The Circadian Rhythm is important for hormone regulation and modulation. Re-establishing and protecting one's Circadian Rhythm is an important preliminary step in healing.
How to do this:
Morning sunlight exposure: Within 30 minutes of waking, get outdoor light directly for your eyes & as much skin as possible. Aim for 30 minutes of exposure time, with a minimum of 15 minutes. Do this regardless of whether it is sunny or cloudy- just get outside. You should wear no glasses, no contacts, and no sunglasses. This sets the circadian cycle for the rest of the day including the cascade of hormones that establish wake-sleep cycles, body repair, and stress management.
Sunlight On Your Skin: Expose your skin to as much sunlight as possible during the day, with at least some of the exposure during the hours of 10am-4pm which maximizes for UVB exposure. Despite the hard reputation that UV Light gets in media, it is important for Vitamin D production and necessary for immune function & repair.
Avoid Blue Light: Limit blue light exposure from all electronic screens and indoor lighting during the day and completely eliminate it after sundown.
Some useful products:
• Blue Light Blocking Glasses: An affordable option are the Dewalt glasses. Although more expensive, I really like the TrueDark glasses. DayWalker glasses are meant for daytime screen use and Twilight glasses are meant for evening wear. The TrueDark line also includes fitover glasses (for prescription eyeglass users) and kids glasses.
• Some prescription eyewear users may like the BluTech Lenses which are available through select optometrists.
• Reduce exposure to blue light from screens using the free f.lux Blue Light Reduction Software and Blue Light Screen Filters for all of your screens. Turn on the night setting on your iPhone.
• Install blue-light free Orange LED light bulbs in your home for use after the sun goes down. We also use 15W red light bulbs in our Himalayan Salt Lamps
Consistent Sleep Schedule: Remember that you're trying to re-establish a sleep-wake cycle based on a 24-hour diurnal cycle. Try to get to bed at a consistent time of night. If at all possible, sleep until you naturally wake in the morning. Getting enough high-quality sleep is one of the most important actions you can take towards reducing chronic disease & inflammation and increasing overall well-being.
Sleeping Environment: Eliminate all light in your bedroom, no matter how small or unassuming. Use blackout curtains, tape over power indicators and turn alarm clocks away from the sleeping space. Turn off Wi-Fi and keep cell phones out of the bedroom. Consider turning off your power breaker at night. Some studies show the Wi-Fi and EMF cause calcium to flow out of the the cells of the pineal gland, causing cellular signaling to break down and reduce melatonin production.