A Simple Way to Boost Your Mood, Improve Sleep, and Optimize Productivity

Adopt this habit and see how your life improves.

We are living out of alignment with how our bodies have evolved to live.

And this is wreaking havoc on both our physical and mental health. One of the biggest ways in which we are out of alignment is our lack of daylight exposure and over-exposure to artificial light. Both of these independently have consequences of their own, but combined can lead to all sorts of issues.

But by simply increasing our exposure to daylight, we can boost our mood, improve our sleep, and increase our productivity.

“Your body was not designed for this lifestyle — your ancestors were outside taking in the morning light, afternoon light, and evening light at precisely the right times to keep your body’s circadian rhythm aligned. Your circadian rhythm — your body’s internal clock — regulates your digestion, mental health, immune system, sleep, and more, and when it’s disrupted by artificial light, the results can be catastrophic.” — Ben Greenfield

The Problem

“Our modern lifestyle, in which we spend most of our time indoors looking at bright screens and turn on bright lights at night, activates melanopsin at the wrong times of day and night, which then disrupts our circadian rhythms and reduces the production of the sleep hormone melatonin; as a result, we cannot get restorative sleep. When we wake up the next day and spend most of our day indoors, the dim indoor light cannot fully activate melanopsin, which means that we cannot align our circadian clock to the day-night cycle, making us feel sleepy and less alert.” — Dr. Satchin Panda

Daylight exposure is crucial for good health.

We often speak of the importance of bright light exposure in the morning to reset the circadian rhythm. But optimizing our circadian rhythm is an all-day process — while morning light exposure is important, our exposure to light throughout the entire day plays a huge role. If we spend a lot of time indoors in dimly lit rooms, our bodies can’t get an accurate gauge on what time of day it is.

“Excess or poorly timed artificial light exposure can cause a person’s circadian rhythm to be misaligned with the day-night schedule. This can throw their sleep out-of-whack and induce other concerning health impacts including worsened metabolism, weight gain, cardiovascular problems, and perhaps even an elevated cancer risk.” — Sleep Foundation

Action Steps

“We need at least one hour of daylight exposure — being outside, driving in your car, sitting by a window where you can soak up at least 1000 lux of light — to reduce sleepiness, synchronize your clock, perk up your mood, and stay happy and productive throughout the day.” — Dr. Satchin Panda

• Get outside as often as you can. Even an overcast day is a lot brighter than indoor lights.
• Sit by a window whenever possible. Sitting by a window while you work is especially beneficial.
• Avoid wearing sunglasses when safe to do so. Sunglasses block the bright light (obviously) which means our bodies don’t register this time as bright daylight exposure.
• Aim for a minimum of 2 hours of daylight exposure, every single day. This doesn’t have to be all at once — even a few 15 minute breaks outside will add up.

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