Neuroscientist: You Will NEVER Lack Energy Again | Andrew Huberman
Summary
TLDRThe video script emphasizes the importance of morning sunlight exposure for enhancing wakefulness and improving sleep quality. It explains how sunlight stimulates cortisol production, which boosts metabolism and focus. The speaker advises viewers to get outside within the first hour of waking, especially on clear or cloudy days, to receive adequate light exposure. They also note that artificial light is insufficient for this purpose and can disrupt sleep if used late at night. The script provides practical tips for incorporating morning sunlight viewing into daily routines.
Takeaways
- 🌞 **Morning Sunlight Boost**: Exposure to bright sunlight within 30-60 minutes of waking up can trigger a cortisol spike, enhancing metabolism and focus.
- 🌡️ **Body Temperature Connection**: A natural increase in body temperature upon waking up stimulates the release of cortisol, which is crucial for alertness and immune function.
- 🕒 **Timing is Key**: The cortisol peak should occur early to ensure optimal wakefulness and to set the stage for a good night's sleep.
- 👀 **Light-Sensitive Neurons**: Intrinsically photosensitive melanopsin cells in the eye are most responsive to light right after waking, signaling the brain to release cortisol.
- 🌳 **Outdoor Importance**: It's essential to get outside to receive sunlight, as it's the most effective way to stimulate these neurons and the associated wakefulness mechanisms.
- 🌤️ **Cloudy Day Adjustments**: On cloudy days, it's still beneficial to get outside to capture as much light energy as possible, even if the sun isn't visible.
- 🚫 **Avoid Sunglasses**: It's recommended not to wear sunglasses during morning sunlight exposure to maximize the light's effect on the retina.
- 🏠 **Artificial Light Limitations**: Artificial lights are not as effective as sunlight in the morning and can disrupt sleep if used late at night.
- 📏 **Exposure Duration**: The amount of sunlight exposure needed varies but generally ranges from 5 minutes on clear days to 20-30 minutes on heavily overcast days.
- 🌏 **Geographic Considerations**: The amount of light needed can depend on factors like location, cloud cover, and personal eye sensitivity.
- 💡 **Alternatives for Limited Sunlight**: In places with limited natural light, using sunlight simulators or bright artificial lights like ring lights can be a substitute.
Q & A
What is the primary purpose of viewing bright light early in the morning?
-The primary purpose of viewing bright light early in the morning is to trigger an increase in cortisol levels, which enhances metabolism, focus, and physical movement, leading to improved wakefulness during the day and better sleep at night.
Why is cortisol important for the body's natural rhythm?
-Cortisol is important for the body's natural rhythm because it is released upon waking and helps to increase metabolism and mental focus. When cortisol is elevated at the right times, it also supports the immune system and sets the timer for sleep later in the night.
What is the recommended time frame for viewing bright light after waking up?
-It is recommended to view bright light, ideally from sunlight, within the first 30 to 60 minutes after waking up to ensure the cortisol peak occurs early in the day.
What are intrinsically photosensitive melanopsin cells, and how do they relate to viewing sunlight?
-Intrinsically photosensitive melanopsin cells are a type of neuron in the eye that respond best to bright light, especially right after waking. They signal to the suprachiasmatic nucleus, which then triggers the cortisol increase and other wake-up signals.
Why is it not advisable to look directly at the sun?
-It is not advisable to look directly at the sun because it can be painful and potentially damage the eyes. Instead, one should look toward the sun without directly staring at it, especially when it's higher in the sky and brighter.
What is the difference between viewing sunlight and artificial light in terms of their effects on the body's rhythm?
-Sunlight is more effective in triggering the cortisol increase and other wake-up mechanisms early in the day, while artificial light is generally not bright enough for this purpose. However, artificial light can disrupt sleep if exposed to late at night or in the middle of the night.
How much sunlight exposure is needed on a clear day versus a cloudy day?
-On a clear day, about 5 minutes of sunlight exposure is recommended, while on a cloudy day, it's suggested to get about 10 minutes of sunlight exposure. On very overcast or rainy days, up to 20 or 30 minutes may be needed.
What should one do if they cannot get outside to view sunlight?
-If one cannot get outside, they should try to get near a window as a last resort. However, using sunlight simulators or daylight simulators, or even ring lights designed for selfies, can serve as alternatives to natural sunlight.
Why is it important to get sunlight exposure directly and not through a windshield or window?
-Getting sunlight exposure through a windshield or window is not effective because it takes too long and does not trigger the relevant mechanisms. It's important to get outside to ensure the light energy reaches the melanopsin cells in the eye.
What are some practical tips for incorporating morning sunlight viewing into a daily routine?
-Practical tips include getting outside within the first hour of waking, not wearing sunglasses during this practice, and considering taking a morning beverage or walking a pet outside to make the routine more enjoyable.
Outlines
🌞 Morning Sunlight Boosts Energy and Sleep
The first paragraph discusses the importance of morning sunlight for increasing energy levels and enhancing sleep quality. It explains that exposure to sunlight soon after waking up triggers a rise in body temperature and cortisol levels, which are crucial for metabolism and mental focus. The intrinsically photosensitive melanopsin cells in the eyes respond to bright light, signaling the suprachiasmatic nucleus to initiate a series of physiological responses, including the release of cortisol. This process not only helps in staying alert during the day but also sets the stage for a good night's sleep. The speaker emphasizes the need to get outside within the first hour of waking up, preferably within the first 30 minutes, to benefit from the low solar angle and avoid sunglasses during this practice.
💡 Artificial Light vs. Sunlight for Sleep and Alertness
Paragraph two delves into the differences between artificial and natural light, particularly regarding their impact on sleep and wakefulness. It clarifies that artificial lights, even when bright, are insufficient to stimulate the cortisol mechanism necessary for wakefulness in the morning. However, these same lights can disrupt sleep if exposed to late at night. The speaker advises using artificial lights if waking up before sunrise but stresses the importance of getting sunlight exposure once the sun is up. They also provide guidelines for the duration of sunlight exposure needed based on weather conditions, ranging from 5 minutes on clear days to up to 30 minutes on heavily overcast or rainy days. The paragraph concludes with suggestions for obtaining sunlight or using substitutes like ring lights or LED tablets if natural sunlight is not accessible.
🌳 Enjoying the Benefits of Morning Sunlight
The third paragraph encourages the practice of getting outside in the morning to enjoy the benefits of sunlight. It suggests that this routine can be done alone or with others, such as pets or family members, and highlights the intuitive behavior of animals to seek morning sunlight. The speaker emphasizes the positive physiological effects of this practice, noting that it can lead to increased energy and a more alert state throughout the day. They also suggest making this a regular habit, aiming for at least 80% of the days.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Energized
💡Physiology
💡Body Temperature
💡Cortisol
💡Sunlight
💡Intrinsically Photosensitive Melanopsin Cells
💡Suprachiasmatic Nucleus
💡Wakefulness
💡Circadian Rhythm
💡Artificial Lights
💡Sunlight Simulators
Highlights
The practice of viewing morning sunlight can enhance energy levels and wakefulness.
The body's temperature naturally increases upon waking, triggering the release of cortisol.
Cortisol, often seen as a stress hormone, also boosts the immune system when elevated at the right times.
The ideal time for cortisol elevation is immediately after waking up in the morning.
Viewing bright light within 30 to 60 minutes after waking can trigger an early cortisol peak.
Intrinsically photosensitive melanopsin cells in the eye respond best to bright light post-waking.
The supermatic nucleus, a cluster of neurons, sends signals that trigger cortisol increase and wakefulness.
Avoid looking at screens as they are not bright enough to trigger the desired cortisol spike.
It's beneficial to get outside and view sunlight early in the day, even on cloudy days.
Avoid staring directly into the sun, but looking towards it can help trigger the necessary mechanisms.
Blinking is encouraged and sunglasses should not be worn during morning sunlight viewing.
Corrective lenses can help focus light onto the retina and stimulate the necessary cells.
Sunlight viewing should ideally occur within the first hour of waking.
Morning sunlight viewing is grounded in physiology and supported by peer-reviewed research.
Artificial lights can't replace sunlight for triggering wakefulness but can disrupt sleep if used late at night.
On cloudy days, it's especially important to get outside to maximize light exposure.
The amount of sunlight needed varies by individual and conditions but general guidelines can be provided.
Sunlight exposure through a windshield or window is not effective for triggering the necessary mechanisms.
For those unable to get outside, sunlight simulators or alternative bright light sources can be used.
Enjoying the practice of morning sunlight viewing can lead to increased energy and better sleep patterns.
Transcripts
when you start doing this you'll notice
that your body will start to feel more
energized and it will feel more
energized more quickly enjoy this
practice this is grounded in the core of
our physiology you'll actually start to
notice this mechanism kicking in each
day so this is really the foundational
power tool for ensuring a great night
sleep and for feeling more awake during
the
day most people I believe wake up
sometime between 6:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m.
but regard regardless of when you wake
up in the morning one of the first
things that happens is that your body
temperature is increasing and that's
just going to happen naturally that
increase in body temperature in turn
causes an increase in the release of a
hormone called cortisol cortisol is
often discussed as a stress hormone but
it's not just associated with stress it
also enhances your immune system
provided cortisol is elevated at the
right times and the right time for
cortisol to be elevated is when you
first wake up in the morning
that increase in cortisol is also going
to increase metabolism it's also going
to increase your ability to focus
mentally and for you to move your
body one way that you can ensure that
that cortisol Peak occurs early in the
day right about the time that you wake
up is to view bright light ideally from
sunlight within the first 30 to 60
minutes after waking that's right view
bright sunlight within the first 30 to
60 minutes after waking the reason for
that is very simple you want to trigger
that cortisol increase to occur very
early in your day and you don't want
that cortisol Peak to happen later which
is what will happen if you wait to get
outside and see
sunlight the reason for this is that you
have a set of neurons nerve cells in
your eye they're called intrinsically
photosensitive melanopsin cells but you
do not need to know that name those
neurons respond best to Bright Light and
especially right after waking early in
the day they are best able to signal to
a set of neurons that reside over the
roof of your mouth called the supermatic
nucleus which is a cluster of neurons
that then sends a huge number of other
signals electrical and chemical out to
your entire body that triggers that
cortisol increase provides a wakeup
signal for your brain and body and sets
in motion a timer for you to fall asleep
later that night here's what you do or
at least here's what I do I wake up in
the morning and I want to reach for my
phone but I know that even if I were to
crank up the brightness on that phone
screen it's not bright enough to trigger
that cortisol Spike and for me to be at
my most alert and focused throughout the
day and to optimize my sleep at night so
what I do is I get out of bed and I go
outside and if it's a bright clear day
and the Sun is low in the sky or the sun
is you know starting to get overhead
what we call low solar angle and I know
I'm getting outside at the right time if
there's cloud cover and I can't see see
the sun I also know I'm doing a good
thing because it turns out especially on
cloudy days you want to get outside and
get as much light energy or photons in
your eyes but let's say it's a very
clear day and I can see where the sun is
I do not need to stare directly into the
sun if it's very low in the sky I might
do that because it's not going to be
very painful to my eyes however if the
Sun is a little bit brighter and a
little bit higher in the sky sometimes
it can be painful to look at so the way
to get this sunlight viewing early in
the day is to look toward the sun if
it's too bright to look at directly well
then don't do that you just look toward
it but not directly at it it's
absolutely fine to Blink in fact I
encourage you to Blink whenever you feel
the impulse to Blink never look at any
light sunlight or otherwise that's so
bright that it's painful to look at
because you can damage your eyes but for
this morning sunlight viewing it's best
to not wear sunglasses that's right to
not wear sunglasses at least for this
morning sunlight viewing it is
absolutely fine to wear eyeglasses or
contact lenses so-called corrective
lenses in fact those will serve you well
in this practice or this tool because
they will focus the light onto your
neural retina and onto those melanops
and intrinsically photosensitive gangion
cells if your eyeglasses are contact
lenses have UV protection that's okay
there's so many different wavelengths of
light coming from the Sun and they are
bright enough that they will trigger the
mechanisms that you want triggered at
this early time of day so try and get
outside ideally within the first 5
minutes of waking or maybe it's 15
minutes but certainly within the first
hour after waking I want to share with
you three critical things about this
tool of morning sunlight viewing first
of all this is not some woo biology
thing this is grounded in the core of
our physiology there are literally
hundreds if not thousands of quality
peer- reviewed papers showing that light
viewing early in the day is the most
powerful stimulus for wakefulness
throughout the day and it has a powerful
positive impact on your ability to fall
and stay asleep at night so this is
really the foundational power tool for
ensuring a great night's sleep and for
feeling more awake during the day second
of all if you wake up before the sun is
out you can and probably should flip on
artificial lights in your internal home
environment or apartment or wherever you
happen to live if your goal is to be
awake right if you wake up at 400 in the
morning and you need to be awake well
then turn on AR icial lights once the
sun is out however once the sun has
risen then you still want to get outside
and view
sunlight some of you will wake up before
the sun comes out and if you're asking
whether or not turning on artificial
lights can replace sunlight at those
hours unfortunately the answer is no
unless you have a very special light
we'll talk about what kind of light the
bright artificial lights in your home
environment are not I repeat are not
going to be be sufficiently bright to
turn on the cortisol mechanism and the
other wakeup mechanisms that you need
early in the day the Diabolical twist
however is that those lights in your
home or apartment or even on your phone
are bright enough to disrupt your sleep
if you look at them too late at night or
in the middle of the night so there's
this a symmetry in our retinal our eye
biology and in our brains biology
whereby early in the day right around
waking you need a lot of light a lot of
photons a lot of light energy and
artificial lights generally just won't
accomplish what you need them to
accomplish but at night even a little
bit of artificial light can really mess
up your so-called circadian your 24-hour
clocks and all these mechanisms that
we're talking about so if you wake up
before the sun is out and it's still
dark please turn on as many bright
artificial lights as you possibly can or
need but then get outside once the sun
is out on cloudy days you especially
need to get outside I repeat repeat on
cloudy days overcast days you especially
need to get outside and get sunlight you
just need to get more of it now how much
light and how much light viewing do you
need this is going to vary depending on
person and place literally where you
live on earth whether or not there's a
lot of tree cover whether or not you're
somebody who has sensitive eyes or less
sensitive eyes it's really impossible
for me to give an absolute prescriptive
but we can give some general guidelines
in General on a clear Day meaning no
cloud cover or minimal cloud cover you
want to get this sunlight exposure to
your eyes for about 5 minutes or so
could be 3 minutes one day could be 7
Minutes the next day about 5 minutes on
a day where there's cloud cover so the
sun is just peeking through the clouds
or it's more dense cloud cover you want
to get about 10 minutes of sunlight
exposure to your eyes early in the day
and on days that are really densely
overcast or maybe even a rainy you're
going to want to get as much as 20 or 30
minutes of sunlight exposure another key
thing is do not forget about just don't
try and get this sunlight exposure
through a windshield of a car or a
window whether or not it's tinted or
otherwise it takes far too long it's
simply not going to trigger the relevant
mechanisms you would be standing there
all day trying to get enough light into
your eyes from the morning sunlight and
by then the sun will have already moved
from low solar angle to overhead and it
simply won't work for all sorts of
mechanisms related to your circadian
rhythm functions so just don't try and
do it through a windshield sunglasses or
a window it's just not going to work get
outside if the weather is really bad or
for whatever reason safety reasons you
cannot get outside well then I suppose
try and get near a window that would be
the last Last Resort but you really want
to get outside to get the sunlight
exposure now if you live in a part of
the world where it's extremely dark and
overcast or the weather won't let you
outside or you live in a cave or some
other small box that does not allow any
natural light into it for whatever
reason well then you're going to need a
replacement for that sunlight and there
are sunlight simulators or daylight
simulators that you can purchase those
are quite expensive in general and
therefore I suggest cheaper options that
work just as well because they get just
as bright things like ring lights that
are sold in order for people to take
selfies and this kind of thing a drawing
LED tablet will work pretty well I
actually have one of those and I put it
on my desk all morning even though I
still get outside and look at sunlight
first thing in the morning again also
especially I should say on cloudy days
but get that Morning Light ideally from
sunlight and take into account all the
specific points that I've given you here
and I should say enjoy this practice
it's really nice to get outside first
thing in the morning and get this
sunlight in fact when you start doing
this you'll notice that your body will
start to feel more energized and it will
feel more energized more quickly you'll
actually start to to notice this
mechanism kicking in each day especially
if you're paying attention to your
physiology so enjoy this practice of
getting outside yes you can take your
morning beverage outside yes you can
take your dog with you in fact animals
intuitively know to get this morning
sunlight they actually seek it out at
the right times of days we human beings
need to be told by podcasters and other
people about the science that supports
these kinds of practices our pets
apparently do not but get outside alone
or with somebody with your kids with
your dog however you go about this
practice make sure you do this practice
at least 80% of the days of your
[Music]
life
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