Exposure to sunlight in the morning improves your sleep at night.
The amount of light you are exposed to in the morning will dictate the quality of your sleep that night. Natural sunlight has a stronger influence on the body's internal clock, its circadian rhythm, than artificial light, but if your schedule has it that as you aren't able to expose yourself to a good dose of natural sunlight in the morning, then ensure you stay in artificial light as much as you can between 8am-noon.
Why is morning light so important? As your day begins, early morning light sends a signal to your brain to suppress production of melatonin. Melatonin is the hormone produced and released by the pineal gland in the brain that signals to the body that it is time to sleep and it is released as darkness increases. The pineal gland is so reactive to light that it is often referred to as the "third eye." Early morning light also triggers release of the neurotransmitter serotonin, the hormone that boosts mood and helps you feel calm and regain focus as you start your day. In addition, natural sunlight on the skin starts your daily production of vitamin D. So be mindful to seek morning light!
How does this all come together to affect sleep quality? Mainly by the effect morning sunlight or artificial light has on your circadian rhythm. Circadian rhythm refers to biological processes that occur so that your internal body clock knows when to be awake and when to be asleep. The term originates from the Latin words "circa" meaning about and "dia" meaning day as circadian rhythm refers to everything your body coordinates and regulates in a day. While your circadian rhythm regulates energy, appetite, hormones and core body temperature in tune with the patterns of the sun, it is core body temperature and its slight fluctuations throughout the day that affect melatonin production and therefore sleep.
Melatonin production rises when your core temperature is at its lowest while you are sleeping and falls to low levels shortly before dawn as cortisol is released and your core body temperature starts to rise. The release of cortisol and rise in core body temperature energises your body, helps you regain focus after your night of dreaming and prepares you for the day. When there is a stressful day ahead, more cortisol will be released. Those who expose themselves to plenty of morning light tend to feel less depressed and stressed.
Research has found that exposure to greater amounts of light, be it natural or artificial, between 8am-noon resulted in participants falling asleep more easily and quickly at night, with fewer disturbances during the night. In comparison, those participants who missed out on morning light exposure reported poor sleep, low mood and stress.
With 40%-50% of our population suffering from insomnia, it is time that we took our approach to sleep seriously. Offices should be mindful of the strength of artificial light provided and encourage staff to leave the building at lunchtime to obtain natural light.
Inadequate sleep, a widespread problem in our modern society, is now considered to be a public health epidemic that has high social and economic costs. Studies show that 40% of Australians aren't getting enough sleep at least two nights each week. On average, we are now sleeping 6.8 hours per night as compared to 9 hours per night a century ago. Our quality sleep time is expected to decline even further in our rapidly changing society.
William Shakespeare's Macbeth referred to sleep as the "balm of hurt minds." Sleep is a balm and we should all aim to obtain our best sleep possible every night as ... sleep is where the magic happens!
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