THE first thing many of us do when our alarm goes off is reach for our phone.
We might tell ourselves a little scroll will wake our brains up or that the brightness will make us feel a little less groggy.
But Stanford University neuroscientist and host of the self-titled "Huberman Lab" podcast, Dr Andrew Huberman, says you're not doing yourself any favours.
Cranking your brightness all the way up will make you feel no less groggy, he argued in a recent episode of his hit show.
Instead, he urged listeners to do something that many put off doing until at least an hour or so after waking – to get outside.
Though of course the fresh air might help liven you up a bit, the neuroscientist said that sunlight is the key ingredient that'll make you feel the most alert and focused throughout the day.
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Not only that – making sure you get a few minutes of it each morning as part of your daily routine can improve your sleep, help you lose weight and even stave off silent killers.
It's all to do with your circadian rhythm – these are the natural processes in your body that follow a 24-hour cycle and respond to light and dark.
While many of associate the benefits of sunlight with vitamin D, Dr Huberman says the rays need to reach your eyes for your circadian rhythm to stay on track.
Oftentimes, when you don't get enough daylight, it can throw off your biological clock. You also need evenings darkness for proper circadian regulation, Mariana Figueiro, professor and director of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai's Light and Health Research Center, told Insider.
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Circadian disruption can cause issues like poor sleep, bad concentration and drowsiness during the day.
And research shows that experiencing circadian disruption for extended periods can leave you with a weaker immune system and a higher risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, and cancer.
"This is not some woo-woo biology thing," Dr Huberman said, noting that there are 'hundreds' of peer reviewed papers that light viewing early in the day is "the most powerful stimulus for wakefulness throughout the day and it has a powerful and positive effect on your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep at night".
Here's what Dr Huberman does to keep his biological clock in check.
He explained how he starts his morning by going outside, ideally within the first five to fifteen minutes of waking.
If that's not doable, at least try and get a move on within the first hour of waking.
"If it's a bright clear day and the sun is low in the sky the I know I'm getting outside at the right time.
"If there's cloud cover and I can't see the sun I also know I'm doing a good thing, because it turns out especially on cloudy days you want to get outside and get as much light energy or photons in your eyes."
There's no need to stare directly into the sun on bright days, Dr Huberman said, as that can damage your eyes. Looking in the direction of it is enough.
He added that it's best to not wear sunglasses for your morning sunlight viewing, but eyeglasses and contact lenses are fine.
If you wake up before the sun is out, the nueroscientist suggesting flipping on artificial lights in order to feel awake.
"Once the sun has risen, then you still want to get outside and view sunlight," as most artificial lights won't be able to replicate its effects.
How much sunlight do we need?
In general on a clear day – meaning no cloud cover or minimal cloud cover – you want to get this sunlight exposure to your eyes for about five minutes or so.
You don't need to be too rigid about it – it could be three minutes one day or about seven minutes the next.
On days when the sun in just peeking through the clouds, Dr Huberman said you should aim for about 10 minutes of sunlight exposure to your eyes early in the day.
On days that it's overcast or rainy -as is often the case here in the UK – he said you'd want to get about 20 or 30 minutes of sunlight exposure to reap its maximum benefits.
"Do not try and get this sunlight exposure through a car window, whether it's tinted or otherwise. It takes far too long, it's simply not going to trigger the relevant mechanisms."
Were you try to get your sun in this way, Dr Huberman said "you would be standing there all day" and it would do nothing for your circadian rhythm.
Sunglasses will also hinder this process too, he added.
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Instead, he just said to "get outside".
If the weather is really bad or you can't get outside for safety reasons, Dr Huberman said your last resort would be to "get near a window".
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