steady

Energy · Morning

Daylight in the first hour

Get outside for ten minutes within an hour of waking. Overcast is fine. A window is a weak substitute.

10 minEvidence: decent

Light in the morning is the main signal that sets your body clock. It tells the brain when the day started, which shifts when it makes you sleepy that night. Evidence: solid It also lifts the morning cortisol rise, which is the useful, wake-up kind. Evidence: decent

The clock mechanism is solid science. The specific "ten minutes outside" dose is a practical rule of thumb, not a tested prescription. Outdoor light is many times brighter than indoor light even on a grey day, so outside matters more than duration. Evidence: decent

Source: Khalsa, Jewett, Cajochen and Czeisler, 2003, Journal of Physiology; Wright et al., 2013, Current Biology (doi 10.1016/j.cub.2013.06.039); Figueiro et al., 2017, Sleep Health (doi 10.1016/j.sleh.2017.03.005); Scheer and Buijs, 1999, Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (doi 10.1210/jcem.84.9.6102) (link)

Same theme: Morning

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