Melatonin, cortisol & sleep cycles
Why you need to make opening your blinds the first thing you do each morning
Melatonin and cortisol orchestrate our sleep-waking cycle. Melatonin is also a powerful antioxidant (mopping up free radicals, bad cells, in the night). Cortisol is a hormone that controls the awake part, its meant to be low at night so you can stay asleep and slowly rises in the morning, peaking at the time you wake up. It also stimulates your appetite for a big breakfast, after breakfast levels drop again until its lowest point whilst you’re asleep. Cortisol also doubles up as a stress hormone, so high levels in the day make you feel anxious and easily overwhelmed, abnormally hungry and makes it harder to fall asleep.
Exposure to bright morning light causes:
melatonin (sleepy hormone) to decrease,
cortisol (wakeful hormone) to increase,
helps regulate insulin (literally helping with weight management even if you change nothing else in your diet).
helps with mental health issues such as depression & anxiety (studies have found it helps MORE than antidepressants do and even if you are on antidepressants it helps them be more effective)
helps you sleep better (falling asleep faster and a better quality sleep once you do)
Obviously we want some lunchtime sun too if possible (for that vitamin D!)
Before bed:
Under natural lighting conditions, your body begins producing melatonin to induce sleep around sunset. The amount of melatonin in your bloodstream slowly increases, reaching its peak at 2AM. Then, melatonin levels slowly fall as your body transitions to morning and stay low throughout the day. You should go to bed at 10-11pm and wake up between 6-7am in that case, and transition into dim light mode between 6-8pm. So try dim your lights around this time and turn off your screens! They emit blue light and inhibit melatonin and are highly stimulating and wake your brain up.
Try to sleep in a very dark room. Even a little light when you are sleep suppresses melatonin and disrupts sleep quality AND increases insulin resistance! Try take screens out the room, and get rid of little charging lights. If you have to have eg a clock in the room try get one with red lights instead of blue, white or green, as red lights don’t inhibit melatonin as much.
So for good melatonin production:
Schedule sleep, go to bed every night at the same time (preferably between 10-11pm) and wake up between 6-7am
Try not to change the schedule, even on the weekends
Practice good sleep hygiene – dim lights and avoid screens 2 hours before bed, stop eating 3 hours before bed – only water and herbal teas, only use bed for sleeping and sex (not reading, working and TV)
Sleep in a cool & very dark room
For managing cortisol levels:
Relaxation techniques like meditation, aromatherapy, hot baths,
Bedtime teas! Camomile, lemon balm
Only drink coffee (or green/black tea) in the morning (preferably 30 min minimum post breakfast) – caffeine is a stimulant. It keeps you awake by blocking adenosine (a neurotransmitter which builds up over the day causing you to feel sleepy)
Avoid smoking, drinking and sleeping pills, including melatonin supplements – they disrupt your natural sleep cycles and circadian rhythm giving you medicated sleep – not the same as restorative sleep