Sunlight’s Effect on Mental Health

Are you feeling down and looking for a natural way to boost your mood? Well, you might be surprised to learn that sunlight can actually improve your mental health!

This fact sheet is the ultimate guide to using sunlight as a form of self-care to enhance your mental well-being. It'll cover a range of benefits that sunlight can provide to improve your mental health.

And, if you live in an area where sunlight is scarce or you struggle with seasonal affective disorder, then you'll definitely want to stick around for my tips on bright light therapy (BLT).

I’ll also teach you a bit about vitamin D deficiency and supplementation information. Your body produces vitamin D when your skin is exposed to the sun, and lacking vitamin D can make you feel down. Full disclosure, I even moved to Colorado because of how important sunlight was to my mental health! 

Let's dive into the importance of sunlight on your mental health!

Table of Contents:

-Mental Health Benefits of Sunlight

-Seasonal Affective Disorder

-Bright Light Therapy

-Vitamin D

-Sunlight Summary


Mental Health Benefits of Sunlight

Sunlight is our primary source of vitamin D.

Did you know vitamin D does WAY more than just give you strong bones? Vitamin D from sunlight, specifically ultraviolet B (UVB) exposure, has long been known to have musculoskeletal health benefits. 

However, recent research has shown vitamin D has a much broader role in our wellbeing. Here are some the ways sunlight can benefit you:

-Aids sleep

-Increases energy levels

-Boosts the immune system

-Relieves stress

-Enhances mood

-Strengthens bones

Here’s a meta analysis discussing the social, mental and physical health benefits of exposure to nature. Moral of the story - get outside and get some sunlgiht!

Aid Sleep

Sunlight, especially morning sunlight, helps boost melatonin levels in the evening. Melatonin is the hormone that’s produced to help you sleep. Melatonin secretion increases after the sunset when it’s dark. 

When you get morning sunlight, melatonin is produced earlier in the evening and in greater amounts. This in turn helps you initiate sleep easier and sleep more deeply. Going on a morning walk that exposes you to the sun is one of the best ways to improve your sleep! 

You can read more about the relationship with sunlight on sleep here.

Boost Immune System

Vitamin D is a critical part of the immune system. Sunlight exposure promotes vitamin D which helps strengthen your immune system.

A healthy, strong immune system helps fight off illness or infections. Don’t you want to do what you can to avoid being sick?

Enhance Mood

Reduced sunlight can decrease serotonin levels, which may contribute to depression. In contrast, sunlight boosts serotonin levels!

Serotonin is your body’s mood stabilizing hormone. Serotonin helps people feel happier! This feels like a key piece of info, does it need to be emphasized a bit more?

Sunlight is a natural antidepressant by boosting your body’s serotonin!

Increase Energy Level

As mentioned previously, sunlight helps improve your sleep. Improved sleep can help lead to increased energy levels. 

Also, as we just learned, sunlight boosts serotonin levels. Serotonin helps people feel more calm, alert, and happier! 

Those with higher serotonin levels have better energy. In contrast, people with lower serotonin often feel depressed. A common symptom of depression is lack of energy or motivation. 

Go outside and get a natural energy boost from the sun! 

Increase Energy Level

As mentioned previously, sunlight helps improve your sleep. Improved sleep can help lead to increased energy levels. 

Also, as we just learned, sunlight boosts serotonin levels. Serotonin helps people feel more calm, alert, and happier! 

Those with higher serotonin levels have better energy. In contrast, people with lower serotonin often feel depressed. A common symptom of depression is lack of energy or motivation. 

Go outside and get a natural energy boost from the sun! 

Relieve Stress

Spending time outside in the sun can have some amazing benefits for your body and mind! Did you know that it can actually help regulate melatonin? 

Melatonin is the hormone that helps us sleep and getting proper sleep is essential for managing stress. By getting sunlight, you can help regulate melatonin and improve your sleep quality.

Sunlight can also boost your levels of serotonin, which is a hormone that helps stabilize your mood. This not only helps people feel happier, but it can also help them feel calm and relaxed. So, if you’re feeling stressed or anxious, try spending some time in the sun to boost your serotonin levels and help calm your mind.

Also, you’re often engaging in some type of movement if you’re outside which can further help relieve stress. You can read more about the benefits of movement on mental health here.

Strengthen Bones

Your body uses sunlight to convert vitamin D into its active form - calciferol. The primary component of your bones is calcium, and calciferol is needed to keep bones strong. Calcium can’t be properly absorbed without vitamin D! 

Without vitamin D your bones can become thin or soft. Vitamin D deficiency is correlated with osteoporosis. Osteoporosis can increase risk of falls and bone fractures. 

Vitamin D is essential for maintaining healthy bones. Similarly, low intensity exercise such as walking helps to keep bones strong, so a morning walk in the sun has double benefit! 

Strong bones will allow you to keep moving your body even as you age. Read more about how movement enhancing bone strength and your mental health here.

Summary

Sunlight has plentiful mental health benefits. Sunlight can aid in sleep, boost your immune system, enhance your mood, increase energy levels, relieve stress, and strengthen bones!

Go outside and let sunlight be your natural mental health boost!

 

FRIENDLY REMINDER - Wear sunscreen everyday to protect your skin from the sun and remember to get your annual skin check!

 

Seasonal Affective Disorder

Have you ever noticed feeling more down and gloomy during the winter months? Winter is when people sometimes struggle with what’s called seasonal affective disorder (SAD). 

SAD is a type of temporary depression related to decreased day length during the winter season.

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) symptoms usually start in the fall, persist throughout the winter, and then improve or resolve in the springtime. This is because winter is the time when people experience less sunlight! Very rarely, it’s reversed and people feel worse during the spring/summer months. 

A graphic from the National Institute of Mental Health discussing seasonal affective disorder can be found here.

Symptoms of seasonal affective disorder typically include but are not limited to:

-Appetite changes (craving carbs)

-Oversleeping

-Losing interest in things you enjoy (anhedonia)

-Trouble concentrating 

-Low energy

-Weight gain

As a kind reminder - this is general advice about the topic of sunlight and shouldn’t be taken as a diagnosis. Always consult your medical provider!

Keep reading on how to combat seasonal affective disorder!

Bright Light Therapy (BLT)

Have you ever heard someone mention a "happy light" and wondered what it is? Well, it turns out that a happy light is just another name for bright light therapy (BLT), which is sometimes also referred to as light therapy or phototherapy.

BLT refers to sitting in front of a LED light for approximately 20-30 minutes first thing in the morning! These specific lights produce a spectrum and intensity of light that simulates the sun. 
Bright light therapy is primarily used during the winter months to help people regulate their light/dark or sleep/wake and circadian rhythm cycle. 

The bright light in the morning stimulates your body’s serotonin production (the neurotransmitter involved in mood stabilization) and regulates melatonin (hormone that promotes sleep) in the evenings. 

You can find the bright light therapy I use here by Verilux. 

Don’t want to take my word for it? Watch this YouTube video by Stanford School of Medicine neuroscientist and professor Andrew Huberman, Ph.D discussing this! The topic of bright light therapy starts at 22 minutes and 5 seconds. 

While there’s no way to prevent seasonal affective disorder, you can utilize bright light therapy to help manage symptoms. Speak to your medical provider if you believe you may benefit from bright light therapy! 

 

Bright light therapy is the standard of care for those struggling with seasonal affective disorder.

 

RECOMMENDATION: Make sure the light you purchase is at least 10,000 lux!


Vitamin D

You can get some vitamin D from foods like salmon and eggs, but you get most of your vitamin D from your body producing it from sunlight! 

Sunlight is your body's primary source of vitamin D. Direct sunlight from ultraviolet B (UVB) exposure triggers the creation of vitamin D and converts it to its active form, calciferol, for your body to use. 

Vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency are relatively common in the United States. Vitamin D levels below 30 ng/mL are considered insufficient for proper health.

Optimal levels of vitamin D range from 30-100 ng/mL. 

 

FUN FACT: About 70% of the United States population is vitamin D deficient!

 

The Endocrine Society defines vitamin D insufficiency as levels 21-29 ng/mL. According to the Institute of Medicine and Endocrine Society, vitamin D deficiency is when levels drop below 20 ng/mL. 

If you’ve been struggling with your mental health, it might be worth consulting your provider to check your vitamin D level. If your vitamin D levels are low, you should discuss supplementation with your provider.

If you do decide to start supplementation, vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin. It’s best absorbed when taken with food! Check that your vitamin D doesn’t have seed oils in it. 

Since supplements aren’t regulated, you can't always be 100% certain of what you're getting and whether it's safe. 

 

An important note - dietary supplements, such as vitamin D, aren't monitored by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the same way prescribed medications are.

 

A good rule of thumb is to make sure your product has the “USP.” This means the contents of the product have been tested by the non-profit research group United States Pharmacopeia. Here’s an example of how to read a supplement label.

Remember sunlight exposure is a natural way to boost your vitamin D! 

 

Remember to use sunscreen and get your annual skin check!


Sunlight Summary

There are SO many benefits of sunlight! Sunlight can aid sleep, boost your immune system, enhance your mood, increase energy levels, relieve stress, and strengthen bones. 

Some people may experience seasonal affective disorder where they have a lower mood in the winter when they’re not getting as much sunlight.

Bright light therapy can be helpful for those struggling with seasonal affective disorder.

There’s also no harm in getting your vitamin D level checked to see if you need more sunlight or could benefit from a supplement. 

Here is another video by Andrew Huberman discussing how light is used to optimize your health.

Thanks for reading! Go outside and get some sunlight today! 

Disclaimer: This blog section is meant to provide general advice about mental health. By no means should this information be taken as a personal treatment plan. Please consult with your provider.