Study: Exposure to Morning Light Key To Weight Loss
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It seems if you get out of bed at a reasonable hour, and stick your head outside for about 30 minutes each day, you might be able to maintain a healthy weight, according to a groundbreaking new study.
The Los Angeles Times says researchers found, regardless of food intake, people who had at least half an hour of light exposure between 8am and noon were the most likely to have a low body mass index. Researchers believe the effect involves genes linked to the internal body clock that kick-start the metabolism.
“Light is the most potent agent to synchronize your internal body clock that regulates circadian rhythms, which in turn also regulate energy balance,” says the lead researcher, who notes that many people fail to get enough natural light in the morning, the Telegraph reports. She says the finding suggests that workplaces and schools should have more windows, and employees and students should be encouraged to spend morning breaks outside. “This is something we could institute early on in our schools to prevent obesity on a larger scale,” she says.
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This makes sense to me for several reasons based on things I’ve heard from reasonably credible sources (Respectable docs on AM news, Consumer Reports, etc….sorry, I can’t cite. This just isn’t controversial enough to warrant the effort.)
1. Circadian rhythms are pretty crucial to overall health. There is good evidence that maintaining a regular sleep schedule is important. For example, “sleeping in” on weekends is bad for your health. “They” recommend getting up at the same time each day.
2. Daylight exposure is important to health. Most of us seem to suffer from Vitamin D shortage…directly related to too-little exposure to the sun. Our lifestyle evolved from a largely agrarian or hunter/gatherer model to an indoor work and living model in the last couple of centuries. The pace of this change accelerated in “developed” nations only recently, because much of the “industrial” and “agricultural” economy has moved to less-developed nations and/or become mechanized. Even a typical farmer spends much of the time inside an air conditioned tractor cab, with glass filtering out many of the beneficial (and harmful) effects of sun exposure.
3. There’s something to be said for getting your ass out of bed and out the door in the morning…and not just for the jaunt to the car. There is a LOT implied with the 30 minutes of morning “light exposure.” Few simply walk out the door and sit on their asses for half an hour. Instead, those 30 minutes are usually spent in some sort of “activity”…from walking or jogging to bicycling to simply doing morning chores such as gardening, etc. The point is that the 30 minutes of outdoor light exposure are indicative of something far more healthy in the way of activity. Let’s start with the fact that those 30 minutes are likely to be spent NOT looking at a screen of some sort. 🙂
As for the healthful effects for kids…living about 20 minutes’ walk to school (too close for a bus yet far enough that it takes some time to get there) is EXTREMELY healthy for kids. And for kids who take a bus, there is a LOT of merit to the idea of having a community bus stop rather than the “door-to-door” service so many enjoy.
Get off my lawn! 🙂
Thanks Jim.
I’m a runner Jim and yesterday I saw an article, cannot remember where, that said jogging can be bad for your health. One day something is good for you next day we’re all doomed from that something that was good yesterday.
Coincidentally Jess I will be publishing an article later today or tomorrow that says something close to that. It seems moderate runners will live longer than lazy folk, but heavy duty runners will die sooner. Doomed I say. Doomed.
I should say my goodbyes now then, since I am an everyday gots to get my run on runner.
I think they’re talking about those peoples who run hundreds of miles a week and shit. Is that you?
This cannot be real. Has to be a late April fools thing because this is almost as bad as pray to the invisible sky daddy and you too will lose weight if this is your prayer. The only way you would get weight loss looking out a window, is if you have to have surgery to remove big heavy masses of skin cancer being exposed to the sun. Eat less, move more, unless you have some kind of ailment where nothing you do can help with your weight, is the best healthy living.