|
Definition: "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance "
|
|
||||||||
17.04.2014 |
|
|
Daylight in the morning has slimming effect
If you want to lose or at least maintain your weight, then you might be interested in a study that neurologists at Northwestern University recently published in PLoS One. They suggest that you can lose weight more easily, or stay more easily at the same weight, by making sure you go outside for about half an hour each morning.
Indoors, the light never reaches this strength. The average light strength in an office is rarely more than 200-300 lux, whereas even on a cloudy day the light strength outside is about 1000 lux.
A second factor was the time of day at which exposure to light took place. The earlier in the day this happened, the stronger the effect. This relationship is shown in the figure below.
How daylight can reduce bodyweight the researchers don't know. They found no statistically significant effects of daylight on physical exercise, nor any on calorie intake. But that might be because their study was so short.
The researchers suspect that exposure to daylight in the morning helps our biological clock to run well. This 'clock' controls hormone secretion, which in turn helps determine appetite and insulin functioning.
"The temporal pattern of light exposure during the daytime can influence body weight independent of sleep timing and duration", the researchers write. "Further studies are needed to understand the causal relationship and mechanisms linking biologically appropriate and inappropriate light timing with weight."
"Nevertheless, light is a powerful biological signal and appropriate timing, intensity and duration of exposure may represent a potentially modifiable risk factor for the prevention and management of obesity in modern societies."
Source:
More:
|
|
