A prominent neuroscientist has advised people to do one thing every day within an hour of getting up. It's pretty simple, too - although real life may make it more of a challenge.

Professor Andrew Huberman, a well-known neuroscientist and podcaster, has been a keen advocate of getting people exposed to daylight at the start of the day for many years. He says it is one of the top five things people can do to improve their physical health, performance and mental health.

Professor Huberman is an associate professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at the Stanford University School of Medicine. His podcast, the Huberman Lab, is seen or listened to by millions of people each episode, and was in 2025 one of the 10 most popular pods in the world.

• 5 red flag signs you are deficient in rarely-considered vitamin that can leave you blind


• ‘I’m a dentist, do 1 quick thing after every meal and drink for better teeth’

He says daylight helps to regulate our “circadian clock” - which helps with when we wake up and go to sleep. And he says it also manages other things like hunger and body temperature.

'Get morning daylight in your eyes'

In a new post on X, he said: "Get morning daylight in your eyes. I wish I’d called it daylight and not sunlight [because any time there’s clouds people say 'there’s no sun here']. Compare how bright it is on an overcast morning with at night. There’s lots of daylight! Do this every day, especially on overcast days.

"It’s impossible to overstate how important this protocol is for your health and well-being. I know I’ve been saying this for years. Take comfort in knowing that 2026 I’ll be saying it even more!"

On his website, the guidance is even clearer. It states that "viewing sunlight within the first hours of waking (as soon as you can, even if through cloud cover) increases early-day cortisol release (the ideal time for elevated cortisol) and prepares the body for sleep later that night. A morning spike in cortisol will also positively influence your immune system, metabolism and ability to focus during the day."

Yet many people may find it hard to stick to the rule about the first hour of the day given the challenges of daily life. Parents helping their kids get ready in the morning and people working from home are just two of the groups who might find this advice hard to follow regularly.

One follower on X asked: "Professor, what is the mandatory amount of light received per day? I find this difficult because I work with clients from the US, but I live in the EST +11 time zone, which means I live in darkness.

"What advice can you give me, considering that my schedule will remain the same in the near future, on how I can minimize the damage?"

The podcaster replied: "Difficult to answer this question. Depends on the number of factors.

"Try and get some bright light in your eyes ideally from daylight in the first hour after waking, but if you wake up too early for that to happen, then perhaps consider a 10K Lux artificial light that you put in your bathroom or kitchen.

"Getting daylight in your eyes before 10 AM is known to set an earlier sleep time and better sleep. Given the constraints of normal life I just suggest getting out for a walk in the morning or midmorning if you can and again in the evening if you can and just driving to get as much daylight as possible, working near your window, etc."

What is cortisol?

It plays a significant role in managing your body’s stress response. According to the Cleveland Clinic, "Cortisol is a steroid hormone that your adrenal glands (the glands on top of your kidneys) make. Cortisol affects several aspects of your health and helps regulate your body’s response to stress. High or low levels of cortisol can impact your health."

It is an essential hormone that affects most parts of the body. It plays key roles in regulating how the body uses glucose (sugar) for energy, regulating blood pressure, decreasing inflammation and helping control your sleep-wake cycle.

What are the benefits of sunlight?

Sunlight helps with the production of Vitamin D. The nutrient is important for the body's processes.

It helps with reducing inflammation, supporting healthy bones, supporting the immune system and glucose metabolism and managing calcium levels.

According to a report published by the National Library of Medicine, "the best-known benefit of sunlight is its ability to boost the body’s vitamin D supply; most cases of vitamin D deficiency are due to lack of outdoor sun exposure. At least 1,000 different genes governing virtually every tissue in the body are now thought to be regulated by 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25[OH]D), the active form of the vitamin, including several involved in calcium metabolism and neuromuscular and immune system functioning."

Author Richard B Weller, writing in 2016 in Blood Purification, said that "sunlight has beneficial effects on cardiovascular risk factors independently of vitamin D." He added: "Sunlight is a risk factor for skin cancer, but sun avoidance may carry more of a cost than benefit for overall good health."