Get Your Light Right
Humans are diurnal animals, which means we evolved under the sun. Our natural hormone cycles from the release of cortisol at sunrise, the production of thyroid and sex hormones throughout the day, and the production of melatonin at dusk. Our brain receives the signal of what hormones and in what amount to make from sunlight through the eyes. If the first light our eyes see in the morning is natural sunlight (whether it’s actually sunny or not), then it knows that approximately 12 hours later, cortisol should be low and production of melatonin should ramp up, helping with sleep and the mitochondrial healing that happens during sleep. When our eyes and skin receive UVA light in the morning, our hypothalamus knows to crank out certain hormones – think thyroid and sex hormones – in relation to the time of year and time of day in which we find ourselves.
If, however, the first light your eyes see is the blaring blue-light dominant LED bulbs from our bathroom, followed by the bright blue IPhone screen, our brain receives the signal that it is high noon in June and, thus, should be pumping out cortisol in response to the bright blue light. And our adrenals do just that… which overtime will throw off production of downstream hormones and melatonin.
Ironically, before the widespread use of LED bulbs in 2014 and the SmartPhone in 2013, this wasn’t as much of an issue. But, fast forward a decade and most of us begin the day with a phone scroll and within minutes are logged into our blue-light emitting laptops rather than enjoying sunrise. In response, our rates of depression, seasonal affective disorder, and hormone imbalance have risen dramatically.
So, what to do? Move to a yurt in the woods? Obviously not. Start with these tricks:
- Aim to mimic the light outside with the light inside as best as you can- if it’s dark outside, it shouldn’t look like an airport terminal in your house. Turn off the overhead LED lights (they are in the position of the noonday sun…), use table lamps (incandescent bulbs are best), Himalayan salt lamps, or candles. Hint: this calm lighting also supports a less frantic start to the day.
- Let the first light your eyes see be natural light, not your phone. (I know, this is tough one). Open the door or window (glass blocks beneficial light rays), take off your glasses, and gaze at the light for at least 5 minutes. Hint: if you are driving, just open the window a crack.
- If you wake before sunrise, wear some amber or yellow-tinted blue blocker glasses (see recommendations below) until the sunrise, then go outside for a few minutes of natural light before you start your day.
- Pre-dawn can also be a great time to layer in some red light therapy. Red and near infrared is really only present in nature from sunlight or heat, so utilizing a red light device for a few minutes every morning can help brighten mood as well as reduce inflammation and promote collagen production in the skin.
- Have no idea when sunrise even is? Download the app “Circadian Life” and sync to your location. Using this application, you can also set alarms to remind you to go outside during the day.
- Get bright daylight outside during the day as often as possible. Even when it is cloudy and overcast, the light outside is much brighter than that indoors and has been shown to improve mood in those with seasonal affective disorder. Set a timer and try to go outside, or at least crack a window or door for 5 minutes or so to remind your brain it is still daytime. This will also help that nighttime melatonin production.
- Buy some blue blockers with tinted lenses. The clear ones do not work. We recommend these companies: Bon Charge (use code “sutton” for 15% off), VivaRays (code YOGI for discount), or Spectra-479 (much lower price point, plus they have clip-ons).