Light, Color, and the Way We Feel
Light, Color, and the Way We Feel: Why Morning Sun Changes Everything
I filmed the video above outside because I needed it. New baby at home, my wife breastfeeding around the clock, me running point on everything else. I realized I hadn’t stepped out in days. The second the sun hit my skin, I remembered why I teach this. Light is not a backdrop. It’s information. It’s food. It’s a teacher that tunes our hormones, moods, and attention.
We’re called humans for a reason. Hue = color. The body is designed to read color and light like a second language. Cultures that learned from lineage instead of textbooks knew this instinctively. They used color the way a musician uses key and tempo. Reds and blacks for aggression and initiative. Blues for learning, spaciousness, and joy. You can feel it even now: a deep ocean blue calms your system; a bold red moves you toward action.
Color changes behavior (and it’s not subtle)
We’ve all seen versions of this: change a classroom’s wall color and watch attention and calm improve; repaint a prison block and see aggression shift. Even without the studies, your body knows. Colors adjust your frequency and focus. What you wear reflects (literally) what you radiate. Black pulls energy inward. White reflects it out. Blue broadcasts clarity. Dress an “all-black” emo kid head-to-toe in white and their whole field feels different. I’ve seen it in real time.
The Sun: full spectrum, full message
The sun is white light, which means all colors at once. What we see with our eyes is only a thin slice of the spectrum, but the body listens to the whole song. Infrared, for example, is light we feel as warmth. It wraps around the horizon in the early morning before the sun is visible, which is why it gets warmer before it gets bright. Infrared carries information. Old TV remotes used it to send commands; your cells use it to set clocks, charge mitochondria, and prime you for the day.
Why sunrise matters
Across the world, people who live by wisdom traditions rise before dawn. Spine vertical. Distraction minimal. They bathe in infrared “pre-codes” of the day. If you avoid blue light and screens before sunrise, you keep this channel open. A candle, a far corner lamp, or better yet, the sky itself is enough. Infrared passes through many materials, but not well through aluminum and certain plastics. If you live in a highly synthetic box, step outside to meet the light directly.
Melanin, melatonin, and the dark that nourishes
At night the pineal gland releases melatonin. Mela = dark, tonin = tonic. Dark is not the absence of power. Dark holds light. That’s why black stones get hot in the sun while white crystals often feel cool. Melanin in skin and melanopsin in the eyes are part of your light-reading system. They don’t just make color visible; they tell hormones and energy where to go and when.
Screens aren’t sunlight
Indoor LEDs smash a tiny slice of the spectrum and flicker rapidly. Your conscious mind may ignore it; your nervous system doesn’t. That jittery, low-grade drain is real. The fix isn’t to throw your phone away. Take your phone outside. Sunlight overpowers the flicker and dilutes the blue-heavy signal. Fill up on full spectrum and the screen loses its spell.
Find your sweet spot, not someone else’s rule
Is the sun dangerous? It’s powerful. Like water, breath, sleep, or exercise, too much or too little can harm you. Most modern lives are starved of sunlight, then we binge on a vacation and burn. Burns are outside the sweet spot. The path forward is relationship. Dose, sense, adapt, repeat.
A simple morning light practice
Wake during the pre-sunrise window when you can. Sit or stand with a tall spine.
Keep artificial lights off if possible. Use a candle or a far corner lamp. No screens.
Step outside even for a few minutes. Face the sky. Breathe slow and low.
Let eyes take in the full scene without staring at a point. This tells your brain “we’re safe.”
Feel for when your body says “enough for today.” Track how you sleep that night and how focused you are by mid-morning. Adjust tomorrow.
Midday and afternoon
Midday sun in short, smart intervals can charge mood and metabolism.
Late-afternoon light gently winds the system down. A walk here eases the transition to evening.
Indoors a lot? Schedule “sun breaks” like you would water breaks. Two to three mini-sessions beat one big binge.
Clothing as a dial
Black: conservation, inward focus, heat absorption.
White: reflectivity, expression, social broadcast.
Blue: learning and calm, space to think.
Red: initiative and drive. Use on purpose.
Nature isn’t a luxury, it’s your charger
Mountains, beaches, forests, city parks—each sits on energetic lines that move life around the planet. When we show up, breathe, and pay attention, we help that flow locally and it feeds back into us. That’s not esoteric; it’s how systems stay healthy.
Bottom line
Light is a relationship. Color is a tool. Morning is a teacher. If you treat sunlight like food: consistent, intentional, respectful, you’ll feel your emotions regulate, your sleep deepen, your focus sharpen, and your energy return to something human in the best sense of the word.
If you’re in a cold climate, still go outside. Snow is white: an enormous reflector. Twenty mindful minutes bundled up on a bright winter day can do more for your mood than hours under indoor bulbs.
I’ll keep sharing what I learn, but you don’t need to wait. Step out tomorrow before sunrise. Stand there breathing, watching the world brighten. Let the first light find your eyes. Then notice how the rest of your day changes.
Want guided ways to reconnect with nature—sun, earth, water, wind—in a way that fits real life?
Join me at www.selfexpansion.app. You’ll get weekly practices, short lessons, and simple protocols that help you build a personal, sustainable relationship with the elements.