A way to reset the body's inner clock -- camping

BOULDER, Colo., Aug. 23 (UPI) -- People who having trouble falling asleep, or whose hours are erratic and sleep cycle is wanting, might benefit from camping, U.S. researchers suggest.

Ken Wright of the University of Colorado Boulder said a small study indicated a way to reset the body's internal clocks is to go camping and not use artificial light.

The Colorado researchers took eight healthy young adults back country camping for a week in the Rockies, where they had no light at night other than a campfire.

Before camping, they typically slept around 8 hours, starting after midnight:

"The study subjects obtained the same amount of sleep while camping, although it was timed a little more than an hour earlier -- so bedtimes were earlier and wake times were earlier," Wright said in a statement.

For those who cannot go camping, Wright suggested more morning sun -- wake early and take a walk outside to get a good dose of natural light -- and use less evening electric light to reset your body's inner clock.

The study was published in the journal Current Biology.