Positive Health Online

At dark to bed, early to rise.

NEIJING

The Light Experience

We all feel a boost physically and mentally when we are out and about on a sunny day and scientific research proves that the health benefits of sunshine are many. Just fifteen minutes of exposing our bodies to sunlight will produce vitamin D which helps to maintain calcium levels and prevent osteoporosis. Vitamin D is also critical for your immune system – consistent exposure to sunlight helps strengthen immunity.[1] 

And sunshine boosts the body’s level of serotonin the chemical that improves your mood and helps you stay calm and focused. Research shows that exposure to natural light may help provide protection against disorders such as seasonal affective disorder that occurs in winter months when there are fewer hours of daylight.[2]  

Furthermore a study that followed 30,000 Swedish women suggests that those who spent more time in the sun lived six months to two years longer than those with less sun exposure.[3]

In a randomized cross-over clinical trial 95 psoriasis patients were treated with four weeks of light therapy – the majority of the participants had immediate alleviation of their psoriasis, and 50 percent still had reduction of their psoriasis six months later, and 25 percent a year after that. [4] But research into the benefits of sunlight is not a recent activity….

In the past tuberculosis patients have sought out and benefitted from what has been called heliotherapy, and sunlight was used to heal the wounds of first world war soldiers on both sides of the conflict. It seems we have known for some time about the power of sunshine to heal. This power is without doubt essential for our physical and mental good health and we rely on it to cultivate the food we eat and to create the warmth we, and all living creatures, enjoy. One way or another it seems that we cannot do without the light of the sun and this was well known to ancient Daoists.

In the Canon of the Yellow Emperor – the Neijing – an ancient Chinese medical text we see the following advice…

• Chapter 2: Go to rest late at night and rise early. Do not tire of the sun;
• Chapter 3: If the sun were to lose its location, then this would reduce the longevity of man;
• Chapter 26: Hence, when heaven is warm and when the sun is bright, then the blood in man is rich in fluid, and the guard qi is at the surface;
• Chapter 36: Patients love to see the light of sun and moon. Exposure makes them happy.

https://pixabay.com/photos/sunflower-sunset-nature-summer-5370278/

Image by Jessica Joh from Pixabay

Sunflower, Sunset, Flower

Cultivating Light

Through exposure to sunlight and by visualizing light we can benefit body, mind and spirit.

• Spend time daily outdoors – especially in the summer. Sunlight is associated with the Fire element and summer is the season associated with this element – the time when Yang is at its strongest, the time of heat and light. This is the time when the Neijing tells us “not to tire of the sun” and to spend time outside.  But regardless of the season or the weather it is a good idea to expose ourselves daily to the light outside;
• Expose yourself to light through visualization. Visualize light with this daily ten minute meditation:

Take slow, deep breaths, inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth. Allow your breath to become slow and steady. Begin to visualise bright, indigo-coloured light at the location of your third eye. Imagine this light expanding with each inhale and radiating outward with each exhale. Keep your attention focused on the sensation of the light in your third eye. If your mind starts to wander, gently bring it back to the visualization.

Daoist philosophy tells us that darkness, Yin energy, is also of benefit to the Body, Mind and Spirit – there is a need always for a balance between Yin and Yang, light and dark. And once more we see that this ancient knowledge is backed up today by scientific research.

https://pixabay.com/photos/night-moon-mountains-alps-4702174/

Image by jplenio from Pixabay

Night, Moon, Mountains

The Darkness Experience

It seems that darkness is as much needed for health as light. Daoists understood this and in the Daoist tradition the darkness of caves has been used throughout the ages for higher level practices. The Dao speaks of enlightenment through the experience of darkness meditation and says: “When you go into the dark and this becomes total, the darkness soon turns into light.”  In Daoist terms the darkness activates the deepest centres within oneself establishing a connection with the Original Source, the Wu Chi – a state of oneness – the primordial state of the universe before it became manifest as the universe we live in. In a nutshell this is a state of total wellbeing.  In more contemporary, scientific language, research shows that in response to darkness the pineal gland secretes the hormone melatonin and in fact this has been dubbed the “hormone of darkness”. Mostly melatonin is known for its ability to help sleep disorders although it is also a powerful antioxidant and anticoagulant that can be used in the treatment of disease.[5] A scientific review published online in 2017 claimed that melatonin could be used as a prevention and treatment of several cancers, such as breast cancer, prostate cancer, gastric cancer and colorectal cancer. It reduces the size of these cancer tumours and helps improve the survival rates of patients.[6]

We now live in a world of artificial light, especially at night, and it may be that we pay a price for that. At night, light will suppress secretion of melatonin, throw the body's biological clock – the circadian rhythm out of balance and sleep suffers. And as research suggests secretion of melatonin is needed to ensure restful sleep and prevent disease so we need to have a fully dark room before we settle down for the night.

Electronics with screens, as well as energy-efficient lighting, are increasing our exposure to blue wavelengths and this disrupts the production of melatonin. Studies by Harvard University researchers found that exposure to blue light before bed suppresses this hormone by up to 22%.[7] This means we will take longer to fall asleep, experience restless nights, and less overall sleep time.  If you must text or scroll at night, reduce your exposure to blue light by turning down the brightness or switching your device to night-time mode in the late evening. Best of all switch off all screens at night and experience darkness!

Expose yourself to plenty of light during the day –this will enhance your mood and alertness in the daytime and help you sleep better at night. At night avoid the blue light of screens and in this way boost the secretion of melatonin to ensure a restful sleep and good health.

Cultivating Darkness

Through regular exposure to total darkness we secrete melatonin and thus benefit body, mind and spirit therefore…

• Dim your lights for at least an hour before sleeping every night;
• Keep your TV in the living room and not the bedroom;
• Switch off your phone and any other screen at least 30 minutes before bed;
• Set your alarm to ring 10 or 20 minutes before you officially have to wake up then silently meditate in the darkness of your room.

In both Daoist terms and in modern scientific terminology it seems that darkness and light are both necessary for us to attain a state of wellbeing – there is a need always for a balance between Yin and Yang, light and dark.

Sources

1. Wacker & Holick Sunlight and Vitamin D A global perspective for health. Published Jan 2013. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.4161/derm.24494
2. Wang, Wei, Yao, and Sun Association Between Sunlight Exposure and Mental Health. Published online 2023 Jun 14. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10277019/
3. Lindqvist, Epstein  Nielsen  Landin-Olsson   Ingvar  Olsson  Avoidance of sun exposure as a risk factor for major causes of death.  Oct 2016. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26992108/
4. Snellman E, Aromaa A, Jansen C, et al. Acta Derm Venereol, Supervised four week heliotherapy alleviates the long-term course of psoriasis. 1993;73:388–92.
5. Masters, Pandi-Perumal, Seixas, Girardin, and McFarlane. Melatonin, the Hormone of Darkness: From Sleep Promotion to Ebola Treatment. Feb 2015. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4334454/
6. Li, Li, Zhou, Meng, Zhang, Xu, Li. Melatonin for the prevention and treatment of cancer June 2017.
7. https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/blue-light-has-a-dark-side