Do you feel undead in the morning?

Can you remember your commute to work in the morning? Photo / Rogue Pictures.

Worn-out workers admit much of their morning commute is carried out in a 'zombie state', a survey suggests.

Despite setting their alarms for 6.30am and leaving the house by 7.23am, most Britons don't feel fully awake and able to function until 9.40am on the average weekday.

More than 60 per cent of commuters admit they often arrive at work with no memory of the journey.

And 54 per cent can be found sitting at their desks with a glazed expression long after they have entered the office.

Nine in ten of those questioned in the Quaker Oats survey of 2,000 employees admitted they operate in a 'zombie state' most mornings.

And while the average worker claims their maximum efficiency kicks in around 11:22am, two thirds think they are much more productive in the afternoon.

Psychologist Linda Papadopoulos said: 'The way our bodies and nervous system function allows us to be conscious of some things but let other things go into "auto-pilot".

'One of the things the survey brought up was that 63 per cent of us wind up at work and can't really remember how we got there.

'This is because of "habituation" - we're so used to going through the motions of what we do every day that it's not really something we think about.'

When they do finally make it into work, six in 10 people still find it hard to communicate with anyone first thing in the morning.

In fact, most people don't even feel able to utter a word until 8.40am - an hour and 20 minutes after they have left the house for work.

Four in 10 workers wake slowly by reading through their mountain of emails while a further fifth just about feel able to send a few easy messages.

Sixteen per cent count their early morning gossip with colleagues as part of their wake up routine.

Sadly for some employers, 45 per cent of workers admit there have been days where they have answered the phone at work only to feel completely unable to handle the call because they had not woken up properly yet.