Sleep is essential for good health. Modern science has shown in numerous ways that sleep quality is directly linked to both physical and mental health. When something disrupts sleep, affecting the quality or quantity of sleep, it can potentially affect your physical health, cognitive function, and mental well-being.
Surprisingly, winter can fall into that sleep-disturbing category. Winter primarily affects sleep through its influence on circadian rhythms and also through its influence on daily habits and behaviors.
How Light Plays a Role in Influencing Sleep During Winter
One of the most important ways that winter affects sleep is through the influence that the season can have on circadian rhythms. One of the regulatory roles that circadian rhythms play is the timing of the sleep-wake cycle. The mechanisms involved in that regulatory process are complex and involve the timing of the production and release of hormones such as melatonin. This hormone is important for the sleep-wake cycle because its higher nighttime levels promote sleep.
The winter months bring two major changes in light: fewer hours of daylight and, due to the Earth's position on its axis during this season, less intense daytime light.
These slight changes in themselves can be disruptive, especially for those who are more sensitive to such changes, such as those with seasonal affective disorder (SAD). However, our light-related responses can make the problem worse. Instead of being able to gradually and naturally adjust to the changing light levels, many people are affected by the transition from Daylight Savings Time to Standard Time. When the clocks go back an hour, it gets dark abruptly earlier by the clock. In addition, shorter days typically mean more exposure to artificial light during the evening hours. Exposure to artificial light in the evening disrupts both the circadian rhythm and the sleep-wake cycle.
These shifts in light can disrupt the timing of melatonin production, which in turn affects when we feel sleepy. Going to work or school when it’s dark and going outside when it’s almost dark can drastically reduce our exposure to natural light. That can negatively impact the health of our circadian rhythms, and therefore the timing and quality of our sleep.
Improve your sleep-wake rhythm
Improving your sleep-wake rhythm is easier than you might think. As you can read above, everything depends on light. Propeaq can help you improve your sleep-wake rhythm.
By applying 30 minutes of blue light in the morning, your body really wakes up and you start the day energetically. This is because the blue light simulates a sunrise that we often miss in the dark winter months. This blue light suppresses the production of the night hormone melatonin and stimulates the production of the stress hormone cortisol.
When you go to sleep, this process works in the opposite direction.
Before going to sleep, blocking this blue is important to suppress the production of the stress hormone cortisol and to support the production of the night hormone melatonin.
In short: Blue light in the morning wakes you up, and blocking this blue light in the evening makes you sleepy. It makes sense, right?
Source: www.chronobiology.com
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