The best time of year to sort your sleep is right now

11 minutes ago

4 min read

Nature just handed you a reset. Here's how to use it.

Posted by tiffany jackson

Hello,

The sun is waking at the same time as me here in Byron. Lighter earlier, lighter later. Sun in my eyes when I do my morning salutations and yoga. HEAVEN. Crisp, but no bite. I love this time of year. In winter we're meant to hibernate - but come spring, our systems wake up. And that's not just the way you are feeling. There's actually science in it.

Here's what you probably don't know: right now is the best window you'll get all year to sort your sleep out, to fall asleep faster, wake up less through the night and feeling more energised through the day. Not with a new supplement or a gadget, but with sunlight.

Let me explain.

Your body clock runs on light - and right now there's more of it

Morning light is the single most powerful signal for your body clock. This is not woo woo - it's measurable. Bright light in the first hour after you wake has been shown to lift your cortisol by around 35% compared to staying in dim light. I know cortisol gets a bad rap - we've been trained to think of it as the "stress hormone." But cortisol isn't the enemy. It's what gets you up and moving it sharpens your focus, regulates your energy and even supports your immune system. You want a healthy pulse of it in the morning - that bump is exactly what makes you feel alert and switched on for the day. The problem is only when it's high at the wrong time. Cortisol is also what keeps you awake, so when it's spiking at night instead of the morning, that's when sleep falls apart.

Here's the part we miss: the light you get in the morning is what sets the internal body timer on melatonin - your sleep hormone - ready for that night. Get light into your eyes early and your body releases melatonin earlier in the evening, so you actually feel sleepy at a reasonable hour instead of catching a second wind at 11pm.

All winter, most of us miss it. We wake in the dark, go straight for the kettle or the phone and never give our body the signal it's waiting for. But now the light is there earlier and practically knocking on the window. This is the easiest it'll be all year. So use it before summer arrives and the heat makes sleep hard again.

Here's how I use this season

Get outside within 30 minutes of waking. Even ten will do. No sunglasses and definitely no phone first - just light on your face. This is the big one. Do only this and you're most of the way there. For me it's my sun salutations and yoga with my eyes open as the sun is rising, for others it could be walking the dog or hanging the washing on the line- find your version.
Get up at the same time each day. Your wake time matters more than your bedtime. There's a reason. All day, a molecule called adenosine builds up in your brain, it's the "pressure" that makes you sleepy by night. Wake at the same time every day and that whole cycle stays regular, so your body starts getting tired at the right time on its own. Chaotic wake times scramble it. Keep it as regular as you can - yes, weekends too - and the earlier spring light makes doing that so much easier. Don't get caught by the lighter evenings. As the days stretch out it's tempting to push on — one more thing, one more episode. But if you push past that first wave of tiredness, your body catches a second wind and suddenly you're wide awake at midnight. When you feel the first yawn, that's your window. Go.
Start thinking about temperature. Your body has to cool by about a degree to fall asleep. It's easy now - but summer's coming, so build the habit early. Cooler room, lighter bedding and (i know this sounds backwards) a warm shower an hour before bed actually helps your body shed heat.

I'm not perfect with any of this. But i know the science and I know what works, Spring is perfect to lean back into your rhythm after a slow winter - earlier mornings, more time outside, more movement. It's the season everything feels easier and I recommend to take full advantage of it while you can.

you don't need to wait for January and a list of resolutions. The opportunity to reset is right here, free, every single morning. Just step outside.

I'd love to know - has the change of season shifted your sleep at all?

In good light and better sleep, Tiff x

The India Pilgrimage - A Mind Body Spirit Journey

I'm heading back to India, March 2027 - and you can join me. Come as part of a small group for a 10-day Panchakarma pilgrimage in Kerala, in the south of India.

If you've never heard the word Panchakarma, let me explain, it's unlike anything a normal "holiday" or even a wellness retreat can offer. It's the deep cleansing and purification practice at the heart of Ayurveda, India's 5,000-year-old system of medicine.

Where Western medicine tends to wait for something to break and then treat it, Ayurveda works the other way - it sees illness as imbalance and works to restore you before things go wrong.

Over the 10 days, an Ayurvedic doctor designs a program for you - your body, your constitution, your imbalances. Days are built around daily bodywork and treatments, meditation, yoga, nourishing food, and the slow, deliberate release of what your physical, mental and emotional system has been holding onto for years and decades. It is profound work. The kind that resets you at a level a weekend away never could.

I've done this work in India a few times myself, and I can tell you: you come home different. Lighter. Clearer. Genuinely reset.

If even a small part of you leaned in reading this - just reply with "INDIA" and I'll send you the full details

Tiff x