“ Choice of attention – to pay attention to this and ignore that – is to the inner life what choice of action is to the outer. In both cases, a man is responsible for his choice and must accept the consequences, whatever they may be. ” — W.H. Auden

Andrew Huberman, Ph.D., specialist on the eye and vision, advises us to get outside for a few minutes every morning.

View morning sunlight!” is one of my common refrains. Viewing sunlight within the first hours of waking (as soon as you can, even if through cloud cover) increases early-day cortisol release (the ideal time for elevated cortisol) and prepares the body for sleep later that night. A morning spike in cortisol will also positively influence your immune system, metabolism and ability to focus.

Further, morning sunlight helps regulate your “circadian clock” — the body’s mechanism for anticipating when to wake up and go to sleep — and it manages other biological processes like hunger and body temperature.

So, by going outside we hit reset button on our circadian clock. By getting sunlight into our eyes early in the day (through the windshield does not count) we are effectively helping ourselves be more alert in the daytime and sleep sounder at night. But I think that’s only the half of it. It’s not just about the light that gets into your eyes when we add this to our morning routine, it’s also about subtraction. There’s a war going on for eyeballs. Eyeballs equate to attention. Attention means dollars, votes, or status. Perhaps there is an equally beneficial effect: resetting your brain – owning your focus and your thoughts. Going outside is more than good for your body, it’s good for your soul (or at least your mind if that is too esoteric for you).

For his light exposure advice see:  Using Light for Health – Huberman Lab

Also, Huberman also has a lot of great advice on developing focus and attention. If you read this, the title is just to attract eyeballs (so, if you’ve read this far, I made my point!). Andrew, if you read this, I wish people like you were around when I studied physiology and started a PhD., you show that being condemned to the lab full time wasn’t my only fate.

K. Wilkins is the author of:

Stoic Virtues Journal: Your Guide to Becoming the Person You Aspire to Be

Rules for Living Journal: Life Advice Based On the Words and Wisdom of Jordan B. Peterson