Here’s how the sun might help you fight fatigue!

The sun delivers your daily melatonin patch and helps you optimize your time and energy. Read ahead to find out how!

“ Night owl. ” (/ˈnʌɪt aʊl/)

This word has become as common among humans as their messed up sleep patterns. Merriam-Webster defines it as “someone who keeps late hours at night.” And I’m sure we know at least a dozen people who fit into that category, maybe from school or work, or your neighbours whose lights are never out.

But what if it’s a circadian rhythm disruption, manifesting as your love to stay up in the dark hours? Your internal clock repeats once every 24 hours, and your body would like to adjust it according to your environment, food habits, and energy levels throughout the day. When your body clock goes nuts, your quality of sleep, energy levels throughout the day, and as a result everything else you do, just degrades.

Disruption of sleep and sudden changes in sleep cycles causes melatonin release to become erratic which has been associated with loss of concentration and cognitive control, susceptibility to cardiovascular and metabolic disease, and a weakened immune system. Circadian rhythm disorders include delayed sleep phase disorder, advanced sleep phase disorder, jet lag, shift work disorder, irregular sleep-wake rhythm, and non-24-h sleep-wake syndrome. The major symptoms of these disorders include insomnia, excessive daytime sleepiness, difficulty waking up in the morning, sleep loss, depression, poor work or school performance, no desire to socialize, and lower energy and productivity in general.

So, what are we doing wrong? How do we fix this?

The sun quite literally seems like what our world revolves around. In mythology, we can come across examples such as Helios- the personification of the sun; Apollo, god of the Sun and light; Sol- the Norse sun goddess; Surya- The Hindu sun God, and many more. Mythology has documented many solar Gods and Goddesses bestowed with powers to sustain, nourish, heal, or hurt their mortal subjects. Apollo is a fine example since he is the God of the Sun as well as disease. This was our ancestors’ way of foreshadowing the healing effects of the sun, as well as the mutagenic property of UV rays.

History has witnessed the Sun being unanimously chosen as the chief deity for many early civilizations. Egyptians worshipped The Sun, or Ra, as the creator of the universe and life, a giver of warmth and growth. Inca, Mayan, and Aztec religions identified and worshipped natural entities as Gods, and the Sun is their Supreme God.

Ayurveda prescribed an entire timetable that revolves around the activity of nature, and of course, the Sun. The ancient Hindu Dinacharya recommends one should be in tune with the energies of nature. With our schedules at par with the sun, we can harness the maximum benefit of our time. As a child of nature, we thrive at our best when we are in sync with the rhythms of the earth, sun, and moon. But let’s not steer away from our topic.

As diurnal creatures, ideally, we should be going about our daily activities in broad daylight, and roosting together after sundown. Or at least that’s how we are naturally programmed. But for various reasons or the simple romanticization of it, the “night owl” concept has become popular among humans, especially college students and working-age people. Deadlines, poor planning, procrastination, etc., or simply a desire to binge watch tv series can contribute to their need of staying up late. But as a result of this, they go completely out of sync with nature, throwing their circadian rhythm off track.

The human circadian rhythm is regulated by the pineal hormone- melatonin. And here’s a fact: Melatonin production depends on optical exposure to (sun)light. It is produced during the dark hours, and its production halts when there is sunlight falling on your retina. The production of melatonin is also affected by the seasonal variation of insolation. Exposure to sunlight in the morning is beneficial as it triggers the onset of nocturnal melatonin late in the evening, ensuring a good night’s sleep for the person. Exposure to bright sunlight in the morning has also been beneficial in improving sleep patterns in insomnia patients.

Now this gives rise to another question- Is it just sunlight that can do these miracles or any source of white light will do the job? A kid in school had asked the same question regarding photosynthesis in my class, and I’ll tell you what the teacher told us then- It depends!

Yes, it can work, but only very bright artificial light can cause the same effect that natural sunlight will do. In fact, people, mostly researchers who work in the Poles are affected by the abnormal patterns of insolation there and often complain about fragmented sleep. Phototherapy, in which they are subjected to high-intensity white light throughout the day hours remedied their sleep time delay. Along with that external melatonin is also administered to correct the side effects of this polar-sunshine aberration.

The next question we have is- Is melatonin the only hormone whose production is regulated by exposure to the sun, or is there more than meets the retina?

How often have we felt sluggish and upset because the weather was gloomy? When the sun hasn’t been out for a few days, and we just don’t feel like getting out of bed? Believe me, it’s not the story of every student- because the sun does have a say in the production of the precursor of melatonin! The one and only — Serotonin. Serotonin is produced during the day and converted to melatonin at night. It is one of the chief neuro-transmitters which deals with optimism, satisfaction, happiness, and all good things. No wonder sunny fields are a metaphor for happiness and cloudy ones for gloominess. Even 15- 20 minutes of basking in the Sun can ensure a calm, happy and focused disposition.

This brings us to the conclusion that some of the simplest fixes for most of our problems have been given to us by nature, yet we keep going further and further away from it, leading to myriad lifestyle issues. Readjusting our sleep schedules and getting out in the sunlight more often can have a significant difference in our overall quality of life. So what are you waiting for? Set your alarms! Ditch your sunglasses! Slather some sunblock! Embrace your days, sunny side up!