Wednesday, December 7th, 2016
Focus: The sun draws me outdoors and just to feel it on my face for a few minutes can make me feel so much better.
As light is necessary for the growth of plants and trees, animals, insects and bird life, so it is essential for us. Plants grow through the process of photosynthesis (photo means 'light' in Greek), absorbing light. Equally we need to absorb light and we have an instinct for it.
Doctors have long known that sunlight is a nutrient and a healer particularly useful for tuberculosis and deep skin wounds. It is also helpful for those with osteoporosis, depleted immune systems and the winter depression that can set in in autumn and run until the levels of daylight increase again the following spring.
The sun draws us outdoors and just to feel it on our face for a few minutes can make us feel so much better. We need sunlight to build strong bones and teeth. Without it children can develop rickets and dental decay. Without realising it we can suffer from light starvation, or 'malillumination', just as we can suffer malnutrition from lack of food.
Excerpted from the article:
You Don't Have To Be S.A.D.! Shedding Light on Seasonal Affective Disorder
Written by Primrose Cooper.