Good day sunshine

It’s fall, and the temperature finally feels like it. Fall is my favorite season, filled with hot chocolate, sweaters, cool breezes, leaves changing, hockey season… I could go on and on! But today, in this moment, I am acutely aware of the weather and the awesomeness of working at home on such a fine day.

Looking out my window, the sky is a beautiful robin’s egg blue without a cloud to be seen. My window is open with the cool breeze filling my office with a renewing, crisp sense of freshness. My backdoor is open, allowing the faint echo of the gong-style wind chime on my porch to provide delicate background music to my day. My dog Lucy is staring out the front door keeping watch while soaking in the sun, showing off her beautiful smile.

Isn’t that a poetic picture? Doesn’t that describe a place you would love to work? It’s only possible because I’m at home. In the office, I’d be in a cube somewhere with that sunlight teasing me, if visible at all, with none of the renewing accompaniments.

There’s more to this note than to brag. There is science behind the impact of sunlight, temperature, and fresh air towards your productivity. People that are exposed to natural daylight remain more alert than their sleepy counterparts exposed to artificial lighting. Your cortisol levels drop significantly under poor or artificial lighting, which increases your stress levels. Many of you will also recognize the relationship that low cortisol levels have towards weight gain. Similarly, lack of sunlight can also lower your levels of serotonin, which regulates sleep, appetite, mood, and memory. Some researchers believe that low serotonin is also connected with clinical depression.

Are you having trouble sleeping? It could be that your body is out of its circadian rhythm due to lack of sun exposure. Sunlight helps tell your body that nighttime is over and to stop producing melatonin. If you produce melatonin all day and that pattern remains the same, then you become used to it and it isn’t helping your body fall naturally to sleep. It’s like when people say caffeine doesn’t impact them because it’s so commonplace to them it’s like water. As a result, some folks (like my poor office-bound hubby) are taking melatonin supplements. Sunlight will stop the release of melatonin and allow you to reserve the natural stuff for bedtime.

To me, open windows seem to freshen everything up. It circulates the air, bringing in raw, new air to replace the stagnant air. The air is no longer being filtered through the AC/Furnace and is pure from the source, like drinking natural spring water. I don’t know about you, but it’s a great reminder that my filter probably needs to be changed (note to self). When you consider the office, all air is always run through machines, so you are dependent on their maintenance to manage what you breathe. Not to mention all the funk brought in by those around you – how quickly does that air turnover? This results in poor air quality in the office, which is directly attributed to poor performance and more sick days.

Lack of sunshine can ruin your sleep, mood, eating habits, memory, and much more. Lack of fresh air results in fatigue and illness. All of these things translate into your productivity and quality at work. If you are not your best self, you cannot put your best effort into your activities.

There are things an office worker can do to help. But, as work at home folks, we have a true advantage. We control our environments. We control our access to Mother Nature in our work day and our breaks. Therefore, we control our potential for greatness.