Sure, the sun rises pretty early (especially in summer and especially where we live). However, there are at least three reasons why it’s important to get up with the sun.
- Exposing your eyes to the natural cycles of light will help you be more wakeful. You have two antagonistic hormones that respond specifically to light: melatonin and cortisol. Melatonin rises as it gets dark and makes you sleepy; cortisol rises with the sun and makes you alert. Watching the early morning light grow is a great way to kickstart your cortisol production and helps to increase your energy levels.
- Peace and quiet. Maybe you don’t need any further benefits than “quiet” – that might very well be plenty reason for you to get up early. But, if not, there are proven health benefits to quiet. A recent study shows that two hours of silence may create new cell growth in the hippocampus region of our brain, which is associated mainly with long-term memory. Does two hours sound like too much time to sit in silence? Good news: as little as two minutes in the quiet can cause your body and your brain to experience relaxation, including improved blood pressure and blood circulation.
- Soak up the beauty. It’s the least scientific of this list, but that doesn’t make it any less important. Observing nature is undeniably good for your health, mental and otherwise, for no other reason than it helps you to stop and to experience something extraordinary – a daily occurrence that is magical every time. Watching a sunrise reminds you what is important, and it gives you a moment to be grateful for what you have.
Being in nature when the sun rises is one of the purest pleasures available to us. It can make your life better. All it asks of you is a commitment to get up just a little earlier.