Stanford neuroscientist Andrew Huberman says one morning habit sets the tone for his day

"Getting your physical health right - which puts your mental health in the best possible place - is all about intentionally high cortisol in the morning and intentionally low cortisol at night,"

"No, you wake up in the morning because of a rise in cortisol. You want a big, massive spike of cortisol in the morning. If you don't spike your morning cortisol, your cortisol spikes in the afternoon or evening, and then everything goes awry, OK? You want your morning cortisol at least 30x higher than your nighttime cortisol,"

"The best way to spike your morning cortisol is to get bright light - ideally from sunlight - in your eyes in the first hour after waking. If you can't do that, maybe invest in a 10,000 Lux artificial light,"

"I've made a mistake in the past - a tactical mistake, a strategic mistake - by calling it sunlight. People say, 'It's overcast.' What we should say is, 'Get daylight in your eyes,'"

Intentionally high cortisol in the morning and low cortisol at night supports optimal physical and mental health. Cortisol rise triggers waking and a large morning spike prevents late-day or evening cortisol surges that disrupt functioning. Morning cortisol should be substantially higher than nighttime cortisol, roughly thirtyfold. Bright light exposure, ideally sunlight, in the first hour after waking is the most effective way to spike morning cortisol. If sunlight is unavailable, a 10,000 lux artificial light or multiple artificial lights can substitute. Dim mornings combined with bright nights undermine circadian rhythm and impair sleep-wake regulation.

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