Perfect Poise, Perfect Life
Bring your body into balance and revolutionise your life
By Noel Kingsley
Publisher Hodder Mobius
AVAILABLE HERE
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Happy Sunshine
As the days are getting longer in the Northern Hemisphere, it's great to have a bit more sunlight. Doesn't it make you feel good? Studies confirm that the amount of bright light we experience during the day can have a dramatic effect on our health and sense of well-being. It enhances your mood, reduces your food cravings, and gives you more energy. I know it affects me. It even increases the blood flow to your brain, improving your memory and sharpening your thinking ability. If we receive inadequate amounts of light it’s possible that we may suffer from insomnia and depression and these can then lead to other symptoms such as a loss of libido. So we want to avoid all that!
Briight light therapy has been developed as a means of helping those with seasonal affective disorders. However, we are all influenced by light. After all, over thousands of years our species has evolved mainly in the wild outdoors and not in dim offices. Think of how relaxed and happy we feel in the sun on holiday. Bright light makes us cheerful. But I feel the easiest way of getting adequate amounts is to just get outdoors for an hour a day.
Light affects us in different ways and provide many benefits. When UV light interacts with your skin, it triggers the formation of vitamin D. Vitamin D is far more than a bone builder. It has widespread influence throughout your body, including stimulating the production of feel-good brain chemicals such as serotonin and dopamine. Care must be taken as UV light, whether from the sun or from artificial light sources, also promotes skin aging and increases your risk of skin cancer. But 10 minutes of sunlight a day will provide us with all the vitamin D we need.
When light enters your eyes it has an even more immediate effect on your mood. Within 30 minutes of being in a very bright environment, you will feel more energetic and light-hearted. You will think more clearly and have a faster reaction time. And after just a few days you will be eating less and having fewer carbohydrate cravings.
