28/08/2022
Der er tider at få i september. 👍💚🦋
While you are awake, the light from the sun, indoor lights, and electronics goes into your eye, hits your retina, is transmitted to the suprachiasmatic nucleus, and then to the pineal gland. This is an area of the brain where serotonin is synthesized into melatonin based on the light/dark signal. If light is hitting this area, melatonin synthesis is suppressed and cortisol production is ramped up. If light is not hitting this area, melatonin is formed and cortisol is suppressed.
This is crucial because melatonin, your rest and relax hormone, makes you feel tired and enhances your sleep quality. Cortisol, on the other hand, is your get-up-and-go hormone. It is responsible for signaling your body to make energy and motivating you to be active. As would make sense, you want the hormone responsible for sleep highest near bedtime and lowest in the morning and vice versa.
To use the power of light, expose yourself to 15 minutes of sunlight each morning, and as the day turns to night, avoid screens and bright lights. Also, pick a bedtime and try to stick to it. For me, it’s 10:00 pm, and then I’m up by 6:00 am.
I recommend making your bedroom as pitch black as possible when you’re going to bed at night. Black out curtains are a great investment but using whatever you have on hand (blankets, sheets, etc.) to fully cover your windows can work just as well.
I’m also a fan of easy hacks like using dark tape to cover up any lights on devices or power strips—they might seem small but they can still have a big impact.
Study: https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2113290119
