Optimal Light Exposure for Rapidly Correcting Circadian Misalignment

Re:Optimal Light Exposure for Rapidly Correcting Circadian M... by a8da6b0c91d on Friday April 25, 2014 @10:13PM (#7650133)

I think the important thing is to get as much natural daylight exposure as possible. Sunlight lowers stress hormones, lowers depression, increases metabolism, and so forth. So I'm skeptical about "apps" and algorithms that are about micromanaging how much dim artificial light you get. The much more important thing is getting out in the midday sun for an hour or more every day.

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Re:Optimal Light Exposure for Rapidly Correcting Circadian M... by LnxPrgr3 on Friday April 25, 2014 @10:36PM (#7650178)

I'm a definite fan of getting mid-day sun, but my understanding is while it'll help maintain sleep rhythm, it won't correct it if it's already out of whack.

For that, I'd suggest getting some sun (or failing that, some light therapy lamp exposure—a special-purpose lamp that puts out a blinding amount of light) first thing when you wake up. Of course, you could optimize further too, like this paper suggests.

Source is admittedly Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delayed_sleep_phase_disorder#Ma..., and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PRC-Light%2BMel.png in particular.

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Re:Optimal Light Exposure for Rapidly Correcting Circadian M... by cpncrunch on Saturday April 26, 2014 @12:05AM (#7650400)

I have occasional problems with sleep disruption in the winter months (October to March, 49 degrees latitude). The problem is that natural sunlight simply isn't strong enough to reset your body clock.

When it happens I take a melatonin at night, and it seems to reset my sleep cycle and gives me a really good night's sleep. I don't normally take it more than once a week at most, just in case there are any negative effects. The delayed release tablets seem to work best (Jamieson, I believe it is), as they slowly release the melatonin over a period of 8 hours.

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Re:Optimal Light Exposure for Rapidly Correcting Circadian M... by ioddly on Saturday April 26, 2014 @12:42AM (#7650461)

Sunlight is great, but once your circadian rhythm gets messed up it's not enough. Blue light from artificial sources does suppress melatonin production quite well, which can change your circadian rhythm for better or worse.

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