and cravings for highly rewarding foods containing sugar, fat, and salt. Reread the symptoms of winter-onset seasonal affective disorder above. Sound familiar?
Rediscovering the Dark Side—and the Light
For the vast majority of our evolutionary history, we have remained connected to and synchronized with the planet’s natural light and dark oscillations, including the slow and steady ebb and flow of these cycles across the seasons. Despite the invention of the electric incandescent bulb, natural light and complete darkness still represent the two most powerful influences on our circadian biology. The consequences of our inverted light exposure are immense, traversing nearly every aspect of our biology. Yet most of us, most of the time, remain ignorant of the profound impact that light and darkness have on us. We resign ourselves to low mood, low energy, and bouts of anxiety and depression, because, well, that’s just modern life. That’s just the way it all is. But I don’t buy that story.
By becoming more aware of the effect our light exposure patterns have on us, we can become unstuck in many areas of our life. For example, do you find yourself craving sugar, especially after dinner? By staying up late at night in the presence of artificial light, we give our bodies the message that it is daytime in the summer. This not only inhibits melatonin production, but it causes us to crave more sugar, as we’re adapted to do during summer. But perhaps one of the surprising takeaways from this chapter is that a lack of early bright light exposure has the same effect. Experiment on yourself over a few weeks and see whether early light exposure influences your sugar cravings throughout the day. For those lucky few of you who don’t have a sweet tooth, expose yourself to light and see whether you notice a difference in your energy or mood levels (indications you might have experienced more restful slumber). You can begin to develop self-awareness and intuition by simply asking, “How do I feel in the morning?” and reflecting on the response. You’ll be better equipped to notice midafternoon energy slumps—perhaps as in Jill’s case, addressed with sugar and caffeine—as well as anxiety and depression, both of which are linked with circadian dysregulation.
Whether we’re trying to subdue our sugar cravings, increase our energy, rid ourselves of our abdominal fat, improve our mood, or get our lives and health “unstuck,” we need to start with sleep. Become more aware of your sleep and light/dark cycles, and you’ll find that your diet and physical activity levels will improve in concert, as will your emotional balance and natural connections with others. As kids, we might have been afraid of the dark. As adults, we’re still afraid of the dark, but for a different reason: stuck on summer sleep patterns, we fear the lack of dopamine-releasing light indicating that someone has liked our Instagram status. We have the fear of missing out (FOMO), but that fear makes us treat our bodies in unhealthy ways. It’s time that we paused to refamiliarize ourselves with nighttime darkness and daytime light, embracing the many health, longevity, and emotional benefits that come when light and darkness are in their natural balance. As best we can, we need to brighten our days and darken our nights.
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