It is interesting that the authors suggested that that the mechanism by which sunlight accomplishes this improvement could be a positive change in the circadian rhythm, a factor that had previously been associated with ADHD. It was also interesting that the researchers did not mention vitamin D production by sunlight, since several studies have shown an association between low vitamin D and diseases such as Alzheimer’s, brain development in baby rats, autism, anxiety and depression. Rats born to vitamin D deficient mothers also have permanently damaged brains into adulthood,[2]and exhibit hyperactivity.[3]In addition, recent research shows that adult vitamin D deficiency leads to behavioral and brain alterations in mice.[4]
Considering the aforementioned effects of vitamin D deficiency on the brain, it is not surprising that sunlight, which stimulates the skin to produce vitamin D, correlates to a reduced risk of ADHD. It is a mystery that the authors did not consider vitamin d production as the mechanism that leads to the improvement.
Let’s soak up some sunlight, get rid of hyperactivity and start focusing on those things that are important—a good idea for both children and adults!
[1]Martijn Arns, Kristiaan B. van der Heijden, L. Eugene Arnold, and J. Leon Kenemans. Geographic Variation in the Prevalence of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: The Sunny Perspective. Biol Psychiatry 2013;15;74:585-90.
By: Marc Sorenson, Sunlight Institute–
New research from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Corroborates what almost every human being knows: Sunshine brightens the mood. Twenty people with depressive symptoms were split into two groups: one group was asked to spend more time in the sunlight, and another group was asked to see a doctor. The experiment lasted for seven weeks and showed that those who spent more time in the sunlight had fewer symptoms of depression.
The authors of this research suggested that vitamin D status accounted for the differences in the two groups, but I personally believe that it is more likely that the true mechanism was the influence of sunlight exposure in producing endorphins and serotonin. We who live in more northern climes have all experienced immediate mood elevation on entering the sunlight after spending several days or months in cloudy winter weather. Vitamin D is not produced in winter in high-latitude countries, so winter sunshine must be the factor that makes the difference. Also, we cannot raise vitamin D levels fast enough to make that kind of immediate difference in mood. Those in the UAE whose moods improved had previously created their own “winter” by avoiding sunlight, and it is likely that the mood improvements were made not by vitamin D but by the aforementioned mood-enhancing changes. Nevertheless, the article makes some good points and is worth reading.
By: Marc Sorenson, Sunlight Institute–
Forbes Magazine online has run and excellent article on sunlight and sleep[1], in which they state the following statistics: “In 2012, 60 Million Americans filled prescriptions for sleeping pills, up from 46 million in 2006.”
The article discusses the potential dangers of sleep medications, showing that those who take 18 pills per year have a tripling of the risk of death compared to those who take fewer than that 18.[2] It then describes the results of recent research showing that people whose workplaces have windows are able to sleep about 46 minutes per night more than those who have no natural light access.[3] Those who had more exposure to sunlight also were generally happier, had fewer ailments and experienced better vitality than their counterparts without windows.
This research is particularly interesting because the effects of sunlight had nothing to do with vitamin D, since the sunlight exposure came through windows, which block the UVB light necessary for vitamin D production. It is likely that the positive effects of sunlight in this case were produced by increasing serotonin levels (a natural mood enhancer) in the brain during the sunlight exposure, and then allowing melatonin (a natural relaxer) to take over during the night for a restful sleep.
Lack of sleep is a common, and perhaps deadly, malady. The sun is not our enemy, but a vital friend. Embrace it, but do not burn.
[1] http://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddisalvo/2013/06/18/to-get-more-sleep-ge…
[2] Iel F Kripke, Robert D Langer, Lawrence E Kline. Hypnotics’ association with mortality or cancer: a matched cohort study. BMJ Open 2012;2:e000850 doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2012-000850.
[3] http://www.journalsleep.org/resources/documents/2013AbstractSupplement.pdf
By: Marc Sorenson, Sunlight Institute–
The positive effects of sunlight continue to mount; a study of 415 subjects showed that 16-year olds, who spent more than 4 hours per day in the sunlight during summer, had a significantly reduced risk of eczema and hay fever.[1] The researchers could not pinpoint the reason for the protective effect of sunlight, but surmised that it could be due to a change in the immune system.
There was no correlation of vitamin D levels to the risk of these two disorders, meaning that sunlight exposure worked independently of vitamin D. This is another in a growing list of sunlight benefits demonstrating that sunlight has splendid healing powers beyond its ability to stimulate vitamin D production in the skin. I expect many more such findings in the coming years.
The message is this: get plenty of regular, safe sunlight exposure, and don’t rely on vitamin D supplements to furnish all of Sun’s healing powers; it can’t. Remember also that if vitamin D is needed to improve health, sunlight is the most natural source.
[1] Andrew Stewart Kemp, Anne-Louise Ponsonby, Angela Pezic, Jennifer Ann Cochrane, Terence Dwyer, Graeme Jones. The influence of sun exposure in childhood and adolescence on atopic disease at adolescence. Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, article first published online: 3 Jun2013.
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By: Marc Sorenson, Sunlight Institute
It is surprising to me, that when most of the world’s newspapers are chanting the mantra of the sunscare movement, papers from India are often sounding the clarion call to return to the sun. In this article from the Times of India, the authors list several reasons to be in the sunlight, including strengthening teeth, improving vision, preventing breast cancer, building sexual prowess, lowering blood pressure and enhancing immunity.
Eighty percent of those living in urban areas of India suffer from vitamin D deficiency, so the need for sunlight exposure is critical. It is good to see that one country understands that sunlight is the only natural method to produce optimal vitamin D levels, and that we need to focus on getting plenty of it.
By: Marc Sorenson, Sunlight Institute–
Health Benefits of Sunlight Outweigh Risks of Overexposure: New Study
MAY 8 — A British dermatologist — armed with a new study showing how UV from the sun and sunlamps triggers the natural production of nitric oxide in the skin to reduce blood pressure and lower the risk of heart disease — is challenging the dermatology industry worldwide to step back and re-think its position on UV exposure.
Edinburgh University Dermatologist Dr. Richard Weller will present findings from his new study Friday at the International Investigative Dermatology conference in Edinburgh, one of the world’s largest dermatology conventions.
“We suspect that the benefits to heart health of sunlight will outweigh the risk of skin cancer. The work we have done provides a mechanism that might account for this, and also explains why dietary vitamin D supplements alone will not be able to compensate for lack of sunlight,” Weller said in a press statement this week. “If this confirms that sunlight reduces the death rate from all causes, we will need to reconsider our advice on sun exposure.”
Weller’s study, a randomized controlled trial considered the strongest evidence in science, used a sunlamp to demonstrate that UV exposure triggers nitric oxide production in the skin which lowers blood pressure and reduces the risk of heart disease, which kills 60-100 times more people than skin cancer.
There are no randomized controlled trials connecting sun exposure to skin cancer. Dermatology’s blanket condemnation of sun is based on survey studies and inferences that, properly analyzed, target sunburn but not regular UV as a potential risk factor for skin cancer.
“It’s time to revisit how dermatology groups have mischaracterized skin cancer’s complex relationship to UV while denying that there are benefits of sunlight,” said Dr. Marc Sorenson, founder of the Sunlight Institute. “Dr. Weller’s new study should put this center-stage.”
According to Medical News Today, “This new study is important because until now it was thought that sunlight’s only benefit to human health from sunlight was production of vitamin D, which rises after exposure to the sun. Previous studies have found that while increased vitamin D levels link to lower cardiovascular disease, oral supplements do not have an effect on this. ”
The Sunlight Institute believes overzealous sun avoidance is the biggest public health mistake of our time. For more information visit www.SunlightInstitute.org.
Click here to visit Medical News Today’s article on the Weller study.
Click here to view Weller’s talk about the study on www.Ted.com.
Rekha Sharma, president of the Indian Dietetic Association, states that “Close to 40 per cent of Indians are vitamin D deficient.” He blames the condition on the modern lifestyle that is becoming more and more common. Dr. Sharma then goes on to list a few of the causes, including lack of sunlight, that are correlated to vitamin D. He is doing a great service with this article, but states that exposing the face and arms for a few minutes per day is adequate to optimize blood levels of D. He is totally wrong on that statement.
Another Dr. in the article states that those with dark skin may need 10-30 times the exposure time to sunlight to produce the same amount of vitamin D that a light skinned person would require. There is a large disconnect between the statement that a bit of exposure to the arms and face is sufficient, compared to the idea that dark-skinned people need profoundly large quantities of sunlight to make sufficient vitamin D. Notwithstanding the differences between these two docs, It is an interesting an worthwhile article.
By: Marc Sorenson, Sunlight Institute–
An excellent article from Science Daily discusses a new piece of research from the journal, Endocrine Abstracts, which has provided evidence that vitamin D supplementation (in persons who are deficient) can provide increased muscle efficiency. The mechanism occurs in the mitochondria, which are the power-generating engines in all body cells. Vitamin D replenishment may help the mitochondria to use glucose and oxygen to make the ATP, which is a ready source of energy. Part of the process of producing ATP is accomplished by a chemical called phosphocreatine. If phosphocreatine cannot be replenished quickly after muscle work, then recovery from muscle fatigue will be slow, and the person experiencing this slow recovery will experience an inability to feel energetic.
This research showed that after 10-12 weeks of vitamin D treatment among patients with muscle fatigue, the replenishment of phosphocreatine occurred about 20% faster, and all patients reported improvement in symptoms of fatigue. The article also mentioned that a parallel study, the group demonstrated that low vitamin D levels were associated with reduced mitochondrial function. The takeaway from this research is that chronic fatigue may be lessened by optimizing vitamin D levels.
The authors of the Science Daily article described vitamin D as “…a hormone produced in the skin using energy from sunlight, and to a lesser extent derived from dietary sources.” We all know that sunlight is the only natural way to produce vitamin D, so it was good to see them give sunlight its due. In the future, I believe it will be confirmed that chronic fatigue can be relieved in people who are deficient in vitamin D, simply by getting in the sunlight!
By: Marc Sorenson, Sunlight Institute–
Among the many other horrors associated with lack of sunlight, myopia (nearsightedness) is now becoming of scientific interest. In the latest article written on the subject, Robin Wuffson, MD, discusses the research from Denmark, showing that deterioration of the eye leading to myopia (in children aged 8-14) is more common in the winter than in the summer months.[1]
Another piece of research, reported only a few months ago, showed that actual exposure of the eye to sunlight was protective against myopia in people aged 15 to 50 years.[2] If you search this site, you will find several other posts on sunlight and myopia. In my opinion the link is now irrefutable: Lack of sunlight can now be added to the list of environmental and nutritional mistakes that can lead to blindness.
“Do not take my Sunshine Away!”
[1] http://www.emaxhealth.com/11306/sunlight-exposure-reported-decrease-vision-deterioration-children
[2] Sherwin JC, Hewitt AW, Coroneo MT, Kearns LS, Griffiths LR, Mackey DA. The association between time outdoors and myopia. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2012 Jul 1;53(8):4363-70.
By: Marc Sorenson–
A recent research paper published in the journal Annals of Rheumatic Diseases[1] showed that older women, who lived in areas where the most sunlight was available, were at about a 20% reduced risk of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Younger women did not see the same reduction in RA. In my opinion that is because younger women have been brainwashed by the Powers of Darkness (The American Academy of Dermatology, Skin Cancer Foundation, etc.) into staying indoors and slathering on sunscreen. The older (30-55 in 1976) group of women was followed from 1976 to 2008; the younger (25-42 in 1989) group was followed from 1989 until 2009.
This study is not the first to show a positive effect of sunlight and vitamin D on RA. RA is one of several rheumatic diseases that affect bones, muscles, joints and tendons. In a study of 29,000 women, those who ranked in the top third of vitamin D consumption had one-third less risk of RA.[2] In mice studies, vitamin D treatment inhibits the progression of rheumatoid arthritis and minimizes or prevents the symptoms.[3] And in another human study, subjects diagnosed with a form of the disease known as inflammatory arthritis, the lower the vitamin D levels are, the higher is the disease activity.[4] Vitamin D’s anti-inflammatory properties and its ability to reduce the autoimmune response are likely responsible for the improvement in RA.[5] Investigations also find that RA is more common in winter; consistent with the idea that vitamin D, or sunlight itself, is a major factor in reducing the risk.[6] We must remember in all of this research showing a positive effect of vitamin D, that 90% percent of vitamin D is produced by sunlight. Safe Sunlight exposure is the key, because it will furnish the correct amount of vitamin D and simultaneously lead to the production or nitric oxide, endorphins, serotonin and other factors that enhance human health. Vitamin D is only one product of Sunlight, which is the King!
However, sunlight exposure and vitamin D levels are not the only factors in arthritis. The inflammatory foods we consume also lead to deterioration of the joints. At our health resort, about 4 weeks ago, we had a guest show up with severe rheumatoid arthritis in her hands. We put her on a pure, plant-based diet with lots of greens and colorful fruit. increased her exercise and told her to take more vitamin D (no D-producing sunlight when she arrived). In one week she was off all arthritis meds, lost 12 pounds and 12 inches and felt renewed. Can you imagine what we could do for arthritis with a combination of sunlight and a plant-based diet?
[1] Elizabeth V Arkema, Jaime E Hart, Kimberly A Bertrand, et al. Exposure to ultraviolet-B and risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis among women in the Nurses’ Health Study. Ann Rheum Dis doi:10.1136/annrheumdis-2012-202302. <?xml:namespace prefix = o />
[2] Merlino LA, Curtis J, Mikuls TR, Cerhan JR, Criswell LA, Saag KG. Vitamin D intake is inversely associated with rheumatoid arthritis: Results from the Iowa Women’s Health Study. Arthritis & Rheumatism 2004;50:72-77.
[3] Cantorna MT, Hayes CE, DeLuca HF. 1,25-Dihydroxycholecalciferol inhibits the progression of arthritis in murine models of human arthritis. J Nutr1998;128:68-72.
[4] Patel S, Farragher T, Berry J, Bunn D, Silman A, Symmons, D. Serum vitamin D metabolite levels may be inversely associated with current disease activity in patients with early inflammatory polyarthritis. Arthritis Rheum 2007;56;2143-49.
[5] Cutolo M, Otsa K, Uprus M, Paolino S, Seriolo B.. Vitamin D in rheumatoid arthritis. Autoimmune Rev 2007;7:59-64.
[6] Cutolo, M. et al. Circannual vitamin D serum levels and disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis: Northern versus Southern Europe. Clin Exp Rheumatol 2006;24:702-4.