Over the past few weeks, I’ve been grappling with sleep disruptions, staying up late despite my attempts to stick to a regular schedule. Inspired by a TED-Ed video, “Can You Change Your Sleep Schedule?,” I began to wonder if my irregular sleep patterns could be influenced by a lack of sunlight. The video highlighted the importance of the circadian system, our body’s internal clock, which relies on sunlight to regulate sleep and wakefulness. Research suggests that daily exposure to natural light for at least 20-30 minutes can be particularly effective in supporting sleep quality.

This prompted me to take a closer look at my own habits and investigate whether deliberate sun breaks throughout the day could improve my sleep. I hoped these daily moments of natural light would help me establish a more consistent sleep pattern and reduce nighttime disruptions. My goal with this small project was to discover if something as simple as sun exposure could positively impact my overall rest.

Research Question: How does outdoor sun exposure during the day influence sleep duration and quality at night?

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Data Collection Method & Variables

To investigate this question,I collected data on sun exposure and sleep patterns over a two-week period. Each entry in my dataset represents either a sun break taken during the day or a sleep session logged from the previous night. I manually tracked my sun breaks, while my sleep metrics—like total sleep time and disruptions—were recorded with a sleep tracking device.

• Sun Break Data: I logged the duration of each sun break, which body parts were exposed (e.g., face, arms), the intensity of sunlight (how warm or energizing it felt), weather conditions, and the UV index. I also tracked environmental sounds, such as traffic noise, airplane sounds, car honking, and sirens. This gave me a fuller picture of my exposure to both natural and urban elements during each sun break.
• Sleep Data: I used my sleep tracking device to capture total sleep duration and awake time (minutes spent awake during the night), which served as a proxy for sleep quality. Together, these metrics allowed me to examine whether there was any connection between sun exposure during the day and my sleep patterns at night.

After collecting data for a week, I realized that analyzing sounds would require a melted dataset. Originally, each type of sound had its own column (e.g., bus, airplane, honking, sirens), making it difficult to compare across sound types. By melting the data into two columns—Sound Type and Sound Count—I was able to treat each sound as a single variable. This restructuring made it easier to compare the frequency of different sound types in Tableau, allowing me to explore whether certain sounds were more common during sun breaks and how they might affect my overall experience.

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A Three-Week Sleep Pattern Overview

The first chart I created tracked my sleep duration across three weeks, with key events annotated. This view provided a broad sense of how my sleep fluctuated over time and allowed me to see if specific factors, like the start of sun breaks or life disruptions, had any notable effects.

• Observations: My sleep duration ranged from around 4 hours to over 8 hours on different nights. Key events included the start of my sun breaks, an interruption when I picked up family from the airport at 2 a.m., and the day I began new medication.

This initial analysis hinted at a potential benefit from regular sun exposure, though it was clear that many factors influenced my sleep, making it difficult to isolate the effects of sun breaks alone in this short timeframe.

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Comparing Sleep Quality Before and After Sun Breaks

To better understand the impact of my sun breaks, I compared my average sleep duration and disturbances before and after starting these daily outdoor breaks.

• Observations: The average sleep duration increased slightly, from 6.5 hours before sun breaks to 6.7 hours after. But there was also a increase in time spent awake during sleep. However, I also noticed a small increase in the time spent awake during sleep, suggesting that while sun breaks might support sleep duration, other factors like evening routines still impacted sleep quality.

This section reinforced the potential of natural light exposure to support better sleep, but it also highlighted the influence of many external factors on my overall sleep quality.

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Exploring UV Intensity and Sleep Disturbances

To see if sunlight intensity had any effect on sleep quality, I looked at the relationship between UV index and awake time during sleep.

• Observations: Days with a higher UV index generally corresponded with fewer disturbances (i.e., less awake time during sleep). I also tended to take longer sun breaks on these high-UV days, likely because they felt warmer and more inviting.

This insight was intriguing but subtle, indicating a need for further study if I want to validate the connection between sunlight intensity and sleep disturbances.

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Fun Fact: A Look at Environmental Sounds

During my sun breaks, I also tracked the types of sounds around me. Listening to traffic noise, airplane sounds, honking, and sirens added a unique layer to each break. Tracking sounds helped me stay present and engaged with my surroundings instead of scrolling through my phone. While the sounds themselves didn’t appear to directly impact my sleep, noticing them brought a mindfulness element to my sun breaks, making these outdoor moments more intentional and refreshing.

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Conclusion

Tracking my sun exposure and sleep patterns over two weeks provided some interesting insights, but it also highlighted the complexity of trying to influence sleep quality through a single lifestyle adjustment.

1. Sun Breaks Might Help Stabilize Sleep: Regular exposure to sunlight showed a small positive effect on my sleep duration and disturbances, though more time and data would be needed to draw definitive conclusions.
2. Intensity Matters: Higher UV days seemed particularly beneficial, suggesting that the quality of sunlight (not just the quantity) may play a role in sleep quality.
3. Mindful Breaks Add Value: Tracking environmental sounds helped me stay present during sun breaks, making these outdoor moments more intentional and refreshing. While not directly impacting sleep, this awareness seemed to contribute positively to my overall routine.

Reflection

With just a few weeks of data, it’s hard to say if sun breaks alone improved my sleep. The small changes hint at some benefits, but many factors—like stress, diet, and routine—affect sleep quality. This project showed me how small, intentional habits can add up. Even if effects are gradual, paying attention to daily patterns can reveal valuable insights for long-term well-being. This experiment was a great opportunity to reflect on my habits, and I plan to keep tracking these elements to see if stronger patterns emerge over time.