Rise and Shine: The Power of Light Exposure for Morning Energy
Rising with the sun takes on a whole new meaning. Peep this article to find out why getting into the sunlight first thing could be the most important part of your day.
If you're feeling fatigued throughout the day, even when you have a good night's sleep, there could be one crucial thing missing from your routine.
We know, we know…anytime someone suggests some sort of magic bullet, distilling one practice as a cure-all, we roll our eyes and our snake oil senses start tingling.
But in this case, this magic fix is something essentially everyone can access upon waking, and the best part — it's totally free! What is it? The sun.
Increasing your sun exposure, specifically first thing in the morning, can train your body in a way that will balance energy levels throughout the day, keeping you more productive and present in your daily activities. Let's dive in!
The Science of Light Exposure
While there is plenty of folk wisdom to suggest that sunshine is good, here at BodyStack we need to see the data to back it up.
Fortunately, that's easy enough to find since multiple studies have examined how light exposure influences circadian rhythms to improve the balance of our sleep-wake cycles and have a positive impact on energy throughout the day.
This one is more digestible than your average scientific paper, but we'll hit on some of the main points throughout this article to make the concepts a bit more skimmable.
Circadian Rhythms and Energy
A quick breakdown of the relationship between circadian rhythms and energy:
Circadian rhythms are 24-hour cycles that govern various physiological processes, including sleep and wakefulness.
These rhythms are influenced by external cues, primarily light, which helps synchronize the body's internal clock with the environment.
Proper alignment of circadian rhythms enhances energy levels, alertness, and mood during the day.
Exposure to natural light sends signals to the brain to say "hey you, time to get up and at 'em" (or maybe your brain speaks to you more formally, to each their own). Either way the sunshine begins processes in your body and brain to get you awake and alert. This includes an early morning release of cortisol, which is the best time to flush this from your body.
Early morning cortisol release only kicks in if you view sunlight within the first hour of waking.
Aside from energy levels, too much cortisol can also wreak havoc on your training routine, which we've discussed in a previous article.
Adding this simple step of sunlight exposure shortly after waking up is easy enough to do — tips are coming up shortly! And the benefits are plentiful — great article here from Andrew Huberman, but just to name a few:
Improved alertness and cognitive function.
Boosts your immune system, metabolism, and focus, while preparing your body for sleep later due to early day cortisol release.
Enhanced mood due to increased serotonin levels.
Overall increased energy throughout the day.
Practical Tips for Morning Light Exposure
Hopefully at this point you're on board with the concept that early morning sun exposure is a good thing for your body.
The best part is, this doesn't require significant modifications to your normal routine. Here's a few ways to sneak in some of those early morning rays without too big a lift:
Get outside immediately: Use this as some screen-free me time to organize your thoughts for the day while enjoying that morning sunshine
Take a short 10 to 15-minute walk: Pour that morning beverage of choice into your Stanley and hit the trail.
Enjoy a healthy breakfast outside: Dine in your backyard, on your balcony, or wherever that morning sunshine first hits.
Do some morning mobility work: Stretching and balancing are SO important, so why not take that work outside?
Write your Morning Pages outside: Are you a journaler? A lot of people like the nighttime journaling to empty thoughts from their mind and leave it on the page to have a good night's sleep, but maybe you add morning gratitude writing and creative flow into the mix?
You know your routine much better than we do. So just take a moment to reflect right now:
What part of your daily routine would be virtually unchanged if you took it outdoors?
Light Therapy Devices
While nothing beats the real thing, the quality of light therapy devices (and the scope of their use case scenarios) have improved greatly in recent years. Research has shown the impact these types of devices can have on mood as well as other health benefits.
Some of these may be lamps you put near your desk or bedside table, others may be portable wands. Each device is different, so it's a bit hard to come up with baseline rules for their best use, but we'll share some really general tips below for the effective use of light therapy devices as they could relate to boosting energy throughout the day:
Session length should be 20 to 30 minutes in the morning
Ensure the device emits at least 10,000 lux of light.
Position the device about 16 to 24 inches away from the face without directly staring into it.
Expert Insights
One of the experts you'll see us frequently reference on BodyStack is Andew Huberman. He is a neuroscientist with so many connections throughout the longevity industry, several episodes of his podcast have made our list of the Top 20 Greatest Longevity Podcast Episodes of All Time, and he validates anecdotal evidence with scientific findings.
He has a great article on his website that provides more depth on the relationship between sunlight and energy for your body, but here's a quick hit list of his top suggestions which have been reinforced throughout our article:
Prioritize exposure to natural sunlight within the first hour of waking.
Use light therapy devices if natural light is not available.
Integrating light exposure into morning routines to enhance energy and mood.
Bottom Line
Basking in the morning sun can be a potent strategy for priming your energy reserves for the day ahead. It can help align your body with nature's rhythms, optimizing your circadian clock at the same time. This can enhance your focus, mood, and productivity, and even set the stage for muscle growth.
Of all the things you can test out to improve your wellbeing, this is a relatively easy one to start trying. Keep tabs on how you're feeling on day one vs. two weeks in to adding sunshine into your mornings and hopefully you'll be feeling the positive results.
