Learn with me all the benefits of morning sunlight for your health. From regulating your circadian rhythms, improving mood and sleep, benefitting your skin, eyes, and immune system, morning sunlight is an important part of a healthy lifestyle.
In today’s fast-paced world, we often overlook the natural rhythms that have shaped our health for millennia. One of the simplest yet most powerful ways to boost your well-being is by harnessing the power of morning sunlight.
If you have been out in the morning sunlight before, you know how good it feels. The world is still quiet, nature is just waking up, and the soft light feel like a gentle hug on your skin. It makes you feel like your whole body is waking up with a deep breath of fresh energy. It’s calm, grounding, and quietly powerful, like nature’s way of saying, “You’ve got this.”
Early exposure to natural light can help regulate your circadian rhythm, set the tone for a productive day, enhance mood, improve sleep quality, and so much more! But what’s behind this, and how can we make it a part of our daily routine? Let’s dive into the science and benefits of morning sunlight, and discover how this simple habit can transform your health, mood, and overall vitality.
The power of light for your health
When we think about healthy living we oftentimes focus on healthy food choices or eliminating toxic chemicals from our life. But did you know that light has a great impact on many aspects of our health?
As John Ott discusses in his book Health and Light, natural light is not just beneficial but necessary for human health. Modern lifestyles, with their heavy reliance on artificial lighting and time spent indoors, may be silently undermining our health and well-being. Spending more time outdoors and reconnecting with natural light can bring significant improvements to physical and mental health.
Dr Ott argues that full-spectrum natural sunlight is essential the regulation of many bodily processes and for maintaining circadian rhythms. For example, light influences hormones and cellular function. Because of this, insufficient exposure to natural light can lead to fatigue, depression, hyperactivity, reproductive issues, and weakened immune response.
The danger of modern artificial lighting
In Health and Light, Dr Ott also finds a correlation between exposure to artificial lights and certain health conditions, including cancer. This is particularly true for fluorescent and LED lights that emit excessive blue light without balancing red/infrared, as well as blue lights from screens. Excessive exposure to blue light can cause stress, hyperactivity, insomnia, eye strain, and even hormonal imbalances.
It is always a good idea to swap out all fluorescent and LED lights in your home with warm halogen bulbs or full spectrum incandescent lights, richer in red and infrared wavelengths. If you spend a lot of time indoors with a source of artificial light on, you might want to consider investing in some full spectrum bulbs such as the Chromalux® Full Spectrum Bulbs.
The best light source remains natural sunlight, so make sure to let that in your house, and to spend enough time outdoors!
What are the benefits of morning sunlight?
Thanks to its particular wavelengths, morning sunlight affects and benefits different aspects of our health:
- Circadian rhythms and sleep
- Mood and productivity
- Eyes
- Skin
- Immune system
Morning sunlight can regulate circadian rhythms
What is circadian rhythm? The circadian rhythm is the body’s internal clock. It regulates important functions and synchronizes it with the 24-hour day-night cycle. For example, it controls hormone secretion, body temperature, digestion, and makes us feel alert/sleepy.
Our circadian clock mainly relies on two hormones: cortisol and melatonin. In short, cortisol makes us be awake and alert, while melatonin makes us feel sleepy. The secretion of these hormones in our body is determined by – guess what – light! Bright light, in particular blue light, activates cortisol secretion. Darkness activates melatonin secretion.
So now you might understand why spending a lot of time in front of screens (hello, blue light!) in the evening can result in difficulties falling and staying asleep. Always try to avoid bright, cold lights in the evening and night to increase melatonin production and get a good, restful sleep.
On the other hand, when you your eyes get natural morning sunlight (a cold natural light rich in blue wavelengths), your body produces and releases cortisol. Cortisol also reduces melatonin. For these reasons, exposure to morning sunlight makes us feel awake and more energetic, and resets our internal clock.
Morning sunlight can improve your sleep
Because exposure to morning sunlight “resets” our internal clock, it also helps improving night sleep. When our eyes get morning sunlight, our brain get the signal to “be alert now” and “melatonin will start in 12-14 hours from now”.
Thanks to your internal clock, your body knows when to wake up and when to sleep, which improves sleep onset, depth, and regularity. Studies also show that people exposed to bright morning light start producing melatonin earlier at night and fall asleep faster.
Morning sunlight can improve your mood and productivity
When our eyes are exposed to the wavelengths in morning sunlight, our body not only produces cortisol (the energy hormone), but also serotonin (the feel-good neurotransmitter). These two hormones act together to make you feel happier and more productive.
Cortisol makes you feel alert, energetic, and mentally sharp. Studies show that people who don’t get exposed to natural sunlight in the morning have late spike in cortisol and feel foggy and unmotivated. Serotonin is crucial for mood stability, impulse control, and focus. Studies show that serotonin levels are directly correlated with sun exposure.
Get some morning light to set the tone for a happier, more productive day!
Morning sunlight can protect your eyes and improve vision
Morning light is incredibly nourishing for the eyes. It can improve vision, overall eye health, hormonal regulation, and long-term protection against disease.
For example, studies suggest that getting more exposure to natural sunlight, especially during childhood, can reduce the risk of developing myopia (nearsightedness). Morning sunlight helps the eyes focus better and contributes to eye health by supporting healthy development in children and adults.
Natural sunlight can also help maintain the health of the retina, which is important for vision clarity. The right amount of light exposure helps the eyes produce the necessary nutrients, like dopamine, which is vital for good vision.
Remember to avoid wearing sunglasses when getting out in the morning sunlight for maximum benefits!
Morning sunlight can protect your skin and boost vitamin D
You’ve probably heard often enough that sun exposure is bad for your skin and can cause melanoma. While it is true that excessive sun exposure at high UV (ultra violet) index can lead to sunburn and skin disease, safe sun exposure is beneficial for your health.
Exposing your bare skin to sunlight activates the production of vitamin D, an essential hormone for calcium metabolism, bone health, immune function, cardiovascular and metabolic health. Vitamin D levels also influence mood, brain function, and hormonal balance.
Vitamin D production reaches its peak at high UV index, such as in the central hours of the day, in the summer, and at low latitudes.
But let’s go back to morning sunlight! Even though exposing your skin to morning sunlight won’t take care of all your vitamin D needs, it can still help boost your levels. Exposing your skin to the low UVs sunlight in the morning helps protect your skin from more aggressive sunlight later in the day.
It boost melanin production and triggers the body to produce antioxidants like glutathione and superoxide dismutase. This means that when you expose your skin to sunlight in the first hours of the day, you’ll tolerate sunlight better in the stronger midday sun, reducing your risk of sunburn, oxidative stress, and skin damage. This also means that you’ll be able to synthetize more vitamin D.
Morning sunlight exposure also helps to promote healthy collagen production, which is important for maintaining skin elasticity and preventing premature aging. Read more about collagen here! It can also enhance skin tone and texture by stimulating the skin’s natural processes, promoting a healthier appearance.
Always remember, though, to avoid exposing your skin to the sun excessively when the UV index is high! Avoid spending prolonged periods in the sun at midday, seek shade, or wear protective clothes or mineral sunscreen.
The benefits of morning sunlight for your immune system
Finally, exposure to morning sunlight can boost your immune system and helps keep you protected from infections. How? By resetting your internal clock and causing cortisol peak at the right time and improving sleep quality; by potentially increasing vitamin D levels; by increasing the production of serotonin, which decreases inflammation; by potentially boosting and regulating melatonin production at night, which acts as an antioxidant and supports immune regulation.
Morning sunlight is important for your children’s health
Remember, all the benefits of morning sunlight apply also (and especially) to children! From the moment they are born, babies can benefit tremendously from even just a few minutes on sunlight in the morning. It really helps set and regulate their circadian rhythms, sleep better, and be overall healthier and happier.
Plus, during the hot summer days, early morning is the perfect time (and sometimes only) to bring small children outdoors without risking heat exhaustion or heat stroke.
For older children, exposure to sunlight and especially morning sunlight has even been linked to better cognitive and emotional development, academic performance, better behavior and focus!
All great reasons to spend more time outdoors with your children and step out first thing in the morning!
How to take advantage of morning sunlight and improve your health
To get all the benefits of morning sunlight try starting your day outside as soon as you can. Spending 5-20 minutes outside as soon as you wake up (if the sun is already up) is the best way to benefit from morning sunlight. If it’s dark when you wake up or if you can’t go outside right away, flip on as many bright indoor artificial lights (full spectrum is best) as possible. Then get outside as soon as the sun is out.
If you can, take a morning walk, step out in your backyard to do some chores, and encourage children to go outside and play shortly after they wake up.
If going outside isn’t an option, open your curtains and/or your windows to let in as much natural light as possible. Maybe set up the breakfast table by a window (east-facing is best) and enjoy all the natural light coming into your house.
For areas with limited sunlight or harsh weather
When and where sunlight is limited or the weather is too harsh to go outside, you can still get some of the benefits of morning sunlight in other ways.
For example, maximize indoor light during the day by opening windows as much as possible and using bright full spectrum lights throughout your house. This will help your internal clock know it’s time to wake up! You can also try using light therapy boxes in the morning. These can mimic natural sunlight and help regulate circadian rhythms. Finally, if needed, take vitamin D supplements to keep your levels up. Try a Vit D3 + K2 supplement for the best absorption.
Drop me a comment down below to let me know if you incorporate morning sunlight into your daily routine and your favorite morning rituals 🙂
Sources and additional resources
A Complete Guide to Health and Light by Healthlighting.com
Using Light for Health by Hubermanlab.com
Sunlight: Good For the Eyes as well as the Brain by Dr. Phil Maffetone
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Disclaimer: this post is for informational purposes only and not medical advice. Consult a healthcare professional for personalized recommendations.
