Apr 8, 2024
Is your light diet optimal?
We, humans, evolved to live outdoors in nature, exposed to every sunrise, every sunset – and 12 or so hours of daylight in between. But what springs to mind when you think about improving your wellbeing? Nutrition. Exercise. Stress reduction. Sleep. Rarely is light given equal billing – and it’s high time we changed all that.
“Sunlight is as important as nutrition and exercise for health and lifespan.” Ari Whitten, Wellness Mama
Many studies show the benefits of natural light over artificial light – often linked to the workplace, where we tend to spend long periods of time. The shocking truth is that most of us are horribly light-deficient. Our modern indoor lifestyle deprives us of the sun’s life-giving energy while simultaneously bombarding us with what Dave Asprey, the father of biohacking, calls “junk light” – an excess of harmful blue light from fluorescent bulbs, computer screens, smartphones and other devices.
Almost all our planet’s energy comes from the sun. At the risk of over-simplification, plants
use photosynthesis to produce energy from sunlight; herbivores get that energy by eating
plants, and carnivores by eating herbivores. It’s all part of the cycle of life we learnt about in school. But did you know that our human cells are directly sensitive to light? Mitochondria, those tiny powerhouses found in almost every type of cell, are responsible for energy synthesis, cell growth and reproduction. And light photons from the sun interact directly with our mitochondria to enhance their energy production.
It’s nothing new, of course. Ancient Egyptians and later Ancient Greeks practised both phototherapy – healing through light; and chromotherapy – using different parts of the colour spectrum to cure disease. Somehow, this knowledge got lost along the way.
It’s obvious, right? Nevertheless, one global estimate is that most of us spend over 90 percent of our waking lives either indoors or in a car.
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Did you know that red light in your eyes in the morning boosts melanin production to protect your skin against burning in the heat of the day? But if you’re no early worm, hack the effect with a red and near-infrared LED device when you do crawl out of your pit. (Leading brands include Joovv and PlatinumLED Therapy.)
Swap the gym for outdoor exercise.
Start a new hobby, interest or activity that gets you outside, like gardening, nature photography, or an environmental cause.
You can work from anywhere! Get out of the office and find a spot with oodles of fresh air and natural light.
If you do have to be inside, sit by the window. Pull your chair over to the brightest place in the house or workplace.
Or choose blinds that roll up and let more natural light in; uncover skylights and any covered windows or doors.
Use them to reflect more natural light around your space.
Ditch the tumble dryer and hang your washing outside whenever possible.
So, without necessarily having to revive the Ancient Egyptian sun-worshipper cult, there are plenty of compelling reasons – and a whole lot of ways – for us humans to emerge from the gloom of our modern-day caves and embrace the light.
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