Why Your Body Needs Natural Light to Sleep Great

Your efforts to be healthy should extend beyond eating a well-balanced diet of organic foods and getting the exercise your body needs to stay strong. The environment you’re in plays a big role in how your body, mind, and soul feels at the end of the day when you climb onto your PranaSleep premium mattress!

Most of us would prefer to live our lives under the warmth of the sun rather than under the buzz and glare of fluorescent bulbs. There’s a good reason we like it so much; it’s healthier for us! Even if you didn’t realize it, your body and mind crave this sunlight. Beyond fighting off seasonal depression and giving your body the Vitamin D you need, access to sunlight actually helps us sleep better. It may seem odd that light leads to sleep, but because health and sleep often go hand in hand, it’s not that surprising that natural light affects both. Let’s take a deeper look into the effects that non-natural lighting has on your overall health, including your sleep, and how natural lighting is much better for you.

The Effects of Artificial Light

It’s important to first understand that one of the main reasons artificial lights are wreaking havoc on our health doesn’t have anything to do with what the lightbulb itself is made from. As indoor lights were invented and became more popular, they allowed people to remain awake long past sunset. These artificial lights caused society to move farther and farther away from natural sleep patterns, the patterns our bodies desperately want. 

Your body’s circadian rhythm is your 24-hour sleep/wake cycle. Artificial light disrupts your ability to stick to this natural, healthy rhythm and has been shown to affect things like brain wave patterns, hormone production, and even cell regulation. This disruption has also been linked to medical issues like depression, obesity, certain cancers, and heart disease. 

Not surprisingly, those who use artificial light so often they deviate from their natural circadian rhythm have more struggles with sleep disorders like insomnia. Scientists believe this is possibly because it causes the suppression of melatonin, a sleep-inducing hormone.

Incorporate Natural Lighting into Your Day

Use the daylight to give your body the natural sunlight it needs. Of course, a walk, bike ride, or yoga session outside is a great opportunity to take two healthy actions at once. Break free of your four walls by taking your lunch break outside or relaxing on your patio and basking in the evening sun.

Research has also proven that there are real benefits associated with spending time in indoor spaces that offer abundant natural light. You don’t always need to be outside for your body to reap the benefits of lighting! One simple way to go about it is to open your drapes and let the light flow in! You may also want to decorate your home in a chic white style to take advantage of the color’s reflective properties. If you don’t have a ton of opportunities for natural light in your home because of few windows, some well-placed mirrors will bounce the sunlight throughout the house. 

Fixing the Problem

Beyond getting natural light throughout the day, a few small changes at night can help minimize the problems associated with poor sleep due to artificial light. For starters, avoid all artificially lit screens, like televisions, tablets, and phones, right before bedtime. Use light at night only when it’s absolutely needed. Allow your body to understand it is night, crawl into bed, and fall gently to sleep on a mattress that cradles you in comfort.

The more natural your lifestyle is, the more likely you are to be happy and healthy. Let natural light into your bedroom! Beyond this, make sure you’re spending the night on a high-quality premium mattress made from organic and natural materials. Our mattress collection generously incorporates organic cotton and wool along with 100% natural Talalay Latex, our Dharma Collection has all-natural wool, silk, and cashmere, and that is only the beginning. By building a sleep oasis free of harmful, unnatural chemicals, your body will find the deep rest it needs to feel restored in the morning.