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| Maine Sunrise |
Sleep was elusive as a severe
thunderstorm chose midnight to crash, boom, and pelt the windows with hail.
About the time exhaustion won the tug-of-war, a ka-boom rattled the windows and
the sky lit with the violent flash of nearby lightning.
Not to be outdone, my new phone shrieked
an alarm. I’m still learning about the bells and whistles, but a siren in the middle
of a storm didn’t seem like a good thing. It was a flash flood warning. I think
I’d just been warned by the deluge on the heels of the hail.
I finally fell into a uneasy sleep
with equally disturbed dreams. I woke up to distant rumbling thunder, gray
skies, and an alarm clock flashing 5:25 a.m. My phone said it was seven o’clock,
so I took a look at Google news. National news covered the shooting at Fort
Hood; state news concentrated on the weather.
Health News was the real eye-opener
of the morning. Okay, I already knew
that sleep helped with weight loss. Of course, after the night I’d just
experienced, that was down the tubes for today. This study by the Northwestern
University Feinberg School of Medicine concentrated on sunlight without regard
to sleep, caloric intake, or exercise. The sun affects our circadian rhythm and
synchronizes our internal clock.
Maybe I’m a little on the ignorant
side, but I had never heard of circadian rhythm. According to the article, “Circadian
rhythm is the body’s physical, mental and behavioral changes that follow a
roughly 24-hour cycle.” How could I have not known this term when apparently circadian
rhythm is what makes us tick?
The super good news brought to light
by this study was that body mass index (BMI) can be greatly reduced with twenty
to thirty minutes exposure to morning sunlight. In fact, exposure to light can
account for 20 percent of BMI! Think of all the pills, strict diets, powdery
drinks, nasty tasting chocolate bars, and invasive surgery that people undergo
to lose weight and, more importantly, bring their BMI to a healthy level. Think
of Americans saving $60 billion spent on weight loss programs each year!
Many of us suspected that our
lifestyle contributed to an alarming increase in obesity. We spend the
majority of our lives indoors, whether at home or work. Some of us (this is
where I raise my hand) are night owls. We stay up late regardless of the time
we have to get up in the mornings. I spent most of my working years with too
little sleep and almost zero exposure to sunlight. That’s a health double
whammy. And when you work, thanks partially to daylight savings time, your
exposure is to afternoon light, which does not have the same benefit as morning
sunlight.
Maybe I’m being a little optimistic,
but since morning light affects mood and behavior, as well as BMI, couldn’t
morning light therapy be helpful for people with Alzheimer’s? We know sun-downing
is brought on by waning light and that a well-lit room can help behavior. Maybe
an early morning walk, or even quiet time outdoors would provide an uplifting
start to the day.
Without sunlight between 8:00 a.m.
and noon, our internal clock is altered and becomes as worthless as my flashing
alarm clock was this morning. Our body’s timepiece becomes “uncoordinated” which
leads to altered metabolism and weight gain.
After reading the article, I was hyped about
soaking up the rays to shrink my waistline while energy transferred from that
brilliant celestial orb to my earthbound, over-weight body. This fantastic
health advice comes on a day when all a person could be exposed to this morning
is doom and gloom, rain, low hanging clouds, with a possibility of hail and
high winds. Not a single ray of sunlight can be found.
I’m hoping for a bright sunshiny day
tomorrow so I can put my new knowledge into action. I can’t think of a better
diet than pulling up a lawn chair, sipping a cup of coffee, and relaxing in the
morning sun. It beats the heck out of the treadmill or exercise bike.
copyright © April 2014 by L. S.
Fisher
sources:
Northwestern University press release: “Morning rays keep off pounds.” Research
funded by National Institutes of Health. http://esciencenews.com/articles/2014/04/03/morning.rays.keep.pounds
“Exposure
to Morning Light Can Help You Lose Weight.” http://www.hngn.com/articles/28004/20140403/exposure-to-morning-light-can-help-you-lose-weight.htm
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