Did you know that light is the most powerful factor governing when you sleep?

You’re probably familiar with the circadian rhythm, or your “internal clock” that governs when you sleep and wake.

While this internal clock is quite accurate, it has a downside. It needs to be reset each day to keep accurate time and to keep you sleeping consistently on schedule.

The most important factor in resetting your internal clock is light, and more specifically, morning sunlight.

From an evolutionary perspective, this makes perfect sense. Our hunter-gatherer ancestors didn’t have alarm clocks or artificial light. Instead, they slept when the sun went down and awoke when the sun came up. Biologically, we have the same internal mechanism as our ancestors, so our bodies still “expect” to awaken to natural morning sunlight.

We’re going to incorporate a short 15 minute morning walk into your daily routine.

Here are some tips to get the most out of your walk:

• Don’t wear sunglasses. The sunlight needs to be hitting your eyes to get maximum benefit (keep the glasses on if you need them for a medical condition or if the sun is so bright it hurts your eyes while outside)
• If it’s a dark and cloudy day you’re still getting the benefits of being outside, you may just want to stay out a little longer. Consider walking for closer to 30 minutes
• Go out as soon as you can after waking. Take a shower and get ready for the day as you normally would after getting back
• Try not to miss more than one day a week
• This will be most effective between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m., but before 9 am is still great
  

Go for a 15 minute morning walk immediately after waking

Tomorrow morning, go for a brief walk right after waking up. Try to go for at least 15 minutes. If that’s too hard to fit into your schedule, even a 5-minute walk will make a noticeable difference. If you wake up before the sunrise, wait until it is coming up to start your walk.‍

What if I can’t go for a walk in the morning?

• Open your windows and get sunlight that way. Open windows are best as the glass blocks a significant amount of UV light
• Turn on all the lights in the house. The brighter the better
• View bright LED light from your phone, tablet, or computer
• Stand outside for a few minutes and stretch
  

Now that you know the benefits of incorporating a morning walk into your routine, give it a try and note how you feel. It should help you have more energy throughout the day and a better night’s sleep in the evening.