Think about how many of us go from an artificially lit house, directly into a car (often with sunglasses on), directly to work sitting under artificial light all day. In this cycle, we miss out on the benefits of morning sunlight into the eyes and onto the skin.

Morning light has so many benefits, especially for energy, mood, focus, motivation, pain, and inflammation.

Before the sun breaks the horizon, the dominant light frequency is infrared.

Infrared is soothing, anti-inflammatory, healing to mitochondria and collagen and structures our body water into its energized phase called "EZ" or "exclusion-zone." This means we load our body with potential energy with this infrared light.

At sunrise, red light intensifies along with blue light.

The morning balance of red to blue light (missing in artificial light) turns on hormones centers in the brain.

It decides what to turn our master steroid hormone—pregnenolone—into:

• cortisol (for energy and survival) or estrogen
• progesterone
• and testosterone (for reproduction)

When the sun gets to be 10° above the horizon, "neurotransmitter magic" happens.

This is when UVA light is present. (The Circadian app will tell you exactly when this is for your location since it varies throughout the year.)

UVA light into your eyes stimulates many pathways. You don't need to stare directly at the sun; simply sky gaze with naked eyes to the brightest part of the sky. Molecules in your eyes will capture photons of UVA light and transform:

• Tryptophan > serotonin (this takes us from groggy to happy/focused)
• Tyrosine > dopamine (this makes us motivated/curious)
• Tyrosine > norepinephrine (this drives concentration)
• POMC > beta endorphin (this gives us a "runners high" and lowers pain)
• POMC > ACTH (this regulates stress/inflammation)

Here are some suggestions for catching the most key morning light signals each day:

• Be outside at every sunrise
• Open car windows/sunroof
• Drive without sunglasses
• Work near an open window
• Schedule your first meeting of the day to be a phone call and talk outside, if possible
• Take a morning walk (especially powerful at the beginning of the morning UVA window!)

Morning light is special. Prioritize it.