By Kevin Kolodziejski
Sometimes it’s not a matter of what you do, but what you don’t.
Don’t exercise, for instance, and you die.
The World Health Organization isn’t quite that point-blank about it, but about a dozen years ago it tactfully reported 3.2 million “physically inactive” people die each year as a result of their inactivity. And while the WHO’s 2024 update is more disheartening, it’s just as tactful, disclosing that if only the global population was more physically active, up to 5 million deaths could be “averted” each year.
But why rehash all this now and especially with you, a cyclist? The odds are low you’re one of the 1.8 billion adults who fail to meet the WHO’s recommended levels of physical activity. Because the odds are high you’re one of the billions who, whether they pedal or not, do something else.
Abandon Impractical Healthy Practices
Come on, admit it. Because of the way you either choose or need to live your life, some helpful health and fitness practices just don’t work for you, so you say sayonara to them. But there’s no reason to beat yourself up over doing so. It’s not personal failure. It’s human nature.
But that fact does little to lessen the bad feeling that inevitably accompanies any such abandonment. That sense that you’re letting yourself down. I know. I experience it many early mornings as I stand, stretch, see the sun beginning to rise, yet return to researching or writing a column. That’s because of all the good there is to be gotten by getting outside early and . . .
Getting a Dose of Sunlight
Experts will tell you that getting an hour of daylight any time of the day every day is a great way to keep your brain’s biological clock running efficiently and your body’s circadian rhythms in sync (as well as that last Sunday’s switch to Daylight Saving Time can disrupt both for up to a week). One expert in particular sings the praises of getting about five minutes of early morning UV light exposure from the sun on clear days, or 20 to 30 minutes of it if it’s cloudy.
That expert is Dr. Andrew Huberman, a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine and the host of the popular the Huberman Lab podcast. So popular that what he’s broadcast has been viewed on YouTube more than 150 million times — even though a full one can last longer than a Springsteen concert with two encores. Because of that, Huberman summarizes his beliefs in snippets on Instagram for his seven million followers. There and on his website, you’ll read that he considers viewing morning sunlight to be “in the top five of all actions [along with sleep, movement, nutrient intake, and relationships] that support mental health, physical health, and performance.”
To illustrate Huberman’s no lone wolf howling at the moon on this matter, consider what Mariana G. Figueiro, professor and director of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai’s Light and Health Research Center, shares with Kelsey Vlamis in a 2023 Business Insider article about Huberman. That when it comes to your overall health, outdoor light is “just as important as diet and exercise.”
So why did I stop going outside to watch the sunrise or stare at the clouds despite the fact I’m fully aware doing either creates a 50 percent increase in cortisol? Though excessive cortisol secretion has been linked to anxiety, inflammation, insulin overload, weight gain, and even some cancers, its release at this specific point in the day enhances your health by improving alertness, aiding immune function, and working in conjunction with your biological clock to make it more likely you sleep soundly about 14 hours later. The answer is . . .
It Just Wasn’t Practical
At least it’s not for me for most of the year.
For most of the year, I’m an hour or more into researching or writing an article at the break of day. And although, as previously mentioned, I do stand and stretch periodically to aid the thought process, I found going outside, especially for the amount of time needed on cloudy days, often does the opposite. The break’s long enough that I can lose my train of thought or — even worse — encounter writer’s block. Meeting deadlines, something that had never been a problem before, became one.
I hate missing deadlines almost as much getting totally soaked and going hypothermic on bike rides. So that led to me giving up on getting early sunlight, experiencing the accompanying disappointment, as well as feeling a need to share my story and to offer this bit of advice.
That it’s perfectly okay to pooh-pooh a solid health and fitness practice that proves to be impractical for you, provided you never pooh-pooh the importance practicality plays in your health.
Case in Point: Weight Loss
Any diet at its start, and especially an extreme one, produces immediate weight loss. But for the weight loss to stay lost, you need to stay on that diet. And no matter how psyched you are to be 30 pounds lighter 60 days later, you won’t continue that diet long term unless you find it be what an early dose of sunshine was not for me: a practical health and fitness practice.
Kevin Kolodziejski began his writing career in earnest in 1989. Since then he’s written a weekly health and fitness column and his articles have appeared in magazines such as “MuscleMag,” “Ironman,” “Vegetarian Times,” and “Bicycle Guide.” He has Bachelor and Masters degrees in English from DeSales and Kutztown Universities.
A competitive cyclist for more than 30 years, Kevin won two Pennsylvania State Time Trial championships in his 30’s, the aptly named Pain Mountain Time Trial 4 out of 5 times in his 40s, two more state TT’s in his 50’s, and the season-long Pennsylvania 40+ BAR championship at 43.