Camping Helps Set Circadian Clocks Straight 173
cold fjord writes "Counsel & Heal reports, 'Many people are stuck in the vicious cycle of late nights and late mornings. However, a new study reveals that a week of camping in the great outdoors may help people set their clocks straight. A new study, published in the journal Current Biology, reveals that if given a chance, our body's internal biological clocks will tightly synchronize to a natural, midsummer light-dark cycle. The study found that a week of exposure to true dawn and dusk with no artificial lights had a significant effect on people who might otherwise describe themselves as night owls. Researchers found that under those conditions, night owls quickly become early birds. "By increasing our exposure to sunlight and reducing our exposure to electrical lighting at night, we can turn our internal clock and sleep times back and likely make it easier to awaken and be alert in the morning," Kenneth Wright of the University of Colorado Boulder said in a news release.'"
Surprise (Score:5, Interesting)
Anyone who has been camping should have experienced this. It's really nice to be in sync with the day again, makes one happy. With computers (blue lights destroys Melatonin and thus makes you less sleepy), days last longer and longer.
Choose your campsite wisely (Score:2, Interesting)
There is certainly some merit to this research. However, be careful where you go camping. After my recent two-week camping trip to Iceland, my internal clocks are set to this insane there-is-no-night-and-your-are-never-gonna-sleep-again mode. It's been two weeks since I got back and still can't get enough sleep.
Made the same experience (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Try having a child (Score:4, Interesting)
Get several cats. Vocal ones, like Siamese, work best.
Feed them once a day, in the morning.
In about six months, you'll be getting up at 5am to feed them.
Dogs can be effective as well, depending on the breed and age. A young lab or border collie is good. An older hound, not so much.
Re:Try having a child (Score:4, Interesting)
Your sleep in headache may very well be related to mild dehydration. You'd probably do better if you drank a tad more before going to sleep.
Re:Why fix what ain't broken (Score:4, Interesting)
I usually hike through Swedish Lapland once a year in summer. Even though night is like 2-3 hours, it does feel like it's easier to rise earlier in the morning when I get back. Although it only lasts for like a week or maybe two.
Re:Surprise (Score:4, Interesting)
Temp and sounds plays a role (Score:4, Interesting)
I find that even without light, sound and temp also helps regulate sleep. In the spring/summer/fall when nights are 50-68F (10-20c) I open windows at night. I find that both the coolness of the morning combined with birds chirping, and to a lesser extent people leaving for work constantly, help me to feel more alert when waking up regardless of when I went to sleep.
That said with out any kind of alarm and in a controlled environment with zero stimuli, I'll sleep almost exactly 8 hours.
I do this to reset my kids "summer schedule" (Score:5, Interesting)