What Is the Body's Connection Between Sleep and Sunlight?

Posted: February 26th, 2020

Time spent in bed is a very crucial part of our life. If you want to have more energy while you are awake and desire to commit to healthy living, you need to ensure quality deep sleep at night. One of the ways to improve your rest quality is to spend more time in the sun. There's a connection between the amount of time that you expose yourself to the sunlight throughout the day and how well you spend your night. Thus, your sleep begins in the morning, when you open the curtains of your window and see the light.

What is the connection?

Our bodies are connected to the sun's 24-hour circle. It so happens that we are day creatures. In nature, when the sun came out, people used to go out to hunt or to engage in other similar activities. When the sun does dawn, people returned to their shelters and the night creatures departed.When your eyes make contact with the sunlight, your body produces cortisol — a stress hormone that you need to manage with your daily tasks. However, when the sun does set, your body produces melatonin, a night hormone. Without melatonin, you can't experience healthy deep sleep.

From the science point of view

Research has shown that there's a direct correlation between your producing normal level of cortisol during the day, and your production of melatonin during the night. Thus, without sufficient time being outside, you can't count on good rest. If a person stays at home all day and only goes outside when the sun sets, their body is bound to get confused; it will not understand which of the two hormones it should produce. Besides, our skin has the ability to receive beneficial nutrients from the sunlight, one of which is vitamin D.