In a new study from Icahn Mount Sinai, researchers found more access to daylight at home improves circadian alignment, sleep and mental health in healthy adults.
The findings highlight the importance of ensuring people are exposed to circadian-effective electric light or daylight indoors as well as outside for health and well-being.
As the primary environmental cue for the body’s master biological clock, light-dark patterns are key for circadian alignment and are fundamental to multiple dimensions of health, including sleep and mental health.
Although daylight provides the proper timing, quantity and color of light for promoting circadian alignment, modern indoor lifestyles typically offer fewer opportunities for adequate daylight exposure.
In 2020, people spent 65% of their waking hours at home, compared to 50% in 2019, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Leveraging this natural experiment during the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers tracked residents living in the Exo apartments in Reston, Virginia.
During the crossover study, 20 residents spent one week in their apartments with electrochromic glass windows, also known as smart windows, which tint dynamically based on the location of the sun, and another week with standard windows with blinds.
Researchers found that, in just one week, melatonin production in the body was delayed by 15 minutes when residents used their blinds, resulting in them falling asleep 22 minutes later and sleeping 16 minutes less each night.
Melatonin is a hormone that rises in the evening and triggers sleepiness.
In contrast, consistent and quality sleep in the smart window condition resulted in increased vitality during the day, an 11% reduction in anxiety and a 9% reduction in stress.
The team says when it comes to choosing a place to live, access to daylight and quality views are key features for prospective tenants.
This study shows that daylight and views are not just desirable amenities but also have fundamental impacts on our health and even our hormones.
If you care about sleep and your health, please read studies about sleeping too much or too little may increase risk of this dangerous lung disease and findings of a new way to treat chronic insomnia, helping people sleep better.
For more information about how to sleep well, please see recent studies about this common sleep habit may strongly harm your heart health and results showing that exercising more may help prevent this common sleep disease.
The study is published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. One author of the study is Mariana G. Figueiro, Ph.D.
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