If you struggle with insomnia, rising early to soak up some natural light might actually improve your sleep. However, getting out of bed early to go outside can be difficult if you’ve had a sleepless night. I hope that by exploring why sunlight can be beneficial will encourage you to change your morning routine.
It’s your brain and nervous system which controls whether you are awake and moving around or lying down and sleeping. Key to the system working properly is light. If you don’t get enough natural sunlight in the morning it can affect the part of the brain which makes regulatory decisions. This can lead to a struggle getting to sleep at night.
When light shines in your eyes (even if it’s cloudy), energy-protons are picked up by neurons (which are the nerve cells in the retina of your eyes). When these neurons become sufficiently activated by the light, messages are sent to the suprachiasmic nucleus (which is a small part in your brain where regulatory decisions are made). Think of it like a brain’s pacemaker triggering wakefulness during the day and sleepiness in the evening. To help ensure your sleepiness kicks in at bedtime, it is important to trigger the body-clock mechanism in the morning.
This is best achieved by getting outside within the first hour of waking. Ideally, when the sun is still low in the sky. At this early hour you can usually gaze at it without feeling any discomfort in your eyes. You shouldn’t need to wear sunglasses for this morning practice (but prescription glasses and contact lenses are fine), and don’t hesitate to blink when you need to.
You should aim for five minutes of outside exposure on a clear day, ten minutes if it’s cloudy and thirty minutes if there is dense cloud, as we often see in England. These are general guidelines as the amount of sunlight available will vary. For example, if there is lots of tree cover, natural sunlight will be reduced.
Some people ask if just sitting by a window or staring at the bright screen of a smartphone will produce the same results. Unfortunately, it doesn’t as the neurons (nerve cells) in your eyes respond best to the bright natural early morning light. Generally, artificial light is not a substitute.
If you do happen to miss your early morning sunlight, aim to double the time you spend outside the next morning. If you add a brisk walk to this morning routine, the combination of being outside, moving your body, lubricating the joints, breathing deeper and elevating your heart rate will also improve your cardiovascular health.
I hope this has encouraged you to start your day with some sunlight. Beginning this new routine will kickstart your body-clock mechanism and should ultimately assist sleep when its bedtime.
As The Mind & Body Guide, my approach to therapy is to help you to understand yourself mentally and physically.
I have decades of experience in health care, including years spent working as a senior physiotherapist in the NHS. I’ve taught Pilates to hundreds of people. And I’m a qualified psychotherapist with a suite of therapy skills to draw on.
By working together, we can plot your pathway to a healthier, happier life.
