Half past six, your alarm goes off and it’s pitch black outside. You sit on the edge of your bed and it feels like someone woke you up in the middle of the night.
In June, you got up at exactly the same time and it was fine then. You’re not sleeping any less than in summer, and you go to bed at the same time.
What has changed is the light.
How your clock is reset
At the back of your eye are cells that don’t send images. They keep time. As soon as light hits them, they send a signal to the little clock in your brain that regulates your whole daily rhythm.
That signal does two things. It stops the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone that keeps you drowsy at night, and it gives your cortisol a boost so you get going.
Without that signal, your body stays stuck in night mode. You’re awake and moving around, but your system still hasn’t realised the day has started.
Why October hits so hard
In summer, the sun rises before your alarm. You wake up in a bright room, and that light signal is already there before you open your eyes.
From mid-October onward, that’s reversed. The sun rises later than you do, and then you get up, turn on a light, eat breakfast, and get into the car, all in the dark.
That light in your kitchen helps less than you think, by the way. A living room with all the lights on is around two hundred lux, and even outside on a dull rainy day you still get ten to thirty times as much. Your eyes don’t notice the difference, but your clock does.
The result is that your clock slowly starts to shift. You get sleepy later in the evening, you go to bed later, and your mornings get even harder. Do that for two weeks and you’re an hour off without changing anything.
What people get wrong
Most people blame the cold and the dark days and try to make up for it. More coffee in the morning and all the lights on in the evening with a series on top of that.
That last one works against you, because bright light in the evening pushes your melatonin back. You’re taking in light at the wrong time of day.
Sleeping in on the weekend does the same thing. Two mornings without light at your usual time and you’re back to square one on Monday.
What you can do about it
Go outside within an hour of waking up, for ten to fifteen minutes. Grey weather doesn’t matter, and leave the sunglasses at home. A short walk, the dog, or just your coffee on the pavement—it doesn’t matter what you do as long as you’re outside.
If it’s still really night at that moment, outside light won’t work yet. In that case, put a daylight lamp on your breakfast table and let it shine for twenty minutes while you sit there. That’s the only way to get close to outdoor light levels indoors.
Open your curtains as soon as your alarm goes off, even if it’s still dark outside. That way you catch the first light as soon as it appears.
Stick to your wake-up time, even on the weekend. An hour’s difference is manageable; three hours and you won’t get it straight again for the rest of the week.
And dim the lights in the evening. Light in the morning and darkness in the evening are two sides of the same switch.
The habit for this week
Ten minutes outside within an hour of waking up. Seven days, including Saturday and Sunday.
Tie it to something you already do, like your first cup of coffee or taking the rubbish outside. Then you don’t have to think about it.
After a week, notice how long it takes you to really get out there. That first half hour is where you’ll notice it first.
Every Night 1% Better.
Guy Veeke
PS: Do you wake up in the light in the morning and still feel tired?
Then it’s in your night rather than your morning. Breathing through your mouth makes your sleep lighter without you realising it, and the combination of nasal strips and mouth tape keeps your nose open and your mouth closed.
