Momentum Issue 43: Get Adequate Daylight Exposure
Importance
“Your body was not designed for this lifestyle—your ancestors were outside taking in the morning light, afternoon light, and evening light at precisely the right times to keep your body's circadian rhythm aligned. Your circadian rhythm—your body's internal clock—regulates your digestion, mental health, immune system, sleep, and more, and when it's disrupted by artificial light, the results can be catastrophic.” - Ben Greenfield
As the northern hemisphere is coming into winter, it means darker days for many of us. This means it’s more important than ever to make the effort to get daylight exposure every single day.
Daylight exposure is crucial for good health. We often speak of the importance of bright light exposure in the morning to reset the circadian rhythm. But optimizing our circadian rhythm is an all-day process — while morning light exposure is important, our exposure to light throughout the entire day plays a huge role. If we spend a lot of time indoors in dimly lit rooms, our bodies can’t get an accurate gauge on what time of day it is.
“Excess or poorly timed artificial light exposure can cause a person’s circadian rhythm to be misaligned with the day-night schedule. This can throw their sleep out-of-whack and induce other concerning health impacts including worsened metabolism, weight gain, cardiovascular problems, and perhaps even an elevated cancer risk.” — Sleep Foundation
Implementation
Get outside as often as you can. Even an overcast day is a lot brighter than indoor lights.
Sit by a window whenever possible. Sitting by a window while you work is especially beneficial.
Avoid wearing sunglasses when safe to do so. Sunglasses block the bright light (obviously) which means our bodies don’t register this time as bright daylight exposure.
Aim for a minimum of 2 hours of daylight exposure, every single day. This doesn’t have to be all at once - even a few 15 minute breaks outside will add up.
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