Sunlight is life friendly light …
When done right!
Healthy sun exposure is key to well-being and vitality. The question then becomes: How do we handle sunlight exposure properly in our modern world to reduce the risks and reap the benefits.
Before modern times we lived our lives in tune with seasonal flows and our key activities, one example of which was food production, were driven by these same seasonal flows. We got up at sunrise, worked, rested in the middle of the day if it was particularly hot, and then finished our day by firelight before sleeping. By being outside daily, we toned our skin to the changing strength of sunlight, and therein lies the key.
We are not toning our skin to sunlight now like we used to as most of us spend so much time indoors. So, as we head into the warmer months – with higher levels of ultraviolet (UV) radiation in sunlight – those of us with pale skin are at risk of sunburn. Granted, many avoid this either by using sunscreen or covering up. In doing so, you reduce the risk of sunlight exposure related harms, such as photoaging - wrinkles, immunosuppression and cancers of the skin,[1] but you also radically decrease the benefits associated with healthy sun exposure, Vitamin D production in the skin and blood pressure lowering are two benefits.
A more tangible and not so mundane example illustrating a benefit of healthy sun exposure is that we all know we don’t feel so good on a dark, gloomy day whereas we get a ‘pep in our step’ … just feel good … on a lovely sunny day.
Sun exposure around dawn and dusk: Why it’s so important and so healthy for us
Research shows that exposure of the skin to sunlight early in the morning, when sunlight is predominantly composed of visible and near infrared solar wavelengths and there is little to no UV radiation, provides a protective mechanism against UV-induced damage to skin later in the day.[2] That is, it preconditions our skin to tolerate higher UV levels later in the day. The take-home is, going for an early morning walk with your skin exposed provides a pre-treatment making your skin more resilient to higher levels of UV later in the day. And interestingly, a walk at dusk as the sun is setting provides an opportunity to repair damage induced by sunlight exposures earlier in the day when the sun is at its strongest.
For those wanting a bit more detail on the significance of sunlight to our health …
I recommend the work of A Midwestern Doctor, the author of the ‘Forgotten Side of Medicine’ on substack, for those wanting a bit more detail on the significance of sunlight to our health. Specifically, I recommend the following two blogs:
Dermatology’s Horrendous War Against The Sun (re-published as an abridged version July 5, 2024)
Natural Light is An Essential Nutrient (published June 15, 2024)
To do:
Get out of bed and see the sunrise … every day!
If it’s hard to get out of bed you’re going to have to go to bed earlier. Getting off screens and just reading a book may well make it easier to sleep and therefore get out of bed early enough to catch the sunrise.
Go for a walk at dusk - with your paramour, your children, or a dear friend.
Try and improve your man-made light environment in your home and your workplace if you can (blog to come on this matter).
Good luck!!
[1] Heiskanen, V., Pfiffner, M., & Partonen, T. (2020). Sunlight and health: shifting the focus from vitamin D3 to photobiomodulation by red and near-infrared light. Ageing Res Rev, 61, 101089. doi:10.1016/j.arr.2020.101089
[2] Barolet, D., Christiaens, F., & Hamblin, M. R. (2016). Infrared and skin: Friend or foe. J Photochem Photobiol B, 155, 78-85. doi:10.1016/j.jphotobiol.2015.12.014