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[Veronica Smith]

Sleep Apny   (SAD) related disorders.
Daylight or Natural light is an important yet over looked part of a healthy
lifestyle
program. Changes in your hormone balance occur without enough exposure to
natural
light. The disrupted hormone balance can lead to a lethargic and depressive
mood.
The symptoms associated with a lack of natural light are more problematic in
the
winter when so much time is spent indoors and outdoors time is spent all
covered-up
with clothes and sunglasses. The type of weather your area experiences,
cloudy days
vs. sunny days, also has an impact on your total natural light exposure.
How Daylight Light Benefits Your Health
Daylight is essential for good health because of its beneficial affect on
hormone
balance. Your brain requires a certain amount of natural light each and
every day.
The natural light that hits your retina (light gathering area inside the
eye) is
transmitted to an area of your brain called the pineal body. The pineal is
the brain
center for the production of the hormone melatonin. Melatonin regulates
daily body
rhythms, most notably the day/night cycle (circadian rhythms). Normal
melatonin levels
are important for natural sleep cycles and proper immune system function.
Seasonal Affective Disorder SAD
Between September and April in the Northern Hemisphere (March through
October in
Southern Hemisphere), certain people who are light sensitive start
experiencing something
called the winter blues. Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD is the most
extreme version
and its affect on the body and mind of a lack of natural light. People
affected by
SAD exhibit extreme depressive behavior and complain of a lack of energy,
increased
need for sleep, a craving for sweets and exhibit weight gain as a result of
their
sedentary nature and unhealthy dietary habits.
Symptoms usually begin as daylight hours become shorter, peak in the winter
and then
usually resolve themselves in the spring as daylight hours become longer.
The National
Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland had this to say about SAD:
Along with food, air, and water, sunlight is the most important survival
factor in
human life.
 This is important to think about in this time of generalized sun phobia.
How to Get Healthy Levels of Natural Light
During the summer, getting enough natural light is as easy as taking a walk
for 10
to 15 minutes without sunglasses. Without sunglasses over the eyes, natural,
full
spectrum light easily passes into the eye, striking the retina and
positively affecting
your brain. In the winter, weather permitting, taking a 10 to 15 minute walk
midday
provides at least some natural light exposure. To augment your outdoor
natural light
time you require two important components, light with the same spectrum as
daylight 
means to achieve equivalent exposure time,.