Here's another good doc on it.
For research, the best stuff I found was when I researched into the pineal gland and how it works. Just reading the wikipedia page on the pineal gland is very interesting.
I sun gazed consistently every day for four weeks when I was in LA. I had also switched to eating a completely raw diet at the time (stopped after 45 days). I was living right by Runyon park, so I walked to the viewpoint there every morning before light. I worked up to about 10-15 mins sun gazing. After gazing I would close my eyes and then standing meditate for an hour to an hour and half. It was really nice coupled with the raw diet. I felt about as clear as I've ever felt. But I also felt it detached me a bit.
When I moved away from that spot I wasn't in an area where I had access to sungaze so I stopped. It was a very relaxing and stimulating meditation, but I can't really say it's more than I could gain from any other hour long meditation practice. Whether or not there is direct benefit from looking at the sun, I knew there would at least be benefit in me changing my sleeping schedule to get up early, getting exercise in the morning, taking in sunlight and having consistent meditation. There also is a lot of good research behind getting bare feet on the ground for a certain amount of time everyday. The electrical grounding effect earth has on your system is important for taking away the buildup you get from all the electrical devices your body is constantly bombarded with.
I would like to finish the sun gazing protocol sometime, just to give it enough time for a genuine test and see if there are noticeable effects on energy and hunger. But lately I have pulled back on practicing deep meditation. I enjoy it a lot. It's stimulating, relaxing. I feel very zoned in / in flow etc. But lately I've felt that it's ultimately just increasing my detachment. I feel excessive deep meditation actually pulls me away from social connections into my own little world rather than helps me be in a better place to connect with people. It's a double edged sword because on one hand I better master my own moods, attention, ability to understand myself which translates to a better ability to understand others -- but on the other hand long deep meditations really pull you away from reality. It's nice to feel like you are connected to some "cosmic intelligence", or have a general sense of peace, ease and the idea that nothing matters. But when you are operating from these ideas, it makes it very hard to connect to the day to day life everyone else is involved in. And ultimately, I want to be involved and connected to people where they are at. I feel sometimes people allow themselves to get very detached from others through these practices and research in these types of areas rather than what should be the focus which is connecting better with ourselves and the people around us. But there is no doubt I have gained much from various deep meditation practices, and my thoughts on meditation in general are constantly changing.