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Subtitle: Understanding the importance of morning sunlight exposure for overall health and wellbeing
Allowing natural sunlight to reach the eyes, especially in the morning, offers a multitude of vital benefits for health, primarily by setting and maintaining the body's circadian rhythm. This alignment promotes better sleep quality, improved mood, higher energy levels, and balanced hormonal and metabolic functions[1][2][3][5].
Setting the circadian clock: Morning sunlight exposure acts like a "reset" or "winding" of the body's internal clock, ensuring organs and systems perform their day- and night-time functions in harmony[1][3].
Hormonal balance: Exposure triggers cortisol release, which supports daytime alertness and activity[1]. It also suppresses melatonin during the day to promote wakefulness and helps melatonin rise naturally at night for restful sleep[5].
Mental health: Sunlight exposure reduces the risk of depression and Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) by influencing mood-regulating brain chemicals[1][3].
Vitamin D production: Moderate sunlight supports vitamin D synthesis, which is essential for immune health and overall wellbeing[3].
Heart Health Beyond Vitamin D: UVA light triggers the release of nitric oxide, widening blood vessels, reducing resistance, and lowering blood pressure, thereby regulating heart health beyond just vitamin D[4].
However, excessive use of sunglasses, particularly in the morning, may reduce this vital light exposure to the eyes, potentially disrupting the circadian rhythm and associated biological processes. Blocking too much natural light can impair the setting of the internal clock, possibly affecting sleep quality, mood, and metabolic regulation[1].
While sunglasses protect the eyes from intense UV damage and glare, allowing non-harmful morning sunlight to reach the eyes without sunglasses is beneficial for circadian and heart health because it helps maintain proper hormonal cycles that influence cardiovascular function[1][2].
Retinal DHA Deficiency: Most people are deficient in retinal DHA due to dietary insufficiency, and the body cannot produce enough DHA on its own, requiring it to come from diet, especially cold-water seafood like wild salmon, sardines, and anchovies[6]. A deficiency in retinal DHA can lead to poor light signaling, disrupted circadian rhythms, low melatonin, and impaired organ function[7].
In summary, natural light exposure to the eyes supports heart health, circadian rhythms, sleep quality, mood, and metabolic regulation, while overuse of sunglasses—especially during morning hours—might interfere with these critical biological processes[1][2][3].
References:
[1] Harvard Health Publishing
[2] National Sleep Foundation
[3] Mayo Clinic
[4] American Heart Association
[5] Johns Hopkins Medicine
[6] American Optometric Association
[7] National Institutes of Health
- Moderate morning sunlight exposure, which triggers cortisol release and supports vitamin D synthesis, also plays a significant role in heart health by regulating blood pressure through the release of nitric oxide.
- Excessive use of sunglasses in the morning, while essential for protecting the eyes from UV damage and glare, can disrupt circadian rhythms and associated biological processes, particularly those influencing cardiovascular function, by reducing essential light exposure to the eyes.
- A deficiency in retinal DHA, an essential fatty acid primarily obtained through diet, can lead to poor light signaling, disrupted circadian rhythms, low melatonin levels, and impaired organ function, highlighting the importance of a balanced diet for overall health and wellness.
