Would Waking Up With The Sun Reduce Depression?
- Zoe Lim
- Jun 27, 2021
- 2 min read
"Keep your face to the sun and you will never see the shadows." - Hellen Keller. The human body is designed to fully depend on the sun.
Firstly, a lack of exposure to sunlight increases the risk of cancer and weakens the bones. Experts recommend getting 5-15 mins of sunlight on your arms, hands and face 2-3 times a week to enjoy the health boosting benefits of vitamin D.
In addition, a lack of sunlight exposure can cause major depression. Sunlight triggers the production of the mood-boosting hormone, serotonin when sunlight falls on our skin and enters the central nervous system through our retina. Therefore, countries that have little to no sunlight during certain seasons in the year grapple with SAD (seasonal affective disorder).
Therefore, would waking up with the sun reduce depression? It seems plausible as this would mean spending the majority of our waking hours exposed to ample sunlight. Research do seem to support that, as pointed out by the article. Several studies of the body's circadian sleep-wake cycle have show that early birds are associated with a lower risk of depression.
There are however limitations. The article acknowledges that there is no evidence to prove that being an early bird alone is enough to lower risk of depression. Some of the early birds who participated in the study adopted a healthy lifestyle, which could also be a factor affecting depression.
Finding the cause of depression is never binary. As with many things in life, it involves the interplay of many factors that no single explanation would do it justice. Depression is debilitating. No thanks to Covid, worries about the pandemic see more calls to mental helplines.
Although no research supports a direct relation, there is certainly no harm in soaking (with moderation) in the precious gift of sunlight and waking up with the sun.
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