Sleeping Outdoors Could Reset Your Circadian Rhythm—Here’s Where to Try It

I’d plotted my Buahan trip as a mental respite between two major writing projects. The thick jungle foliage, which provides a surprising amount of privacy for the property’s 16 well-spaced villas, provides around-the-clock nature therapy. I fell asleep to the sound of crickets, rose to the chorus of birds, and spent at least an hour a day watching the clouds and palms from my hand-forged copper tub.

What I hadn’t expected was to snooze so soundly, especially after countless months of poor sleep hygiene due to taxing deadlines and book-launch stressors. But it’s not all that surprising.

Research shows that sleeping in nature can reset your circadian rhythm, even for those who’ve adopted poor nighttime habits. Add to this the soaring popularity of sleep tourism, and it’s no wonder luxury hotels around the world are now helping travelers reap the benefits of al fresco slumbers.

Sleep tourism is among the year’s most buzzed-about travel trends, and it shows no signs of slowing. Experts predict the multibillion-dollar industry could grow 8% by 2028, and the widespread sleep epidemic is bolstering these estimates. In the U.S. alone, nearly 40 percent of adults report getting insufficient sleep, according to the CDC. This can lead to heart disease, obesity, and poor focus, among myriad other health problems.

Wellness travel leaders now offer a host of inventive fixes like pillow menus, nighttime meditations, personalized AI smart beds, and multi-day sleep retreats.

Yet, as I learned during four paradisiacal mornings in Bali, the simple act of slumbering in nature, rising and resting based on natural light, can do wonders for your sleep hygiene.

It’s largely due to the absence of unnatural light. Steady exposure to artificial illumination, like the kind many of us rely on in the workplace and at home, disrupts the body’s production of snooze-cueing melatonin. These bright lights can drastically delay sleep, making it tough to wake up and remain sharp. Slumbering by the sun’s natural cues can rejig a disrupted circadian rhythm, and it works quickly.

A small study published in Current Biology in 2017 found that even just one weekend of alfresco sleeping, sans fake light, can bring the body’s internal clock roughly 2.5 hours closer to a natural sleep-wake cycle. My favorite Bali alarm clock—that golden morning glow—plays an especially important role.

“Sunrise is one of the most powerful time cues,” says Allison Brager, a neuroscientist and sleep expert on the National Academy of Sports Medicine’s Scientific Council. “Even under conditions of extreme sleep loss, it has the ability to provide a jolt of alertness that no energy drink or caffeine source could ever provide.”