Here comes the sun...

​I'm obsessed with the sun lately. Not in the “on my knees worshiping it” way (though I definitely did that when I was on mushrooms one time….)

I'm talking about those magical golden hours of dawn and dusk.

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Between work, life, and my perennial battle with the snooze button (thanks, daylight savings), catching those first morning rays feels like mission impossible some days.  But I've been making it happen, and I'm here to tell you—it's worth setting that alarm.

Morning sunshine kickstarts your circadian rhythm (fancy talk for your body's internal clock). When those rays hit your eyeballs first thing, your brain gets the memo that it's daytime and starts pumping out all the "let's do this" hormones. Am I actually—gasp—a morning person now?

Ew. But also…WOW.  It helps, big time.

Evening sun has its own magic powers. That gentle, amber glow sends signals to your body to start winding down, prepping you for quality sleep. It's like nature's melatonin, without the weird dreams I get from those supplements (I’m looking at you, giant spider with a clown mask).

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The vitamin D situation is no joke, either. For those of us who live in New England, simply seeing the sun for the first time in 3 months has the same effect as popping molly. Needless to say, our vitamin D levels dip during those cloudy winter months. 

Now that it’s warming up, just 10-15 minutes of direct morning or evening sunlight without SPF does wonders for those levels. Remember to keep the SPF for beach days and long stretches, though. Vitamin D = good. Resembling a distressed leather purse = no.

I'm not into non-negotiable habits—flexibility and grace are key to burnout prevention, so I never force myself to do something every day. But lately, tea on the porch in the morning (when the temps are decent) or short walk around the block before dinner is getting me the sun exposure I need. My sleep is better, my mood is up, and I swear my skin has a glow that no serum has ever given me (though you will have to pry my organic Argan oil from my cold, dead, moisturized hands).

Anyone else feeling the sunshine benefits? Drop me a comment below with your favorite ways to catch those golden rays without disrupting your day.