I spent most of my teens and twenties effectively hiding from the sun. Like everyone else, I assumed that the ‘sun=bad’ messaging I was bombarded with from every direction was correct. After all, Science ™ is just so much smarter now, right?
So I pretty much lathered myself in SPF 50 whenever I went out, especially in spring/summer. I was especially paranoid because I come from southern Europe and the summers are merciless and long (plus, houses are painted stark white – you cannot imagine the glare!). And because I was concerned with the crazy amount of artificial chemicals in most sunscreens, I always opted for the physical ones (and I don’t think I need to tell anyone just how non-user-friendly those are…).
But I thought, it’s important, so suck it up. It was an absolute nuisance, uncomfortable and it made me feel self-conscious at every turn, because I was always sweatier and grimier than everyone else (white clown face was also NOT a good look on me).
Fast forward to my first volunteering experience, working on a farm. I was working a hoe on a dried up piece of land on the surface of the sun(!), dripping in sweat and cursing my life when I realized ‘this is inhuman’ – in every sense of the word.
Also stupid: why am I bothering to apply sunscreen, only to have it sweat off on its own, or be wiped out because I can’t stand the feeling of rolling sweat beads streaming down my face – I’m back to where I started, only exceedingly more uncomfortable (never mind all the money spent and packaging that’s not going to get recycled…).
At that moment I decided, that’s it, we’re going ‘old-school’ – from now on, long loose sleeves and a wide-brimmed hat. Whatever is not filtered by that, I’m sure I’ll survive!
After that moment, I started using sunscreen less and less, finding that the physical protection provided by natural fabrics was not only exceedingly effective, it was also infinitely more comfortable.
At the same time, I gradually started to gain a more holistic understanding of the essential role and benefits of sunlight in health (generally) and can say that I’m now at an almost 180 turn from where I started.
Sunlight composition
The solar spectrum of light that reaches us on Earth is comprised of different wavelengths – all of which affect, regulate and ‘feed’ our bodies:
- Ultraviolet light (UV A + B)
- Blue light
- Red and Infrared light
The amount of each type of wavelength will vary depending on the time of day, on the distance of the Earth from the sun and the angle at which it reaches the atmosphere. However, at any given moment throughout the day, sunlight is always over 50% red and infrared. At sunrise and sunset, that goes up to 80% – this is the case whether it’s actually sunny or cloudy outside.
Let’s break each one of them down.
The benefits of sunlight
UV Light
Sunlight is always less than 10% UV light, even in peak midday during summer.
The UV content of sunlight will vary depending on your latitude and the seasons. The closer you are to the Equator, the more constant and higher the UV level will be.
The further away you are from the Equator, the more variability you’ll be subject to, depending on the seasons of the year – the UV index will be higher in summer and lower in winter.
UV light is highest around midday – that typical period between 10:00 and 14:00 most health authorities warn you about, when speaking of sunscreen and sun protection.
UV light can be divided into A and B (also C, but that one is filtered by the ozone layer in our atmosphere). Both are shorter wavelengths – B a bit shorter than A.
UVA
UVA is an essential stimulant for nitric oxide in the body. Nitric oxide is responsible for dilating blood vessels to allow blood flow, carrying oxygen and nutrients, as well as to remove the metabolic waste of energy production in the body. It’s very important for blood pressure regulation.
It’s also very important for setting your circadian rhythm, through a photoreceptor called neuropsin, found throughout the skin of our bodies and in our eyes.
UVB
UVB light is, of course, the ‘notorious’ agent behind sunburns and main party targeted by the filters in sunscreen (SPF). It’s also the driver of vitamin D production in the body. This vitamin is actually a very important biomarker for our sun exposure habits. When healthy, vitamin D levels should naturally fall between 40 and 60 ng/mL.
There is a case to be made for getting your vitamin D the natural way (from the sun), as opposed to supplementation (more about that later).
UVB also stimulates a pro-hormone called POMC (pro-opiomelanocortin), which distills into several different hormones, including melanocytes and endorphins.
Melanocytes stimulate melanin (ie. tanning), but are also essential for maintaining a healthy body composition, by lowering appetite and increasing energy production, boosting our metabolism.
Endorphins, on the other hand, are already very well known to improve memory, mood and cognitive function. They also help to reduce anxiety and compulsive behavior, as well as help support the immune system.
Blue Light
The presence and amount of blue light in the atmosphere is the main signal the body has to establish its internal clock (the 24 hour circadian rhythm). It does this through the same melanopsin photoreceptor mentioned earlier, in this case through the eye retina.
Blue light is at its highest around midday, when it makes up about 25% of sunlight.
The presence of blue light inhibits melatonin release from the pineal gland and maintains cortisol levels, in order to keep us awake and alert during the day.
Artificial blue light
Artificial blue light is not the same as natural blue light. Modern tech is very high in ‘unnatural’ blue light, meaning light completely devoid of any red and infrared wavelengths, which are considered less energy efficient for technology.
Screens, LED lights and fluorescent bulbs deliver an unnaturally high dose of blue light in isolation, messing with our internal clock and hormone balance, and highjacking the dopamine systems in the body.
When you consider that, on top of that, glass panes block about 40% of red and infrared light, and almost 100% of UV light, it’s not hard to see why so many of us would be overdosing on blue light.
Symptoms of blue light toxicity
- Difficulty concentrating
- Difficulty learning and memorizing
- Poor quality sleep
- Tendency to crave and indulge in stimulants during the day
- Compulsive behavior and a tendency to engage in addictive activities
Red & Infrared Light
Both are very long wavelengths and are the main constituents of sunlight, at any given time of day and throughout the seasons.
They penetrate into the body where they stimulate the mitochondria directly to produce energy and metabolic water. More about both of those concepts further down.
Exposure to red and infrared light before UV light actually helps protect the skin from burning, so it makes sense to soak up as many sunsets and sunrise as possible.
It’s also been shown to speed up wound healing and recovery, while also improving skin elasticity. It’s the science behind all those fancy, anti-aging, acne-fighting red light masks that cost a fortune.
One less well known fact is that infrared light also helps the body metabolize glucose more efficiently, lowering blood sugar levels by about 30%. For this reason, it’s a great idea to eat your meals outside, whenever possible.
The demonization of sunlight
Most of the clinical studies conducted on the dangers of sunlight were actually performed using UV light in isolation. This is in fact ‘artificial’ UV light, absent any kind of red and infrared, since natural sunlight only contains about 10% UV.
In the same way that most SPF is assessed by putting a layer of sunscreen over the skin and pointing pure UV light on it, to see how long it takes to get red (*). It’s an artificial environment that doesn’t come close to replicating the real conditions human beings actually live in.
On the other hand, you have multiple studies praising the beneficial effects of red and infrared light, not only as a regenerative, but also as a protectant against UV cellular damage.
There is also a growing number of studies emphasizing insufficient sun exposure as a public health problem, increasing all-cause mortality across the board.
On the other hand, a high-dose irregular exposure to the sun has been found to be a risk factor in skin cancers, but a less intense regular exposure has not. This means you should cultivate a gradual but regular exposure to natural sunlight (without sunscreen), instead of trying to max out on it on a full summer’s day at the beach, for instance.
The idea is to very gradually tan but NOT burn.
Bottom line is that here are many perverse incentives in the Health and Beauty industry, and we need to start looking at the bigger picture. Society has been lathering up with sunscreen at an exponential rate for the last 50 years or so, but somehow skin cancer rates have never been higher, and they just keep rising.
Sunlight & the mitochondria
Infrared and UV light are the most valuable electromagnetic frequencies for our biology, not least because our mitochondria run on it.
Mitochondria are most well known for making the vast majority of energy in the body, by pulling the electrons from the food we eat to turn into adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Aside from actual food, electrons are also pulled from sunlight and something called ‘grounding’, which is direct contact of the body with the surface of the Earth (usually through the palms and feet).
The creation of ATP also creates something called ‘metabolic water’, which is the actual main party responsible for cellular hydration. The amount of water created is a reflection of our mitochondria health.
If you’re constantly feeling depleted of energy, it’s a clear sign of low mitochondria health.
The mitochondria are batteries that not only sense light (they’re antennas), they emit light as well. They generate red light (heat), allowing us to maintain and regulate our body temperature.
Cold exposure is another fantastic way of boosting this natural ability. When in contact with cold, a chain reaction sets off a compensatory heat response. At the same time, the shiver response actually increases mitochondria cells in the body (the so called, browning of fat).
During winter, or if you’re in an environment where you can’t access abundant natural light, you can and should compensate by purposely exposing yourself to cold (water is far more effective here than atmospheric temperature).
Mitochondria can become more and more dysfunctional with age. The mitochondria you inherit genetically already comes with its specific set of ‘mutations’ and you create new ones through lifestyle and exposure to the environment (this accumulation is called heteroplasmy). This is a primary driver of disease-causing changes to the epigenetics of your DNA.
balancing sunlight & cold exposure
Fun fact: we inherit our mitochondria from our mother and it can be coupled or uncoupled.
Depending on what kind we have, we can adapt our approach to reap the maximum benefits, the ‘easiest’ way possible.
The best way of knowing what kind of mitochondria you have is to look at your mother’s natural skin tone.
If it’s darker, you hail from more Equatorial regions and have a coupled mitochondria. This type is very effective at producing energy from the sun, because it’s used to getting a higher UV throughout most of the year. This means you’re very good at leveraging sunlight exposure to power your mitochondria and should be exposing yourself to the sun on a daily basis to be running optimally.
If your mother’s skin is on the lighter side, you hail from northern latitudes and have uncoupled mitochondria. This means it’s less used to abundant quality UV and has adapted to separate electron flow from energy production and is more effective at producing metabolic heat. You’ll be most optimized to leverage cold exposure in winter and sun exposure in summer, to power your mitochondria.
A case for the sun: benefits of vitamin D from the sun
A low vitamin D level is associated with melanomas (as well as about a billion other health issues). Studies on vitamin D supplementation show mixed results, where benefits in many instances aren’t seen on people who are not deficient. Meaning, if your vitamin D levels are good, supplementing may not bring you any added extras to health.
There’s growing evidence for serum levels of 25(OH)D as a proxy and NOT a mediator. In other words, they’re an indicator (barometer) of healthy sunlight exposure and not necessarily the driver of the health benefits registered.
Considering vitamin D is actually, technically, a hormone that our body produces in the ‘right’ circumstances, there’s also a real potential danger in uncoupling that system by consuming an external source – like with synthetic melanin, you risk messing up the complex infrastructure balanced in the body and your own natural ability to produce your own.
On the other hand, regular exposure to UV light is conversely related to rates and severity of melanomas. This means, unlike what you might expect, people who expose themselves regularly to sunlight actually have lower incidences of skin cancer, and when they do have skin cancer, it’s typically less severe.
Vitamin D is made in response to exposure to UVB light. As already mentioned above, it also makes POMC (pro-opiomelanocortin), which among other things, stimulates the production of melanin in the body, tanning your skin.
Aside from giving you a nice glow, melanin acts like chlorophyll does in plants: when interacting with the sun, it splits water molecules, liberating electrons and creating more energy.
In order to be able to produce melanin, you need to allow pure sunlight to touch your skin and your eyes. For this reason, sunglasses can be just as bad as sunscreen – you need to let full-spectrum light to reach the light sensors in your skin and eyes.
This doesn’t mean look directly into the sun (that would be BAD), rather you should allow the full spectrum light to enter the retinas, without blockers.
Like with so many other things regarding health, beauty and wellness, there needs to be a risk-benefit analysis and not a one-size-fits-all dogmatic mentality, that ends up causing more harm in the long-run.
Human beings run on sunlight – our entire biology has evolved alongside the natural cycle of sunlight and darkness.
Tips to harvest sunlight correctly
- Obviously, number one is to be outside as much as you can. If you work indoors, take frequent breaks to get some natural light as often as possible.
- When working indoors, open your windows as much as possible to make sure that you’re getting full spectrum light beaming in. Remember, glass blocks almost half of red/infrared light and almost all UV.
- If you’re working with computers all day and/or don’t have control over the lighting situation in your work environment, it would be a good idea to get blue blockers (silly as they look).
Some block 100% of blue light – these are best for evening and nighttime use, when the presence of blue light will disrupt melatonin production. But you can get others that block about 60% of blue light, to wear during working hours – the natural time of day when blue light should be present.
- Expose as much bare skin as possible and don’t forget the eyes – both need to let unfiltered sunlight in, in order to reap the full benefits, so avoid wearing glasses, sunglasses or contact lenses.
- Look to your skin tone. If your skin is darker, you’ll need more exposure time in peak UV hours to stimulate vitamin D production. If your skin is very pale, you’ll need less time and you should be careful to gradually build up your ‘solar callus‘.
Tips to prevent blue light toxicity at night
- Get full spectrum non-LED bulbs for your house – they contain all wavelengths of light and don’t flicker. Flicker does not occur in nature and does disrupt.
- If you can, get some red light bulbs to use at sunset hours and at night – you want to make it as warm a light as possible, in order to support your natural circadian rhythm.
- If you can’t do red, try an amber color, as dim as possible (brightness also disrupts melatonin levels). Candlelight is a great option here.
- Also, place your lights at a lower level, even on the ground, and NOT overhead. Our eyes are able to assess the source of light – light overhead sends the signal that it’s earlier in the day (when the sun is naturally high in the sky), further disrupting the natural sleep-wake cycle of the body.
- Use apps to filter out blue and flicker on your screens. Flicker doesn’t occur naturally in our environment and it activates the sympathetic nervous system (the stress response). You can use apps like Flux and Iris to tone down the harmful elements.
Natural sunlight is absolutely crucial to health – it should be a non-negotiable! Humanity has known about the benefits of sunlight for hundreds and thousands of years.
Since our modern lifestyles by nature make us so blue light toxic, it’s up to everyone individually to do all they can to balance that out. And it’s not just a matter of preventing disease and feeling healthier and more energetic (though that should be enough).
Blue light toxicity rigs your dopamine system. When this is shot to hell your body is in a constant stressed state, effectively giving you tunnel vision – you’re not able to see the bigger picture and think critically. You’re also less open-minded and curious. All of which leads to a more black and white rigid mentality and a less rich state of existence – and this will have a knock-on effect in everything in your life.
