I do this, but seasonality can be an issue. The last few winters I've added some artificial lighting that ramps up before sunrise, with seemingly positive results.
Yep. My bed faces an east window so during winter I can tell before opening my eyes in the morning what it's like outside. On days like today when it's 55F, I wake up naturally before my alarm with no desire to keep sleeping, my breathing feels amazing, I have no muscle soreness, and I just get right out of bed. When it's cold and the sun isn't out, I feel like I'm trying to get over a bad cold. Artificial lamps help quite a bit though.
Curious how you implemented this. I bought a Phillips “sunrise alarm clock” about a year ago, but the light was weak and I didn’t feel a difference at all. Did you hack together something yourself?