The quest to lose weight can be a trial, and often requires us to do some difficult things. These include changing our eating and exercise habits. Once you get going, the road gets smoother, but starting out, it can be a struggle.
However, according to a new study performed at Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, there is one incredibly simple thing you can do in the mornings to boost your weight loss efforts: go outside for a few minutes.
For their study, researchers recruited 54 volunteers, just over half of whom were female, with an average age of 30. The volunteers wore a wrist monitor for seven days, which tracked and measured how much morning light they were exposed to each day. Activity levels were measured as well, and food logs were kept by each volunteer.
Results of this study showed that the individuals who received most of their daily exposure to light in the morning had a notably lower body mass index (BMI) than individuals who received their exposure to light in the afternoon or early evening. This result held constant after other factors, such as activity level and time of sleep, were adjusted for.
According to Kathryn Reid, the study’s co-lead author, “the earlier this light exposure occurred during the day, the lower the individuals’ body mass index. The later the hour of moderately bright light exposure, the higher a person’s BMI.” Based on these study results, the researchers calculate the morning light could influence approximately 20 percent of one’s BMI.
While the researchers state that further research must be done before we understand exactly why morning light has this effect on the body, they do have theories. One is that a dose of morning light regulates your sleep/wake cycle, or circadian rhythm, which can lead to a better functioning metabolism. The other is that the large amount of blue light emitted from the sun in the morning hours has the most potent effect on the body’s clock.
Senior author Phyllis C. Zee states, “light is the most potent agent to synchronize your internal body clock that regulates circadian rhythms, which in turn also regulate energy balance.
The message is that you should get more bright light between 8 am and noon.” Zee adds, “if a person doesn’t get sufficient light at the appropriate time of day, it could de-synchronize your internal body clock, which is known to alter metabolism and can lead to weight gain.”
Want another reason to get out in the sun – even the winter rays? Vitamin D. This important vitamin, which many people are deficient in, is key to immune system health, along with the health of many of the body’s other systems.
As we recently reported, deficiencies in vitamin D have been linked to more severe and frequent asthma attacks.
So, when that alarm clock buzzes and you get up and dressed, step outside! A little bit of sun can go a long way.
-The Alternative Daily
Sources:
http://www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/morning-weight-loss-tip?
http://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/news/2014/04/Zee_light_exposure.html
