What’s a typical day in America? We sleep, eat, go to school, work, and often play indoors… shuttling ourselves to and from our various indoor destinations securely enclosed inside a vehicle.
Every now and then, if the weather is really nice, we might crack the windows open just a little bit… but not too much!
It’s estimated that modern humans spend between 80-90% of their entire lives indoors. That’s sad on so many levels, but the main reason is that we’re created and designed to live outside.
Before Thomas Edison gave us the lightbulb in 1879, for thousands and thousands of years we only went into a shelter when the weather was unbearable or the sun went down. We tend to forget that.
We also tend to forget that human beings are an animal species. Look, I understand there is a spiritual component that makes us special, but physiologically, you and I are just animals.
When we take wild animals out of their natural environment and put them in captivity, do they get healthier or sicker?
Well we’re wild animals who have forced ourselves to live in captivity! Remarkably, no other species has ever tried to do that!!
As a natural consequence, we are now the sickest species living on the face of the earth. That bothers me! It bothers me so much that I decided to start this blog to get my message out to all who will listen (or, in this case… read).
I began this year with 10 easy-yet-effective steps to help you begin the process of getting healthier in 2010, so we continue with…
Step #8 – Get outside 15 minutes a day
Get out there and get yours!
Here are 8 reasons for you to get sufficient sunlight:
1. Make your own Vitamin D
You were never designed to get Vitamin D from food, milk or a gelcap. Genetically, your body is designed to make all the Vitamin D it would ever need, but your body can only make enough when it’s exposed to UV sunlight for 10-15 minutes a day. This is why Vitamin D deficiency is so common in Temperate climates, especially in winter months, leading to decreased immunity.
2. It helps clear your skin
Regular sunlight exposure is linked to improvements in the appearance of eczema, skin rashes, acne and psoriasis.
3. Less chance of getting sick
While Vitamin D itself actually aids in improving your immune system, direct exposure to the sun’s UV rays has been shown in lab studies to help in your prevention of certain bacterial and viral infections.
4. The air is better out there
Even with all the car exhaust, CFC’s, smog, acid rain and carbon footprints lurking in outdoor air… it’s still cleaner than the air indoors. A 2009 study from the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine shows that indoor pollutants can be 40 to 60 times higher than those in outdoor air.
5. Lower your blood pressure
A 2008 study at the University of Alabama – Birmingham showed that hypertension is more prevalent in the winter months when adequate sunlight exposure is limited. They suggest that without sufficient exposure to sunlight, an increase in parathyroid hormone causes blood pressure to skyrocket.
6. Lower your cholesterol
Cholesterol and Vitamin D are both synthesized by the body from a chemical called squalene which is found in your skin. It’s thought that squalene is converted into Vitamin D in the presence of UV light. However, if the UV light isn’t present in sufficient quantities, the squalene is converted into cholesterol.
7. Better mood, Better sleep
A 2009 study in The Lancet shows how sunlight on your skin stimulates the production of serotonin, a biochemical that helps elevate mood. Sunlight also provides an increased release of melatonin at night, leading to easier and more restful sleep.
During the winter months, the drop in serotonin can cause some 20% of people to experience what’s known as “Seasonal Affective Disorder” (SAD) which, as the acronym implies, makes them depressed.
8. Lower risk of cancer.
In the February 2005 Journal of the National Cancer Institute, regular sun exposure was linked with increased survival rates in patients with early-stage melanoma in a study reported. Another study reported in the June 2003 Journal of Investigative Dermatology points out that most melanomas occur on the least sun-exposed areas of the body, and short-term exposure to sunlight actually reduced the risk of melanoma.
Please note that I did not suggest that you go lay in a tanning bed for 15 minutes a day. A study released last year in Lancet Oncology showed that tanning beds are as poisonous as arsenic. It also noted that people who used tanning beds increased their risks of skin cancer by 75% (which is slightly more than cigarette smoking).
This should NEVER be a substitute for getting your butt outside!
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