These TINY Tweaks Massively Upgrade Your Sleep Quality
Brad Stanfield
May 10, 2025
Mindsip insights from this episode:
Prioritize sleep to reduce metabolic syndrome risk
Individuals who slept six hours or less a night were most likely to develop metabolic syndrome, a cluster of conditions that raise the risk of heart disease and diabetes.
Wear sunscreen without compromising sleep benefits
You can wear sunscreen to protect your skin from UV rays, as this will not interfere with the sleep benefits which work through light receptors in your eyes.
Maximize sleep quality by harnessing outdoor light intensity
Outdoor light intensity can be over 10,000 lux, while typical indoor light only reaches about 400 lux, a key factor in its significance for sleep.
Choose a light therapy device with 10,000 lux for effective results
If you use a light therapy device, look for a product with at least 10,000 lux, as this intensity is needed to trigger a biological response.
Avoid sunglasses in the morning to maximize sleep benefits
To get the full sleep benefit, you should avoid wearing sunglasses for the first hour you are outside to let morning sunlight reach the receptors in your eyes.
Utilize blue light to enhance morning cortisol levels
Research shows that bright white light and blue light boost morning cortisol levels to move us into daytime mode, while red light and dim light do not.
Maximize morning blue light exposure to regulate circadian rhythm
The light receptors in our eyes that control our circadian rhythm are most sensitive to short-wavelength blue light, which is more abundant in the morning.
Expose yourself to morning light for better sleep quality
Multiple studies show that sunlight exposure specifically in the morning seems to be decisive for sleep quality that same night.
