Go camping, sleep better

RESEARCHERS TRACE CHEMICAL LINKS FROM CAMPGROUND TO SLUMBER

BY ALLEN MACARTNEY

Need a decent night’s sleep? Go camping for a week. At least that’s what recent scientific research, published in Current Biology Magazine , says. A week of camping will reset your en tire body clock so it deals better with urban stress.

Much of the reason why some people don’t sleep well involves artificial light – it’s everywhere, from computer screens, cell phones, TVs, indoor lighting, streetlights. “A flip of a light switch can be pretty powerful,” said lead researcher Kenneth Wright from the University of Colorado. Darkness actually alters the natural chemical pro duction in our bodies, including melatonin levels. Melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone that prepares our bodies for sleep, and helps us wake up bright and clear-headed.

Normally, our bodies start pro ducing more melatonin as the sun goes down, preparing us for a good night’s sleep. Then, about an hour before sunrise as it gets lighter outside, our bod ies respond by producing less melatonin. The result: a good night’s sleep and no morning grogginess. But artificial light overturns this natural balance, setting our body rhythm out of kilter.

When this body chemistry changes, sleep patterns are dis rupted, and a domino cascade affects other physiological pro cesses.

The University of Colorado study involved a group of healthy adults who began by living one week following their normal daily routines. Then they spent a week camping. Only sunlight and campfires lit their world. At the beginning and end of the study, research ers took saliva tests to study melatonin levels.

Shortly after the group started camping, everyone began falling asleep earlier than normal and rose earlier in the morning feeling refreshed, benefitting from their natural melatonin levels. Even night owls in the group quickly got in sync with nature. Of course, fresh air and other factors may have influenced the results. As well, natural light has an overall soothing effect on the body, help ing internal clocks to reset quickly.

But the evidence is clear, says Wright. “The type of light we’re exposed to really does have a big impact on our biology.”

So take some advice from the doctors. Put away your cell phone for a week, sit around a campfire and breathe deeply in the clear outdoor air. Spend lots of time in natural light, and when it begins to fade, listen to your body. It will naturally start fading too. You’ll soon be sleep ing (and feeling) much better.

Can’t go camping right now? Wright says you can gain many benefits just by turning down indoor lights or turning them off earlier.