Sunlight. It’s an entity that we don’t give much thought to until it’s gone. But once it’s rays have hidden their warmth for a couple days, we lament its disappearance. We complain about needing the sun. Hating the rainy clouds. Many slip into dampened and drowsy moods or walk impatiently around the home they’ve been cooped up in for days. Then as soon as the sky clears, we make a break for the outdoors. Not everyone does I’m sure, but I certainly do.
I experienced this phenomenon this past weekend when taking a 30-minute break and walking over to a neighborhood co-op to lay in the grass. My face broke into a smile as soon as the sun touched my face. It was a lovely day adrift with a soft breeze and temperatures in the 70s. The 30-minutes in the sun revived me in a way nothing else does. Simply put, I felt happier.
It comes as no surprise that spending time in the sunshine is a good thing. Studies show that sunlight exposure makes people feel better, have more energy and increases the level of serotonin in the brain, which is associated with improved mood. It can help treat seasonal affective disorder, depression and triggers the body’s production of vitamin D. This “sunshine vitamin” improves overall health; lowers high blood pressure, improves brain function, protects against inflammation, helps muscles and may protect against cancer.
Getting out in the fresh air for a little sun exposure can also relieve stress and improve sleep quality. Sunlight exposure affects how much melatonin your brain produces, which is the key indicator to the brain that it’s time to sleep. You start producing melatonin once it gets dark outside, making you ready to sleep about two hours later. So, since the summer typically has more sunny days, you’re likely to feel more awake more often. Modern technology has changed this in some ways though. Phones, TV screens and computer screens expose us to artificial light, which subsequently affects melatonin production. Unsurprisingly, insomnia occurrences have risen in recent years. Insomnia symptoms occur in approximately a third to half of the adult population, with it causing actual distress or impairment to 10-20% of people.
Coincidentally at work that day, I met a woman from a town in Ohio not too far from where I used to live. We joked about the ceaseless winter clouds and how light and happy we feel once the sun comes out. It’s an immediate and noticeable response for many people. The conversation made me think of my mother who suffers from seasonal affective disorder. Growing up, when the sun came out, you knew where to find her; moseying around the yard or reading the paper on the back porch. Even in the dead of winter, she would bundle up, head to our back porch and bask in the sunlight for hours. My brother and I could sense relaxation permeating off of her after she had spent the afternoon tending to her garden.
My mother, Catharin McCarthy Banta, is a light all to herself. She radiates with love and joy, and is a constant reminder that we can be the sun for others. We can choose to be a warm and compassionate person who relieves stress and lightens the mood of those around us. Or we can be a cloudy day to others.
As a 55-year-old recently remarried gardener, cyclist and pastel artist, she points to the power of gardening, sunshine and simply being outside in order to create a sense of peace during difficult times. She says, “It helped me not lose it when your dad was sick. To be able to walk out back and walk through the flowers was healing.” Her husband, my father, battled prostate cancer for seven years before passing away in 2012. We hopped from state-to-state intermittently throughout his illness and so, lived in places with varying degrees of sunshine. The different states' weather aligned with my dad's progression in many ways. Ohio was easily the darkest. An Ohioan will tell you the winters are right out of a Game of Thrones scene, though without the white walkers, of course. We did live through months of gray skies without any sunshine but for one or two days, which easily caste a darker shade onto my mom’s moods.
One only has to look at my mother to know that life is an evolution of hardship, beauty and joy. The sun shines on it all. What’s more, it can improve how you experience your daily life. Your body is meant to be in the sun, so take the time to do just that. It’s advised to get at least 10-15 minutes of sunlight daily.
“I walk in my yard every day,” says Catharin. It is her meditation of sorts and helps her take a breath.
“Every day something new is peeping up. Something new is growing. The sun is bringing it all up and it’s so exciting to me to see things blooming and alive. Things that I’ve planted and nurtured. It’s life giving.”
Things die. But at the same time, life blossoms without fail, sometimes right beside a fallen stalk or shriveled flower. I’ve learned that the two go hand-in-hand and coexist in necessary and helpful ways.
Throughout it all, the sun shines a constant beam of life onto all it touches. Energy ripples into new beginnings as it shines on things now past. Life goes on with each sunrise and sunset. It changes. It grows. And we ought to change with it.
With warmer months ahead, try to add a little sunshine to your life. Go on a hike, pick up a new sport like soccer or running, plan a camping trip or find a place to fish. Let the sun shine on you, so that you can shine on others.
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