Ep. 014 Sunlight For Healing

Sunlight for Healing, with Maniisha Bluntschli

You’ll Learn

• What sunlight can do for us
• Basic concepts of chronobiology 
• How sunlight can help mental health
• How to use sunlight for healing

Key Notes

• Sunlight boosts immunity, keeps viruses & colds away, sterilises germs, keeps cancer away, keeps diabetes & heart disease away, helps lose weight, boosts energy, makes bones strong, keeps moods uplifted, wards away depression, heals sores, improves circulation, makes you relaxed and sleep well.
• Dose is imperative, Too much can age & damage skin & eyes. Too little sunlight will harm mental  & general health. 
• Sunlight has been used historically for medicine. by Egyptians, by ancient Greeks who developed solariums for heliotherapy, by the Swiss – Dr. August Rollier, the ‘Sun Doctor’ for healing chronic ailments by exposing skin to sunlight in high altitudes of the Alps.  
• Nils Finsen, a Scandanavian, known as the ‘Father of Photo-Therapy’, won a Nobel Prize by using specific blue wavelengths of sunlight to treat lupus vulgaris a type of tuberculosis.
• Some scientists are now saying that less than 40 percent of our biological energy comes from the food. The rest is predominantly from light, air, water and the earth.
• The timing of sunlight and light generally is critical. A whole science called chronobiology, looking at natural rhythms of light and wavelengths has emerged. In essence we need the pinks and reds of very early morning skies, the bright blues of the midday, and also some of the reds and oranges from sunset skies. They all have important  biological effects on our bodies.
• Discoveries have been made that early morning sun contains lots of Infra Red A and UV A wavelengths. The UV A light has a surprise function of increasing a protein made in the brain called POMC, which is involved in the production of dopamine and melatonin.
• Many scientists are now showing that dopamine is the more important ‘anti-anxiety and anti-depressant’ brain chemical (opposed to commonly thought serotonin).
• Early morning helps with production of serotonin, melatonin and dopamine. Mid day sun switches these off (as we don’t want too much). Instead it helps create endorphins (relaxing natural opiate hormones) and Vit D (immune and general health hormone). At night, the orange colours will kick in the secretion of melatonin, to make us sleepy.
• My recommendation is – Wake up as close to sunrise as possible, get outside, expose your eyes (without protection) to the early morning sunlight.
• Gaze not directly into the sun, but approximately 15 degrees below the sun If possible, take as much clothing off as possible to expose your skin too.
• Going barefoot on the earth will increase ‘electron transfer’ to your body from the earth. Do this for a minimum of 15 minutes
• Avoid bright phone/computer screens in the first 2-3 hours of the day (as it will shut down manufacturing of brain hormones pre-maturely). 
• Get at least 30 mins in midday sun too (between 10am to 3 pm) to activate your Vit D for healthy immune.
• Other creative ways to use the sunlight for healing include – 1. Coloured glass bottles with rainwater inside left in sun. 2. Using coloured films (acetates) or coloured glass in windows or skylights & lay or sit beneath. 3. Karl Ryberg’s invention coloured magnifying glass (weak strength) shone on skin to remove unwanted skin spots. 4. Sprig of herbs in water left in sunshine. 5. Swimming in cold water of ocean, river or natural pool with sunlight above, water below.

Listen To Podcast

Links & Resources

Is Sunscreen the New Margarine? Rowan Jacobsen, 2019

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