[This post covers Melatonin and Serotonin production & disruption, sleep habit, and the effect of natural vs. artificial light sources]
The first thing God made was light, and since then everything has grown under the sun. So what happens if we take sunshine out of our lives?
Your “internal clock” is how your body knows when to wake up and when to fall asleep, when to have an appetite and when to digest, it also regulates body temperature and when hormones are produced. This internal clock, called the circadian rhythm, runs on a 24 hour cycle. It’s impacted by lifestyle and environment. Normally our sleep pattern should be in sync with when it gets light or dark outside, but what’s throwing it off?
Habit: Staying up late and then needing to sleep in can quickly take control of your circadian rhythm
Physical activity: Not needing to rest physically because you’ve been inactive all day
Light sources: Staying up past dark and surrounding ourselves with artificial lights, and staying inside to keep direct daylight out of our system
One of these things is throwing off your internal clock- and it's probably been going on for a while. Maybe you have difficulty actually staying asleep at night, fighting daytime sleepiness and fatigue, and dealing with an increase of depression, stress, or anxiety (and even getting sick more often.)
What needs to be changed in our lifestyles to reset our internal clocks?
Let's take our younger siblings for example, they don't have nearly as much stress as we do, they get to bed on time and like waking up early, and they have constant energy. Bad habits haven’t thrown off their sleep patterns yet, because they are enforced with good habits.
Set bedtimes that must be obeyed
Some sort of bedtime routine that gets them settled down in the evenings
Limited screen time
And breaks to play, go outside, and exert themselves throughout the day
And we seem to think that we can stay up late doing homework on the computer and then throw ourselves into bed and sleep just fine. These habits that we “grew out of” are a big part of what’s affecting our health right now.
Habit:
If you recognize that you need to change your sleep-wake habit it’s going to take discipline, but you also want it to be enjoyable. Forming a bedtime routine and sticking with it will retrain your brain into recognizing that it's time to sleep, and keeping your room clean and inviting will make waking up earlier less frustrating.
Physical exhaustion:
I’ve recognized a funny pattern in my life to show how lifestyle affects sleep quality. Just how our little siblings are affected by taking naps and running around, we seem to only have energy when we use it. Sleeping in because you're still tired normally makes us more sluggish for the rest of the day whereas waking up at a decent time and exercising boots our energy.
When I exert myself on a regular basis I crave sleep at the end of the day, so instead of laying there tossing & turning & thinking I fall asleep and stay asleep because my body is using the time to repair. When we’re mentally exhausted, sleep is incredibly important for restoring the mind and often small amounts of sleep are enough, giving you the idea that you don't need as much sleep as people say. But when you actually workout in the day; shoveling the driveway, running with the dog and keeping up with your little siblings, and choosing to exert yourself at some point- you’ll fall asleep and wake up restored.
Pretty much, if we want to sleep well, we need to live well. And this brings us to the biggest point yet,
Light sources:
Teens are the most sensitive to all light sources, and today Americans view screen time as a family activity meant for evening use. We watch an episode or two after dinner or use the free time to play video games long, even after having been on the computer for hours of schoolwork. Use of screens should be limited to day time only because different light sources trigger the production of different hormones in our brains.
🌞 Serotonin is the Awake hormone; regulating everything that goes on while we’re awake; mood, emotions, appetite, and digestion. Serotonin (also known as the “happy hormone”) is produced when our retinas are stimulated by direct sunlight. Serotonin keeps us awake, focused, mentally calm and helps us cope with stress and anxiety.
What disrupts our serotonin production? If your body doesn’t get regular amounts of sunlight you’ll have more trouble staying fully awake and even not knowing when to produce melatonin. Our internal clocks rely on nature’s cycle of day and night, this is why staring at the blue light from devices tricks our minds into thinking there’s daylight to keep us awake.
🌚 Melatonin is the Sleep hormone, it’s produced in response to darkness, making us calm, sleepy and allowing us to heal while we rest. Natural lights like candles, salt lamps, and vintage oil burning lamps actually speed up the release of melatonin and sooth our eyes from strain caused by devices. Firelight mimics sunlight, who would have known looking into fire before falling asleep would make us healthier? cue images of every lifestyle before the 21st century
What disrupts our melatonin production? Any artificial lights in your home and specifically the blue lights from devices you stare at before bed. Blue light delays the release of melatonin. And even if you’re wearing blue light blocking glasses and using a light filter feature on your laptop, you’re still looking at a light that does not calm and cause melatonin to be produced.
I like to think of life in reference to being forced to live like pioneers; the only lights they had were fire, and once it was dark they couldn’t do much besides go to sleep. They were active all day whether it was in the household or at work, and they didn’t hide from sunshine. The term “Go out in the fresh air and sunshine” is used a lot less nowadays, and instead kids and teens suffer from anxiety, acne, unhealthy sleep cycles, and lack of creativity.
Comment and share your takeaways, how can we include more sunlight and natural lights in our lifestyles?
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