Few things feel more like home than a warm bed on a winter morning. Don’t feel bad. You’re not alone in not wanting to leave it. Here’s what’s happening inside you and what you can do about it.
To start with, your vitamin D levels are low. Vitamin D plays many roles in the body, one of which is sleep regulation. Vitamin D levels drop because of shorter daylight hours and less powerful sun rays. The shortage of Vitamin D can negatively affect sleep. Secondly, your melatonin(褪黑激素) levels are high. Melatonin plays an important role in regulating sleep cycles. An increase in melatonin sends you off to sleep at night. Melatonin is produced for a longer time in winter when nights are long than in summer when nights are short. What’s more, researchers discovered a sensory circuit in the brains of fruit flies that blocked the brain cells, promoting wakefulness. This circuit is activated only at cold temperatures. This helps explain why — for both flies and humans — it is so hard to wake up in the morning in winter.
Whether or not you understand the science behind sleep and waking up early in winter, there are science-backed approaches you can use to wake up early feeling refreshed.
Try getting more vitamin D. The first thing you can do to wake up earlier is to fight vitamin D deficiency. How? Make an effort to get more sunshine on your skin. If the cold weather prevents going outside, you can sunbathe next to an open window for five minutes to boost your vitamin D levels for the day. Lighting up your room in the mornings is the second thing you can do. Opening your bedroom lights in the morning is about more than making you too uncomfortable to keep sleeping. The body stops melatonin production when it starts to sense light, which reduces that tired feeling. You can also put your heating on a timer. Then, increase the temperature about an hour before you want to wake up.
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