If you happen to be someone who struggles in the sleep department, then this is for you. Before I get started, it might be helpful to review part 1, where I discuss the different stages of sleep and their importance; followed by part 2, where I introduce the topic of chronobiology, and specifically, how to identify your unique chronotype.
I could rattle off a laundry list of tips, practices, and interventions that have all been proven to help one sleep better. But today, I’d like to focus on one of the two big rocks that I feel is the most important when setting yourself up for a better night’s rest and feeling fully refreshed in the morning.
With all the fancy this and that at our disposal, once again, it comes down to the basics. Those are: establishing and maintaining a pre-bedtime routine and regulating your early morning and evening light exposure – which I’ll be covering today.
So what what exactly do I mean by regulating your early morning and evening light exposure?
This might come as a surprise to many of you but your pre-bedtime routine actually starts first thing in the morning.
Light is the BEST tool we can use every day to regulate our sleep-wake cycles, and there’s nothing better than morning sunlight for it.
When we are exposed to sunlight in the morning, it stimulates the production of cortisol which helps us wake up and feel alert. It also leads to the production of serotonin, the mood-boosting neurotransmitter from which melatonin is ultimately produced.
This simple action of taking in morning sunlight creates the ideal hormonal cascade setting the stage for better quality sleep later in the evening.
To kickstart this vital process, head outside in the morning hours for a walk, workout, a doggie break, or to enjoy your morning coffee – ideally 30-60 minutes after waking (the earlier the better), for 5-20 minutes.
You must do this without the use of sunglasses.
When the early morning sunlight hits your retina, it essentially acts as a timer to start releasing melatonin 14-16 hours later. Wearing sunglasses will block light from entering the eye which stimulates the pineal gland to produce the necessary neurotransmitters beginning the entire cycle.
If you happen to live somewhere where the sun tends to disappear for long periods of time, it might be worth considering a full-spectrum light therapy device. There are many from which to choose, but they basically mimic the effect of the sun.
While no device is as good as getting the real thing, everyone I’ve talked to who uses them during those extended dreary and gray periods loves them – myself included.
If you’re wondering, is it worth it to get morning sunlight exposure even on a cloudy day?
The answer is yes. Even on a cloudy day, the sun’s rays are powerful enough to stimulate the above process.
I briefly mentioned cortisol above, and before I go any further, I must explain cortisol’s role because of its importance in the process. Here’s how it should work:
You wake up feeling refreshed and your cortisol levels continue to rise. This causes an increase in blood sugar and helps get you energized for the day.
Cortisol levels should peak around mid-morning.
Your cortisol levels then begin to decrease and do so throughout the day, which is important because it directly affects fat storage.
Moving into the evening as you’re exposed to lessening amounts of light, the signal is sent to start producing melatonin (the sleep hormone).
Right before bed, cortisol should be at its absolute lowest point and melatonin should be on its way towards peaking. This creates the ideal environment to fall asleep quickly, enter fat-burning mode, and regenerate and rebuild the mind and body while you sleep.
However, for many, this cycle gets reversed.
Can you begin to see the problem when cortisol is at its highest point right before bed and melatonin is at its lowest point?
Cortisol’s role is to energize you, raise blood sugar, and aid in fat storage – three things you don’t need right before bed!
Having a lot of energy at night and being excessively tired in the morning is often a sign that your circadian rhythm is out of whack and needs to be addressed.
Now that I have covered the importance of early morning light exposure, let’s address the role of evening light exposure.
Your ability to get a quality night’s sleep depends largely on the hormone melatonin. To put it simply, darkness prompts the pineal gland to begin producing melatonin. As melatonin is produced and released into the bloodstream, you get sleepy.
While darkness enables melatonin production, light causes it to stop – in particular, blue light. And, therein lies the problem.
Most, if not all of the lighting and light sources that we have in our homes are producing blue light well into the evening. The blue light we receive from the sun is indeed of considerably higher intensity than the light produced in our homes (even on a cloudy day). But it’s also true that the receptors in the eye become more sensitive to light later in the day.
While sitting on the couch in a room filled with LED lighting, a computer on your lap, a smartphone within arm’s reach, and positioned in front of a large flatscreen television might seem like a relaxful evening – it’s probably not the best strategy for a good night’s sleep.
It stands to reason if your home is lit up like Wrigley Field late into the evening, you’ll have difficulty producing the necessary melatonin because your environment is telling your brain it’s still daytime.
So how do you go about regulating your evening light exposure?
Start setting the stage for good sleep roughly two hours before you’d like to be in bed for the evening.
If possible, start gradually dimming the lights throughout your home so they are at the lowest possible setting right before you head off to sleep. It doesn’t need to be so dark that you’re bumping into things and can’t see what you’re doing.
If your light switches are not on dimmers, turn off lights in other rooms to bring down the overall light intensity. You can even try watching television in the dark while leaving a light on in a far-off room if necessary.
It goes without saying, that your TV produces quite a bit of light. A good rule of thumb is to sit at least 10 feet away from it (the farther the better) and turn off all surrounding lights.
Additional evening lighting strategies include turning off any ceiling lighting (as they mimic the effect of the sun) and using floor or table lamps instead if possible.
Also, consider swapping out regular light bulbs with red light bulbs in reading lamps and/or using blue light-blocking glasses. These bulbs produce a warm red spectrum of light that enables you to read without stunting the production of melatonin, while the glasses help filter out the spectrums of light you don’t need in the evening.
I’ll get more into this next time when I cover the pre-bedtime routine and good sleep hygiene strategies. But for now, it might be worth considering reducing or eliminating the use of any other light-producing device an hour or so before you plan on going to sleep.
As you begin to implement the practice of turning down the lights throughout the evening, you should start to feel yourself wind down, relax, and feel sleepy more easily. And, don’t be surprised if you find yourself dozing off early than planned!