The expert on light, Dr. Martin Moore-Ede has written a book called, The Light Doctor: Using Light to Boost Health, Improve Sleep and Live Longer. Dr. Moore-Ede received his medical degree from Guy’s Hospital Medical School and his PhD in physiology from the University of London.
He is the world’s leading expert on circadian clocks and the health problems caused by electric lights at night. Dr. Moore-Ede tells us that today’s LED light bulbs and screens are built to “produce cheap light with little regard for human health.”
His book tells us some amazing things about natural light outside and artificial light inside.
For the purposes of this article, I will focus on natural light outside. Recently, I had the opportunity to interview Dr. Martin Moore-Ede MD PhD on my podcast, Your Outside Mindset. I had the opportunity to share my lupus story of staying inside to avoid the sunlight. It went like this.
My Lupus and Sunlight Story
I was diagnosed with lupus about 10 years ago when I was in my 60s; I am in my 70s now. At that time, I was given my prescription for hydroxychloroquine and advised to avoid the sun. I decided to be the perfect patient, so I stayed mostly inside for about a year.
Feeling down, I found a worldwide online lupus support group, and not surprisingly, all members shared that they felt like vampires, trying to avoid the sun. Then one member said that she went outside all the time with just a hat and sunscreen. And she looked great!
Surprised by this fact, I started to go outside myself and immediately felt so much better. This resulted in my research into academic papers to find out what was going on outside that was helping me get better. After I found so much information that was not yet in the public conversations, I wrote two books and started a podcast about how important it is to get outside for its health giving properties. Getting outside had been something that we just took for granted.
Dr. Moore-Ede Says Get Outside in the Morning Light
Dr. Moore-Ede listened to my lupus story and replied, “I think really the problem is that medical advice swings from one side to the other, and yes, the best times are in the mornings – the first half of the morning because the sun is not nearly as intense at that time. And you make a very good point. Even though you may be sun sensitive due to lupus, you may live longer if you get outside, particularly in the mornings.”
The Effect of Staying Indoors Is Almost as Big as Whether You Smoke or Not
Further, Moore-Ede continued:
“In fact the effect of staying indoors, like you were doing that year, was almost as big a difference as whether you were a smoker or a non-smoker – it was that big. We know now from 88k people affected by lupus that those that go outside in the daytime live much longer than those who stay indoors all the time. And there are large scale studies with thousands of people, confirming life span is increased by years, depression and anxiety are substantially reduced, cardiovascular disease is minimized as compared to people who spend most of their time indoors.”
Why Are We Not Hearing About the Benefits of Sunlight?
To this question, Dr. Moore-Ede responded:
“There is a huge body of research, the academic world is aware (20k research papers), but it is harder to penetrate the public because light is taken for granted. We don’t have to think about it, but we do have to think about it. I wrote the book, The Light Doctor, to show the science and the huge impacts of light on the human body. We need to change the world that is dependent on LED lights and not getting outside into the sunlight enough. The book is to explain the science; about why it is so important to take control of the light in your life; the practical things you can do about it.”
Study of Twenty-Nine Thousand Women Who Went Outside
Dr. Moore-Ede also shared information about a big Swedish study on malignant melanoma. Researchers “tracked 29k women who went outside more – yes, they might be getting sun cancers, but they were living much longer.”
My Lupus Outside Mindset: Time and Dose
My outside time varies with the strength of the sunlight. I seek out wooded areas where I am still getting the bright light that I need but less of the strong sun’s rays. I say to others that this is an individual practice, and all we need to be is aware of how much sun feels good and what dose/time outside feels like it might be doing us harm. My recommended time is morning and evening light – or the golden hours as photographers call them.
Thanks to Dr. Moore-Ede, I now have more confidence to encourage lupus patients like me, with moderate/severe active systemic lupus, who must take lupus medication, and manage their symptoms of severe fatigue, muscle and joint pain/spasms, organ impairment, and more to try to get outside in the morning light – even if for a few minutes at a time.
Dr. Moore-Ede is on a mission to educate us about nutrient rich sunlight and harmful indoor LED lights (more on this in my next article). And thanks to Dr. Moore-Ede, I no longer feel that I am on a solo mission to get people to take their time spent outdoors seriously.
The Morning Is the Time of Day When the Health Boosting Effect of Infrared Light Is Highest
There are many spectrums of light that are only present in the morning light according to Moore-Ede’s work. For example, the morning is the time of day when the near infrared light content of daylight is the highest. Morning light is the time when the health boosting effect of infrared light on mitochondrial energy production is most effective. Our mitochondria are the energy batteries in each one of our cells that start to wind down as we age. An additional effect of morning sunlight is that it results in eyesight rejuvenation.
We All Live in a Sunlight Deprived World
Moore-Ede reminds us that “we all live in a sunlight deprived world where the average person spends only 7% of their day outdoors. There is something special about morning sunlight so get outside into that morning light.”
Let’s Keep the Conversation Going:
Have you ever thought about getting out into the morning light? Do you get outside in the morning light? Would you consider making this a habit – for an hour or less?
