Get Your ZZZs with Vitamin D and Daylight!

Daylight and Vitamin D may be just the ticket to help relieve your insomnia and improve your sleep habits.

Many people mistakenly believe that daylight doesn't help your health very much unless it is blazing sunshine, and then of course people are scared to go out in it for fear of what they have heard about the sun's damaging rays, leaving a bit of a confusing problem in terms of what people believe is healthy and not healthy!

Millions suffer from sleep challenges and this can be caused by stress, fear, excess caffeine, anxiety, overstimulation, the inability to relax, as well as a myriad of other reasons. But for some, insomnia can often be caused by something as simple as a lack of Vitamin D.

Although some sun rays being included in your exposure is indeed very helpful, it is known that getting just a ½ hour of daylight OR sunshine is one of the best ways to balance your rhythm, keep your body generally in sync and help you improve your sleep. An early morning walk, jog or bike ride not only is good for your health but also has positive sleep side benefits, for example.

So, what is the connection between daylight and sound sleep?

Evidence shows that exposing yourself to natural light early in the morning is one of the best motivators for feeling great, having a good day, and assisting the natural onset of sleep in the evening.

The natural hormone, melatonin, increases at night, which helps you sleep. Then, in the early morning hours you melatonin level starts to drop as daylight approaches, hence you wake up. One of the best ways to ensure this drop of melatonin is sufficient to help you stop feeling lethargic during the day and set you on a good energetic mood for the day is to exposure yourself to bright (where possible – not always in the winter months!) NATURAL daylight as soon as you can in the morning. Even just sitting outside to have your breakfast can really help to get your natural mood chemicals balanced and lifted. This boosts your energy levels, increases your productivity, improves your frame of mind, and helps to improve your subsequent night's sleep.

It is recommended that fair skinned people get 15 minutes of direct exposure at a time if the sun is particularly bright or hot, and dark skinned people get about 40 minutes of direct sunlight a day. If you live in an area that doesn't get a lot of daylight hours you can of course supplement, such as by taking our Total Balance or Bone-Protec. (you can find a myriad of further info on vitamin D3 intake and dosages written by our Chairman, Warren Matthews, from our onsite search facility).

In addition, consider adding in a diet rich in oily fish, broccoli, spinach, fruits and egg yolks.

With proper daylight exposure and regular supplementation, having trouble falling asleep and staying asleep may become a thing of your past. If your lack of sleep is more severe and due perhaps to an additional natural chemical imbalance over and above a simple lack of vitamin D, ingredients such as Valarian, Hops, Passion flower, D-Phenylalalanine, L-Threonine, SAMe, Vinpocetine, Huperzine A and Resveratrol are just some balancing ingredients.