Light is a big part of our lives and health. Our relationship with light and darkness plays a vital role in our energy levels, eye health, sleep health, hormonal levels, insulin levels and so much more.
This is because the sunlight plays a large role in our relationship with melatonin, serotonin and dopamine. It says a very important role in our relationship with brain chemistry and hormones that regulate wakefulness, sleep, happiness, motivation and sadness. It is now known that a large portion of how we feel can be attributed to the light exposure that we deal with.
If you’ve had a hard time sleeping, low energy levels or your mental and emotional wellbeing you’ll want to read this article and pay close attention because new science is discovering our relationship with light is much more important for all of these things than we once knew.
Understanding Unhealthy vs. Healthy Light
To understand our human relationship to light and what’s healthy, vs. what’s not. We have to first understand the natural cycles and rhythms that our body goes through on a daily basis. We have light and darkness for a reason, and this has a strong connection to our eyes and skin, which takes the light (or lack of light) in.
It is clear that science has demonstrated the value of the circadian rhythm. The circadian rhythm is the bodies internal biological clock. This simply shows us that when we are meant to be awake when it is light out and meant to be asleep when it is night out. Our health statistics even back this data up as well. People who work third shift have higher rates of cardiovascular disease, cholesterol disease, anxiety disorders, they make mistakes at higher rates and even have higher rates of depression and divorce. There’s also difficulty with insulin resistance as constant blue light exposure at night confuses the body and blood sugar levels.
Long story short, the circadian rhythm is your body’s biological clock and when the sun is out we need to be awake and alive, when the sun is down we need to be sound asleep. This is a visual representation of the circadian rhythm..
The body produces melatonin (your sleep hormone) and a powerful antioxidant that supports mitochondrial health, to produce and give your body energy. The more routine our asleep and awake habits are, and the better timed these things are the higher quality our sleep will be in general. But before we get too deep into the nitty gritty of light, how you’re deficient in light and what the difference between good and bad light are, let’s first get on the same page about sunshine.
Sunshine is The Healthiest Lighting We Can Encounter
Sunshine contains different spectrums (both seen and unseen) of light that influence our health in a positive way. Our ‘health’ and ‘medical’ experts recommend 15 minutes daily, but I think that’s not nearly enough sunshine exposure on our skin and in our eyes. Our ancestors wouldn’t have been able to survive if they only got 15 minutes of sunshine each day. They wouldn’t have been able to hunt, gather, build shelter, and ultimately survive.
Sunshine has many benefits that support your health, vitality, energy, sleep and so much more. Check out this video from David Benjamin of @HealthyWildFree on youtube and Instagram to learn more..
Nature’s Lighting vs. Artificial Lighting
Sunshine is nature’s lighting, and it’s therapeutic, healthy and best part of all.. it’s FREE! Artificial lighting on the other hand is from any manmade source. LED lights, CFL, fluorescent, and any other light bulb. This also includes screens such as computers, tablets and phones. This artificial lighting contains mostly what appears to be white light, but it’s really a combination of blue and green lights. Sunshine on the other hand is a combination of a yellow, orange and red hue depending on the time of day.
In other words, the amount of blue, green, yellow, orange and red light changes throughout the day from the morning to night with the sun. It’s a bit of an orchestra of light changing and arranging itself to awaken you in the morning and to relax you at night. Take a look at how this beautiful dynamic occurs in this visual:
Long story short, earlier in the day we have more blue and green wavelengths of light coming from the sun. During the evening and at night there are more wavelengths of orange and red light, as you can see above. The problem with artificial lighting is that we get too much blue light all throughout the day, and then we get more artificial blue light at night.
Think Of Light Like A Nutrient Or Toxin..
An important concept to grasp is that light is either working for or against your health. Light can either support your health, or harm it. There are two important things to remember when it comes to light and how it affects your health and wellbeing.
- The type of light hitting your eyes and skin
- The time that the light hits your eyes and skin
The better your body can mimic nature’s natural sunlight rhythm the better your sleep and brain chemistry will be. If you an rise with the sun, wind down and go to sleep at an earlier time and wake up earlier you may find your life change in a very positive way, for the better.
Unfortunately, Sunlight isn’t Prominent All Year Round
If you live anywhere that has seasons and the sun hides its face for months at a time it becomes a bit more challenging to keep sleep patterns healthy as well as to keep brain chemistry happy. Many people have S.A.D. (seasonal affective disorder) in the colder months simply because they do not have sunshine exposure like they do during the summer. Less sunlight creates less optimal brain chemistry. I personally believe that this is part of the reason that the southern states have ‘southern hospitality’ also. They quite literally have more sunshine and healthier brain chemistry than the colder and more callus northern populations, especially during the winter time! Just an observation I’ve noticed over the years.
Unless you live in a tropical climate all year round with plenty of sunshine your body is DEFICIENT in yellow, orange and red light.
Your eyes and skin are also receiving too much exposure to to artificial (essentially toxic) blue and green wavelengths of light from light bulbs and screens.
This imbalance of light into the eyes creates confusion for the circadian rhythm and a very important sleep hormone, melatonin. When blue and green light stimulate the eyes and skin too late at night the body doesn’t produce melatonin properly and this doesn’t allow the natural sleep cycle to be timed properly and for the proper stages of sleep to occur.
This is why being from Michigan, I do red light therapy EVERY SINGLE DAY throughout the winter time.
Red light therapy is a technology that mimics sunlight so that our body has the same response to light. There are specific wavelengths of light that have been measured from the sun. These wavelengths have been engineered into the Mito Red Light therapy device that I use. Be sure to use the discount code healthywildfree for a discount on any of their devices.
I have a full panel that I stand in front of in the morning or at night and utilize this to give my eyes, skin and body plenty of red light to enhance circulation, improve hydration, improve immunity and so much more. Additionally, this red light exposure actually primes the skin to absorb vitamin D BETTER when you do get outside and get in the sun. In other words, it makes the vitamin D from the sun more absorbable. How amazing is that?
Take a look at the Mito Red Light Device here and why it’s so amazing:
Click Here to Visit Mito Red Light and get yourself a unit today. They have smaller and cheaper units, and larger units as well depending on what your budget is. Be sure to use the discount code: healthywildfree for your discount!
In other words, the artificial lighting contain a limited spectrum of lighting (mostly green and blue) and NO infrared benefits, unlike the sun. Red light therapy is a comparable replacement for sunshine for those that live in an environment that cannot get sunshine every day.
They have full body panels as well as portable panels that can be used for your face, joints, belly, wherever you want to put it.
The Benefits of Red Light Therapy:
- Supports Melatonin Health (Sleep Hormone & Antioxidant)
- Supports Mitochondrial Function (To Produce Energy)
- Supports Cellular Health
- Supports Muscle Health And Recovery
- Supports Skin Health & Wound Healing
- Supports Collagen Production
- Helps To Reduce Inflammation
- Helps To Reduce Pain
- Increases Circulation
- Causes Detoxification Through Sweating
- Improves Eye Health & Brain Health
- And so much more!
I’ve used about four different red light therapy brands now and I can say from using all of these. Comparing the benefits of each, quality of each and price of each that Mito Red lights give you the best quality devices with the most therapeutic value at the cheapest cost. I recommend the full body panel, it will change your sleep, relaxation, energy and health as a whole. The portable devices are nice for travel which is how I use my portable Mito device. Click here to visit them and browse their red light therapy devices. Be sure to use the discount code: healthywildfree upon checkout to get a discount on your order!
I can honestly say that in my personal experience my brain works better, I have more physical energy, my lean muscle mass is healthier, I have a higher quality of sleep and generally feel more vitality in my body when I am using a red light therapy device. I find that during the colder months when there is very little to non sunshine exposure it is even more crucial to use red light therapy daily. I honestly don’t know how people in these colder environments that lack good sun exposure make it through the winter without red light and the infrared benefits that come with it.
These warming lights soothe stress, improve relaxation, and create a healthier environment for your cells and mitochondria. You’ll notice a difference and enjoy the process.
An important note for men, red light on your testicles and chest actually boosts testosterone. So don’t stand in front of the red light with your clothes on. Get naked and soak in the light, that goes for you too ladies. The more light exposure you have on your skin to counteract blue and green light exposure the better.
Click here to visit Mito Red Light’s website, and be sure to use the discount code healthywildfree at checkout to save on your purchase.
P.S. If you’re wondering what the healthiest type of lighting for your home is, it’s not LED or fluorescent or CFL bulbs. It’s incandecent bulbs, which mimic nature’s lighting, which mimic sunshine wavelengths of light the most. They’re the calmest. Click here to search them on amazon.
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