One Five Minute Habit That Could Change Your Day
3 min read
Upon waking,
Before you scroll, look up.
Let the sun wake your eyes up, not your phone.
Let it kiss your eyelids..not your eyeballs. To be clear.
Thats it. That’s genuinely the whole habit.
Call it “Sun B4 screens”... getting outside, or at least to an open window, before you open your phone in the morning.
I know exactly what's tempting the second you wake up. Checking the time can lead to, the notifications, the messages, the “just checking one thing” that turns into twenty minutes. I say this to my nephews: “I know you want to scroll the second you wake up. Just give me five minutes outside first and I won't nag you about eating vegetables.”
Why bother?
As covered in the last post, early morning light even on a grey, overcast day, carries wavelength signals that researchers believe are involved in setting your circadian rhythm and supporting a healthy morning cortisol rise, which is part of what helps you feel properly awake rather than groggy for hours. Artificial indoor light and phone screens don’t carry the same broad mix of wavelengths, so they don’t seem to send your body the same “the day has started” signal.
I want to be careful here, I'm not going to tell you five minutes of daylight is clinically proven to fix your mood or your sleep.
But the broader idea, getting outside early in the day supports your body clock and, by extension, your sleep quality that night, is well supported by circadian rhythm research more generally, even if the precise wavelength by wavelength detail is still developing science.
Try it for a week
Don't take my word for it, run the experiment on yourself. This is exactly the kind of thing where the “me search” is as valuable as the research.
For seven days, before you pick up your phone:
- Step outside, or open a window if you genuinely can't get outdoors
- Give it five minutes. You don't need to do anything else, just be there.
- Notice, by day seven, whether your mood, focus, or sleep feels any different
If nothing changes, you've lost five minutes a day and gained a slightly nicer morning. If something does shift, you've found a free, sustainable habit worth keeping.
A little context, because it helps,
For most of human history, there was no meaningful gap between waking up and encountering daylight. You woke with the light, or shortly after it. Artificial light is a genuinely recent invention on an evolutionary timescale, and bright screens right at eye level, first thing in the morning, are even more recent still. It's not a moral failing that we all reach for our phones on waking. It's simply that our environment has changed faster than our biology has had time to.
And so,
Sun before screens isn't about perfection, and it's definitely not about guilt if you miss a day (or most days). I'm a believer in the 80/20 rule, and screens win plenty of mornings in my house too. It's a small, free, low stakes experiment. Try it for a week and see what you notice.
Have a grounded day X
Disclaimer: The information provided in this blog post is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. While I am a clinical nutritionist, the content shared here does not establish a practitioner client relationship. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified healthcare provider before making any changes to your diet, supplement regimen, or lifestyle, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, have a medical condition, or are taking medications. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it because of something you have read on this website.
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