My partner yesterday told me he was going put chasing the Aurora, I had to get up early so I couldn’t join him in that quest, but it did get me thinking about how I’m chasing the sunlight currently. One of the key parts of my training was to understand how important light was to our health, I become so engrossed learning about it that my studies went on hold for months.
Mid January, the days are short, the skies more often than not are grey, and many of us feel that familiar drag of winter fatigue and lethargy. Right now our bodies are crying out for something we’ve evolved to crave, sunlight. Specifically, the ultraviolet B (UVB) rays that trigger vitamin D production in our skin.
In the UK, from October to March, the sun is simply not strong enough to produce adequate vitamin D for most people, so deficiency sets in, and can be most felt at this time of year, in particular with the inability to fight off respiratory infections.
We’ve been given mixed messages about sunlight for years, it’s dangerous for us to sit in it and tan, leading to many wearing skin protection factor creams all year around, but we are deficient in vitamin D and in many cases chronically deficient. A groundbreaking long-term study from Sweden highlighted over a decade ago how profoundly sun avoidance can impact longevity, in the past decade the advice on sunlight hasn’t changed fortunately advice on vitamin D supplementation has.
In the Melanoma in Southern Sweden (MISS) cohort, researchers followed nearly 30,000 women over 20 years. They found that those who actively avoided sun exposure had a significantly higher risk of death from major causes, particularly cardiovascular disease (CVD) and non-cancer/non-CVD conditions.
Women with the highest sun exposure habits lived longer, with reduced mortality comparable in magnitude to the benefits of not smoking. Non-smokers who avoided the sun had a similar life expectancy to smokers who got plenty of sun. In essence, chronic sun avoidance was identified as a risk factor for all cause mortality on par with smoking.
The study, published in the Journal of Internal Medicine (2016), suggests that the benefits of moderate sun exposure likely through vitamin D and other mechanisms like nitric oxide release outweigh the risks for many people when its done sensibly. Of course, this doesn’t mean reckless tanning or ignoring skin cancer risks. The key is balance as with everything let’s face it, sensible, non-burning exposure.
Many cultures worshipped the sun, with sun gods being found in Greek, Roman, Inca, Japan, Hindu and Aztec cultures. Thousands of years ago, the ancient Egyptians understood the life giving power of the sun better than most modern societies do today. They worshipped Ra (or Re), the sun god, as the source of all life and creation. Around 2500–2350 BCE, pharaohs built dedicated sun temples open-air structures designed to capture and celebrate sunlight. These weren’t just places of worship, historical accounts suggest they functioned as healing spaces where sunlight was harnessed therapeutically. Some temples featured rooms where sunlight passed through coloured gems or materials to create specific colours for healing, an early form of light therapy.
As we bundle up against the January chill, my mother would have said wear your vest and keep it tucked in, perhaps we can take a page from the ancients, take time to seek out whatever sunlight is available and get out side. A midday walk on a clear day, even if brief, can help. Eat vitamin D rich foods like oily fish, and eggs, I would love to add mushrooms but mostly they are now grown in the dark.
Reference: Lindqvist PG et al. Avoidance of sun exposure as a risk factor for major causes of death: a competing risk analysis of the Melanoma in Southern Sweden cohort. J Intern Med. 2016;280(4):375-387. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26992108/
