose Net," and "asajikan.jp," as well as the event space "Gaienmae Island Studio." We aim to create services that we and everyone would be happy to have, which haven't existed before, and to provide services that enrich daily life.

Trade Name: Island Co., Ltd.

Representative: Risako Aihara, Representative Director

Location: Jingumae IK Building 2F, 3-1-25 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0001

Business Activities:

・Operation of lifestyle media such as "Otoriyose Net," "Foodist Service," and "asajikan.jp"

・Food influencer promotion / Food influencer marketing business

・Support for attracting customers and promoting food e-commerce sites (online shops), and regional revitalization support business centered on food

・Official SNS operation support for food and beverage brands

・Operation of the online store "Aima" selling kitchen goods and gourmet food

・Production of "Oshita-me" projects for idol fan events that engage the five senses

URL :https://www.ai-land.co.jp/