How a week of camping resets the body clock

[GD4Up]

As if I needed more reasons to go camping...

"One week of camping outdoors and eschewing all man-made light is enough to reset a person’s body clock to its natural sleep rhythms, a new study has found.

Our increased use of electrical light, and reduced exposure to natural light, caused modern humans to stray from our natural circadian rhythms or sleep patterns, and may be a contributor to poor quality sleep.

The findings, published in Current Biology, show that humans' internal biological clocks will synchronise to a natural, midsummer light-dark cycle if the opportunity arises. A midsummer light-dark cycle in Colorado, in the US where the study took place, is 14 hours and 40 minutes of light, 9 hours and 20 minutes of darkness in a 24 hour period."

http://theconversation.com/how-a-week-o ... lock-16557

[Tortoise]

So my experience is now official! It's the only time I can successfully get up early feeling refreshed, go to bed early and SLEEP. Doesn't usually take a whole week though.

[Robatman]

Agree. I'm currently in a tent at nsw snow and slept 10 hours last night! Longest in ages. Might also have something to do with being away from 3 boys 6 and under.

[phan_TOM]

So my experience is now official! It's the only time I can successfully get up early feeling refreshed, go to bed early and SLEEP. Doesn't usually take a whole week though.

No me neither, it does take a couple of days though before I start to feel like a human again & after a week of living simply, going to bed not long after dark and waking up early I feel great, which is probably 'normal' in a non computer, artificial lighting, TV life...

I went for a weekend camp last year (or the year before) up in the rainforest and climbed tired into my hammock around 6pm. I nodded straight off to sleep and woke up at 6:30 the next morning feeling completely rejuvenated. I haven't slept that long or soundly I don't think ever.

[ILUVSWTAS]

Agree. I'm currently in a tent at nsw snow and slept 10 hours last night! Longest in ages. Might also have something to do with being away from 3 boys 6 and under.

Not sure it counts if you are getting online while in your tent, bushwalking....

[Strider]

Agree. I'm currently in a tent at nsw snow and slept 10 hours last night! Longest in ages. Might also have something to do with being away from 3 boys 6 and under.

Not sure it counts if you are getting online while in your tent, bushwalking....

What has that got to do with having a long sleep? Nothing.

[wayno]

you can still adjust your body clock at home,
long before i head for bed,
i keep house lights to a minimum,
if i'm in a seat then just revert to a reading light ,
turn down computer screen brightness,
try not to watch tv too much,
avoid any late night tv full of drama.

[Robatman]

Agree. I'm currently in a tent at nsw snow and slept 10 hours last night! Longest in ages. Might also have something to do with being away from 3 boys 6 and under.

Not sure it counts if you are getting online while in your tent, bushwalking....

Just turned my phone on in the morning to kill some time- it was windy and snowing.
I reckon Internet is no diff than reading while away- although I'm prob on phone less than 15 mins and read for hours.

Just checked this site Again after a nice morning trek and lunch to sit back for a while. This site is one of a few I just check quick cos its always interesting. Now given the original topic might have a nap!

[peter-robinson]

I reckon Internet is no diff than reading while away- although I'm prob on phone less than 15 mins and read for hours.

That depends on the timing and the technology.
The bright bluish light from phone and tablet screens can disrupt sleep patterns if used in the evening but in the morning improves alertness through the day. The yellow glasses that block blue light are useful in the evening. The e-paper screens on a book reader like a kindle don't have the same melatonin cycle shift if you use a non-blueish light to read.

Weird, this first link to harvard isn't showing up for me in tapatalk, it's just a blank line that appears if I try a reply. Trying some edits to see if it will show up... I give up
http://www.health.harvard.edu/newslette ... dark-side/
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-07-01/a ... rs/4790448

This paper is interesting. Exposure to blue light for two hours ending at 6:30 pm showed significantly improved sleep.
http://www.lrc.rpi.edu/programs/solidst ... uality.asp

[wayno]

the body ideally wants a couple of hours without bright light before going to bed to prep for sleep properly.

[KANANGRABOYD]

Whenever I go away, as soon as it gets dark I obviously eat dinner, then sometimes make a fire ( to keep away the bad guys/boogeyman), then retire to my bag/tent and watch movies on tablet/phone - a few shots of rum and then normally hit the hay by 8-9pm.
I sleep waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayy better out hiking than at home.
But........... It never translates over to when I get back home.
I am going away for a 10 day solo trip on Wednesday - I will keep a diary and then also when I get back home and then upload the data.
But normally I sleep so much better outdoors and in the bush.

[wayno]

maybe how busy your mind is may have something to do with it, at home in your working life there are so many cues around you of what you have to be doing that keep your mind busy, crowding your thoughts and its harder to settle your mind at the end of the day
out in the bush you dont have these cues. your mind is calmer, its easier to get to sleep and get a deep sleep for longer...

[Nuts]

I'd imagine better sleep patterns have as much to do with the unusual amount of exercise, I find i can only read for 15-20mins in a tent before crashing.
Besides an hour or two of torch-light, sleep is inevitable. The exercise also seems to take over control of appetite, never really hungry for desert or a midnight snack.

Not sure it counts if you are getting online while in your tent, bushwalking....

What's 'it'. Counts towards what, counts to whom?

[Ent]

There is no doubt that personally I sleep so much better walking maybe with one exception that been parked on Western Bluff in a howling gale with the tent sinking into the snow.

A sleep deprived teenager on the weekend woke up not feeling grumpy after elven hours sleep. Something he could not achieve at home as a keen gamer.

It is nice been physically tired rather than mentally drained. One of the joys of bushwalking is having a day to recover. A long bath and early night with late morning and all is well with the world.

[phan_TOM]

It is nice been physically tired rather than mentally drained. One of the joys of bushwalking is having a day to recover. A long bath and early night with late morning and all is well with the world.

I couldn't agree more Ent. Still being in that dead calm space that a few days in the bush brings but being back in the quiet comfort of your home with a hot shower and lounge etc You can't beat it.

[ILUVSWTAS]

I'd imagine better sleep patterns have as much due to the unusual amount of exercise, I find i can only read for 15-20mins in a tent before crashing.
Besides an hour or two of torch-light, sleep is inevitable. The exercise also seems to take over control of appetite, never really hungry for desert or a midnight snack.

Not sure it counts if you are getting online while in your tent, bushwalking....

What's 'it'. Counts towards what, counts to whom?

Would have thought this was a fairly obvious comment for most people.

[Nuts]

Nah, well it seemed to me that most people would just think you were being .. a bit silly. As pretty much the only person on here making such comments I thought you may like the chance to explain what bushwalking is (rather than being left to assume). As for me, I don't need convincing.

[puredingo]

Jeeze, I wish I got that sort of sleep time in the tent. I reckon I wake every 2 hours and basically just doze the night away probably falling deepest into sleep around the hours between 3 and 6 pm.

Hence why when camping I'm always last to bed and first up...No point laying there staring at your tent roof counting hours.