(weekly series)
By Dr. med. Claudia Schmiemann
Light is crucial for our life and wellbeing.
Light regulates our circadian rhythms.
Many hormones are produced depending on the amount of light we are exposed to. For example the cortisol production of our adrenals has a very early morning peak. Also melatonin production is very closely related to light – that´s what we all experience right now in a time of the year when sunset is at 4.39 pm and the onset of melatonin production makes us feel that it is already late at night and makes us tired. Endogenous messenger substances like serotonin for example are in sync with light and have an effect on our mood.
To a certain extend we succeeded to extend our active time in a day by introducing electricity. Not only sunlight keeps melatonin low, electric light has a similar effect.
Our vegetative functions like metabolism, blood pressure, heart rate and our immune system as well as even our abilities to remember things are also relying on light exposure. Nowadays we are much more aware of sunlight as something fundamental to help our bodies to produce vitamin D under our skin.
So there is no denial: light and health are interlaced. This weekly series is meant to give an inside and provide you with helpful information.
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