Camping trips are ‘key to better sleep’ as spending time outside with no lighting, TV or phones resets our body clock
Spending time outside with no lighting or screens can help those struggling to sleep, according to a new study
PEOPLE struggling to sleep should go on a camping trip, scientists say.
Spending time outside with no lighting, TV and phone screens resets our body clock.
Just a weekend under canvas in summer, or a week in winter, can bring it forward by 2½ hours, leaving people drowsier earlier in the evening.
Researchers put it down to the production of melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep.
Phones, TV, computers and artificial lights are known to erode the amount of shut-eye we get.
And the campers, monitored against stay-at-home guinea pigs, were not allowed mobiles or torches.
The levels of melatonin in the group under canvas rose 2½ hours earlier than those indoors.
Dr Kenneth Wright, of the University of Colorado Boulder, said: “Sunlight and removal of electrical light at night sends a strong signal to the body.
“There are some people who have difficulties falling asleep because their body clock timing is very late. Our findings may help to initiate treatments for that group.”
His team have previously shown that electric lights can cause a two-hour delay in our body clocks. The new study — in journal Current Biology — could also lead to help for jet lag.