Waking up before sunrise can cause stroke, other serious illnesses

This news of an eyebrow-raising study has been on the internet since the first week in October, but after I reviewed scores of postings on the story I couldn't find any link to the study -- or even mention of the team that did the study! Just "scientists in Melbourne, Australia." This means I'd have to hit the scientific journal circuit to track down who published it, which I'm not going to take time to do. 

But I'm going to quote one of the cookie-cutter reports because news from the study would be extremely important if its findings have indeed panned out.

Also, that there's is a big difference in how the body reacts to sunlight-driven waking times and pre-dawn alarm-clock ones is empirically evident. The twist, from the study, is that ignoring the role of sunlight in the waking process has serious health implications. 

Another point that is intuitively evident about the study is that unhealthy behaviors we could get away with in youth become problematical with older age.  

But what if your bedroom has a northern exposure, or you don't want to sleep with the blinds open? Technology has the answer in sunlight alarm clocks. I'm going to look into how they work.     

Before I turn to the study, some more news on the waking process, as reported by the UK Express, which does cite the author:

The news about waking up early being linked to an increased risk of stroke comes as one Harvard psychologist revealed the one thing everyone should do when they wake up.

Amy Cuddy has revealed that before people get out of bed, they should stretch their body as wide as possible.

Alongside working at the university, Amy is the author of ‘Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges’ - a book outlining the ways posture can influence people’s thoughts and emotions.
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At a recent talk at New York’s 92Y, Amy explained the importance of making yourself as big as possible - through stretching - the moment you open your eyes.

According to Amy, people who wake up with their arms stretched out in the air are “super happy, like annoyingly happy”

Their spines are also well-stretched, a habit waking animals keep to, at least in the wild, and which I recall my dog never failed to do on waking. 

Waking up before sunrise may hurt your health

POSTED 4:34 PM, OCTOBER 5, 2016, BY G. TRUDEAU
cw39.com - NEWSFIX

(MELBOURNE) Waking up before the sun might be slowly killing you!

Rising before sunrise isn't just inconvenient, according to scientists in Melbourne, Australia, it also causes "Social Jet Lag."

"Social Jet Lag" refers to the difference in how awake someone is during the day when they're forced to wake up - versus when the body wakes up naturally. When the sun rises, it naturally suppresses the body's melatonin - the hormone that helps people sleep.

At the same time, the body's internal cortisol levels start to rise - the hormone that gives everyone that 'jolt' of energy in themorning.It might not sound all that harmful, but throwing off natural sleep patterns can cause hormonal imbalances and increase risks of heart disease, strokes, diabetes, and depression.

To mitigate some of these risks, there's a few things you can do. First, cut out the caffeine later in the day before you sleep. Second, eat a big breakfast; less sun exposure decreases vitamin d levels and a healthy meal really gives your brain a boost. And third, use technology — like an alarm clock that simulates the sun rising.

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