Not sleeping well? Try going camping
Researchers says sleeping under the stars does a body good
Big surprise: Americans are terrible at getting enough sleep. According to the National Sleep Foundation, 48 percent of all adults in the United States encounter insomnia occasionally, while a mind-boggling 22 percent grapple with the sandman nightly. That's right: Every. Single. Night.
In addition to being responsible for numerous health problems, our collective lack of slumber could have macro-economic consequences, too; a 2011 study from researchers at Harvard Medical School estimated that work productivity lost to insomnia costs the country $2,280 a year per person.
Exactly why we're incapable of giving our bodies the rest they need is somewhat less clear. Perhaps we worry too much. Perhaps all those phones and computer screens we're holding to our faces all the time are upsetting our circadian rhythms. Or maybe being chained to our work desks all day is ruining our biological clocks.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A new study, however, might hold the key to resetting your body's natural clock. And it involves spending some time in the great outdoors.
Some research suggests that our circadian rhythms have been a mess ever since the advent of electric lighting in the 1930s, which makes sense. In the latest study, researchers from the University of Colorado in Boulder (LOL) examined a small group of eight volunteers. After analyzing their hormone and melatonin levels, they concluded that artificial light was throwing off their biological clocks by approximately two hours each night.
For phase two of the experiment, they took the volunteers camping. The catch was they weren't allowed to bring their phones, flashlights, or anything that could produce artificial light. All they had for a week was moonlight and the the warm glow of a campfire.
The result? The volunteers' biological clocks re-calibrated, and their sleep patterns began to synchronize with the rising and setting of the sun. The BBC reports:
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Okay, so this sounds like an elaborate ruse by researchers to sneak in an extra vacation on university time. (Kidding! Kind of.) But their conclusions make plenty of sense. And if camping isn't quite your cup of tea, the team suggests getting as much sunlight as feasibly possible, perhaps even starting your day off with a walk outside.
What also helps is staying away from gadgets with screens a few hours before going to sleep. If you have an especially hard time disconnecting, try using an app called Flux, which gives your devices a gentler, more natural glow before bedtime so as not to upset your body's inner clockwork.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Fallout: one of the 'most faithful – and best – video game adaptations'
The Week Recommends This 'genre-bending' new Amazon series is set in a post-apocalyptic wilderness where survivors shelter below ground
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
'Test of faith for Trump Media's investors'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Will Iran attack hinder support for Ukraine?
Today's Big Question Pro-Kyiv allies cry 'hypocrisy' and 'double standards' even as the US readies new support package
By Elliott Goat, The Week UK Published