If you feel groggy and brain-foggy every morning, your biological clock might be out of whack.
The solution: Go camping! It can reset your internal clock in just 2 days.
Dr. Kenneth Wright is director of the Sleep Laboratory at the University of Colorado, Boulder. And he says we’re biologically wired to go to bed about 2 hours earlier than we typically do… because we’re artificially extending daylight hours with indoor lights, and glowing smartphones, computers and TVs. Which throws off our body clock, disrupts our sleep, and leaves us drowsy in the morning.
But a recent study found that a camping trip reset the biological clocks of study volunteers. Within a couple of days, they were falling asleep and waking up two-and-a-half hours earlier than normal. Plus, levels of the sleep hormone melatonin began to spike right after sundown – bringing their sleep-wake schedule more in line with natural daylight and darkness.
In fact, even camping for a weekend raised people’s melatonin levels by 69%.
It’s all about doing what farmers normally do: Up with the sunrise, and head for bed at sunset.