Mental Health Benefits Of Sunlight (Vitamin D)

Soaking ourselves in the sunlight is the best treat we can give ourselves. Sunlight has healing, protective and healing effects. Sunlight is a great source of Vitamin D which does not only benefit us physically but also mentally. There are several good things that the sun does for our minds.

Apart from dangers like skin cancer, premature aging, and sunburns, you can take a lot from the sun (if applied correctly). It’s quite clear that premature aging and sunburns actually arise when we have soaked an inappropriate amount of sunlight.

If you take appropriate sunlight, it can really provide you benefits especially in terms of your mental health. To make you understand properly, it’s important to first establish some science-based facts and connections between sunlight and mental health. So, let’s get started.

Yellow light rays from the sun can help us to maintain Vitamin D in our bodies. Vitamin D is an essential nutrient for the proper working of our body as our body cannot absorb calcium without synthesizing Vitamin D.

Moreover, Vitamin D is required for the proper functioning of the lung, heart, bone, dental, immune, and nerve. Talking about mental health, deficiency of Vitamin D can cause serious conditions like schizophrenia, depression, and seasonal affective disorder.

Mental Health Benefits of Sunlight

There is a strong connection between vitamin D and the risk of various mental health issues. Let’s have a look at how we can improve our mental well-being with the help of sunlight.

1. Depression

As we all know, depression is an increasing issue worldwide. And there is already a vast amount of research to manage this mental health condition. Studies show that people who have a deficiency of Vitamin D are at risk of developing depression.

And when patients with depression were treated with an appropriate amount of Vitamin D, it improved symptoms and reduced the rate of depression. Research states that Vitamin D is quite important for the regulation of calcium and serotonin.

Moreover, it has been proved that the role of Vitamin D is essential for treating more conditions like autism spectrum disorders and ADHD.

2. Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is another serious mental health condition that needs proper attention. Schizophrenia is related to loss of touch with reality which causes symptoms like delusions and hallucinations. Meanwhile, research shows that people with schizophrenia have a deficiency of Vitamin D due to less sun exposure.

Additionally, studies also suggest that an insufficient amount of Vitamin D keeps people at risk of developing such mental health conditions later in life. Therefore, if you know someone going through this condition, you can suggest that they get some natural sunlight every day.

3. Light Therapy

Light therapy is a type of treatment that makes use of artificial light to treat the seasonal affective disorder. Not only this, but it also treats non-seasonal depression as well which includes bipolar disorder as well. If you live in a tropical region, you can buy a small lightbox to take this therapy at home as well.

4. Seasonal Affective Disorder

Seasonal Affective Disorder causes negative mood and is interlinked with negative behavior as well. Moreover, we all know that sunlight plays an important role in the treatment of SAD and other mental health issues related to it.

In such cases, you can connect with your nutritionist and ask for more Vitamin D sources and the appropriate amount of Vitamin D required by your body to overcome this condition. It is advised that please do not take sources of Vitamin D without consulting with your nutritionist.

5. Improves mood

It has been proved in a study that getting sunlight increases the flow of serotonin which results in an improved mood. This is beneficial for people with anxiety, depression, and seasonal affective disorder.

6. High-Quality sleep

The increase of serotonin in your body results in an improved mood which also results in high-quality sleep. If you’re suffering from insomnia, you can ask your practitioner to suggest some sources of Vitamin D as per your body, to improve your sleeping pattern.

Sources of Vitamin D

1. Sunlight is the greatest source of Vitamin D.

2. Egg Yolks

3. Red Meat

4. Fortified Foods

Meanwhile, if you are planning to soak yourself in sunlight, please do not forget to wear sunscreen to protect your skin from sunburn and other toxic substances. Now, you are ready to go out and boost your mood with natural sunlight.

I hope this blog helps you to understand the mental health benefits of sunlight which is a great source of Vitamin D. Comment down and share more known benefits of soaking in natural sunlight. For more such informational content, connect with us on all social media platforms.

Thanks for reading!