Time spent in outdoor light is associated with mood, sleep, and circadian rhythm-related outcomes

[David PS]

There are are over 300 different threads on the forum related to sleep and insomnia issues. This paper found that the number of hours spent outdoors during the daytime may be one of the root causes. There does not seem to be much chatter on the forum about sleep during the summer months.

Time spent in outdoor light is associated with mood, sleep, and circadian rhythm-related outcomes: A cross-sectional and longitudinal study in over 400,000 UK Biobank participants

Light has powerful effects on mood, sleep, and the circadian system. Humans evolved in an environment with a clear distinction between day and night, …

www.sciencedirect.com

Conclusions​

Our findings suggest that low daytime light exposure is an important environmental risk factor for mood, sleep, and circadian-related outcomes.

How much time did you spend outside today?

 

[A-Tim]

In general my sleep is okay but not great. I wake up several times thru the night, often to pee. Occasionally with the high cortisol reaction in early morning, about 1am'ish.

I recently spent time in Japan on holidays for two weeks. Despite travelling (which everyone knows makes it difficult to be healthy), I had much better sleep than normal. I was outside for the majority of the day, walking around, checking out the sites. I was also off the computer, which is where I spend much of my time for my day job. Just an anecdote, but supports the point you're making.