Lifestyle Habits For Long Term Health. Part 2 – Get more natural sunlight.
Get More Natural Sunlight during the day and limiting exposure to bright light at night has amazing benefits. Exposure to UVB radiation, is important for many reasons, one being Vitamin D which is essential for the expression of over one thousand genes in the body. Vitamin D deficiency is a widespread issue and is associated with an increased risk of cancer, type II diabetes, and even Multiple Sclerosis. Vitamin D is not the only benefit we can gain from sun exposure, however. Several other health related mechanisms in the body are regulated by sunlight as well. Two key hormones that ebb and flow with exposure to sunlight are serotonin and melatonin. During the day, upon exposure to sunlight, serotonin is released, which has vast implications on the body from memory and mood, to digestion, and even organ growth and development. So, when I take a walk in the sun I find it puts me in a good mood almost instantly. This due to the release and impact of serotonin.
As night falls, the lack of optic exposure to light triggers a series of reactions which converts the serotonin to melatonin. This hormone plays a critical role not only in regulating our sleep-wake times, but also functions as a powerful antioxidant. In fact, studies have found that melatonin is one of the most effective antioxidants known today. It makes perfect sense that this would be the case as it corresponds with our sleep time in which the majority of our repair and growth takes place. Basically, it helps us to get a good night of sleep while also repairing and protecting our bodies from damage that arises from free radicals and overall inflammation.
You should know by now how important sleep is for overall function and well-being. I find a good practice is to limit exposure to bright light in the hours leading to bed. Although you may find that you can sleep just fine after scrolling through your social media feed, you may be losing out on deeper and more restful sleep along with the reparative effects that accompany a robust melatonin production.
