Let the Light in - Ten tips to help light naturally improve your sleep

Every single day your body will go through seismic internal changes, which although we may not be consciously aware of, allows us to effectively function during the daytime and rest and recuperate at night.

This natural cycle is a biological version of a clock and is called the Circadian Rhythm. Circadian Rhythms are found throughout the living world, from bacteria to plants, fungi to animals and humans, and influence a person’s daily cycle of physical, behavioural and mental changes. These include changes in temperature, metabolic rate, hormone releases and sets the timings for eating and drinking and bowel movements, and of course, daytime functioning and sleep.

The term Circadian Rhythms literally means “about a day” in Latin and the body clock is around 24 hours and 15 minutes long, which is slightly out of sync with the daily rotation of the earth, meaning it is in constant need of being reset with the outside world.

The most prolific way the body clock resets itself to the outside world is through light. Sunlight is the foremost signal know as a “zeitgeber” and sets the internal world to the external world and when light touches any cell the body it will begin to cause the body clock to change into “daytime mode”.

Light increases alertness and delays sleep, and daylight is by far the greatest light source there is. The LUX (the measure of the intensity of light on the human eye) is around 10,000 on an overcast day and up to 100,000 LUX on a bright sunny day. To compare how bright this is, a typical office setting is around 300 LUX, whereas 3 candles in a dark room represent around 3 LUX. However, due to the ingenious way our eyes can adapt to different light levels, we hardly notice much of a difference when going from one light source to another. 

Getting in sync with your body’s natural Circadian Rhythm will help regulate your sleep/wake body clock. The best way to do this is to seek enough sunlight during the day and total darkness at night. This will help your body clock set regular internal changes that prepare the body for daytime activity and night-time sleep. Having regular sleep and wake times will cause you to feel much more refreshed and energised after sleep than if you sleep the same number of hours at different times.

10 steps to help your brain reset your body clock and improve your sleep:

1.          Set regular sleep / wake timings - Try and maintain similar times when you go to sleep and when you wake up - even during weekends - to help regulate your body clock and avoid social jetlag.

2.          Wake up to light - The best way to kick your body into action is to find the light as soon as you wake. If in Winter it’s dark outside, consider investing in a sun lamp alarm clock, which will gradually get brighter to simulate the rising of the sun. If it’s light when you wake up, open up your curtains straight away and bathe your bedroom in sunlight.

3.          Have breakfast by the window - If you’re up before the sun’s up, try and eat near a sun lamp and make sure you get outside mid-morning to get some sun light. 

4.          Have lunch outside (or by a window) – It’s vital your body is in tune with daylight – seek out some sun during the day (even on an overcast day). 

5.          Set up a pre-sleep routine - Reduce your light intake at least thirty minutes before bedtime -Kids have one (bath, story, bed) you can create one too! Set yourself a routine before you sleep, let your brain know its nearly time for bed. Think about lighting up candles before bed and turning down or off the electric lights. 

6.          Cut out the blue light for at least an hour before bed - Blue light suppresses the onset of melatonin which is the hormone that enables the onset of sleep. Try and cut out looking at your phone, laptops and TV screen an hour or so before you sleep. For alternatives you could consider having a bath, reading or listening to the radio before bed.  

7.          Make sure your bathroom isn’t too bright - What’s the last thing that most of us do before we sleep? We stand in a brightest room in the house (the bathroom), looking into the mirror, cleaning our teeth. What that’s saying to the brain is to prepare us to be alert. Invest in a bathroom lamp or better yet, a dimmer switch.  

8.          Make your bedroom a tech free zone – remove your tv, keep your phone and laptops out - buy a battery alarm clock. As well as stopping the blue light onslaught before your sleep, this will take away any light exposure from LED lights and will reduce the low level electrical magnetic field radiation (EMF) that emits from those devices. Your bedroom should be reserved for two things, primarily sleeping. 

9.          Invest in blackout curtains – this is particularly important for the short summer nights as blackout curtains will stop the light flooding in late at night and earlier than you require in the mornings. 

10.     Chase the sun – plan activities / travel schedules around when there is natural light. Make it a rule in your life to seek the sun at any opportunity, whether it’s going outside or by a window. Not only will it increase your vitamin D consumption it will help regulate the body clock and in turn your sleep patterns. But remember to take care and always wear sun cream!