Medical Questions » Alternative Medicine Questions » Question No. 1429
| Question: | How does light affect your health? |
| Answer: | Ever wondered why a holiday in the sun leaves you feeling so good? Light is an often forgotten nutrient that tones up your immune system and boosts your mood. Quite apart from the positive associations we have with a sunny day, light is now known to stimulate the pineal gland, a tiny organ in the brain also known as the ' third eye' . The pineal gland produces certain types of important chemical called tryptamines that keep us feeling happy and ' connected' with nature. Melatonin, one type of tryptamine, keeps us tuned in to night and day and the seasons.
All this is to do with natural light. Artificial light is a very different proposition. Natural sunlight contains the full spectrum of different wavelengths that creates a ' white' light. Rainbows show the different wavelengths, broken up as bands of color, which collectively make what we perceive as white light. Ordinary light bulbs do not produce the same kind of light. They contain a narrower band of wavelengths, and the light is yellower as a result. Fluorescent lighting is closer to natural, but the best indoor lighting is called ' full-spectrum' lighting, and it aims to mimic the wavelengths of natural light, including its benefits.
If you work indoors with little exposure to natural light, or if you' re prone to the winter blues, it' s certainly worth investing in full-spectrum light bulbs. Although they cost more, they last up to 100 times longer and use a quarter of the electricity of a normal bulb. |
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