By Trafalgar’s Editorial Team
This Content is Created By Kinga Burjan, M.A., R.P.
Did You Know: The Benefit of Sunlight
This episode of “Did You Know” is about the benefit of sunlight.
You might have heard about the physical benefits of vitamin D, but did you know that exposure to natural light in the morning will help your body produce enough melatonin to help you sleep easier at night?
You might have heard of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Those with SAD have mental states that vary with the seasons.
They regularly experience depression in the winter and feel this depression lessening in the spring or the summer.
SAD has also been linked with low levels of serotonin during the day, as well as a delay in the production of melatonin at night, moderately high serotonin levels result in more positive moods and a calm, yet focused mental outlook.
Another study shows that low exposure to sunlight with participants with depression had a significantly higher probability of cognitive impairment.
So as humans, we are designed with our physiology and programmed to be outdoors in the sun during the day and to be in a space of darkness while we sleep at night.
This is why melatonin is produced during the dark hours and stop when we’re exposed to daylight.
Therefore, exposing yourself to sunlight in the morning can help regulate your sleep.
Before doing anything with your physical health, please speak with your doctor first. And be cautious when you are exposed to the sun, because the sun can increase your risk of different cancers and cataracts and other diseases.
Please be mindful. But overall, this is good food for thought in terms of making sure that you do get little exposure to sunlight in the morning to help with those natural biological rhythms.
