The Power of Sunlight

Research indicates a lower level of academic performance among children who must learn in these conditions. We now have hospitals where the sick are supposed to get well with no fresh air and sunlight whatsoever. There are office buildings where people work all day under artificial light breathing artificial air and go home at night feeling totally drained and irritable. The windows we do have are covered with blinds, shades, shutters, curtains, and drapes that many people keep closed during the day as well as at night because of fear, lack of privacy, ignorance, or better television viewing. We are crawling into dark man-made holes and wondering why we don't feel up to par.

The only explanation I can find for this trend is that man, left to his own devices, will shut God's wonderful natural ways out of his life, even as he tries to "improve'' on them. Man's ways can never be better than God's ways. You can have everything--the best food, water, plenty of exercise--but without enough fresh air and sunshine you will not have total health.

What about you? How do you live? Do you live in a dark house? Do you keep the shades drawn all the time? Do you work in a building with no windows? Are you awake all night and sleepy all day? Do you spend time daily in the fresh air and sunlight? If not, then come out of the darkness into the light because you are not living the way God intended you to live.

Sunlight is a powerful healer, tonic, germ killer, remedial agent, and relaxer, especially when it is used in conjunction with the other seven steps. When you spend time in the fresh air and sunlight, your body drinks in their life-giving elements. Scientists are now discovering a great connection between light and health. They have found that natural light has a very significant effect on our immune system. Light is already being used for treating various diseases of the blood and skin, and for curing certain kinds of depression and nervous disorders. The value of sunlight for the sick has been demonstrated by hospital experience. They are finding a larger percentage of recoveries in rooms having abundant sunlight, and especially those that allow fresh air to circulate.

When the sun shines on the skin, the nerve endings absorb energy and send it throughout the entire body. This calms the nerves. We've all experienced how a few hours spent playing at the beach or working in the garden can make you feel like taking a nap. Another reason for this is that when the sun hits your skin it manufactures vitamin D in your body and then works as a great natural aid to calcium absorption. Calcium soothes the nervous system--this is why anyone suffering from insomnia or sleeplessness would greatly benefit from twenty to sixty minutes out in the fresh air and sunlight daily. Sunlight is one of the greatest sleep inducers, especially when you combine it with any form of physical exercise. If you were to spend ten to twenty minutes out in the sun gardening every day, your entire being would show favorable changes. You always sleep better at night when you spend enough time in fresh air and sunshine during the day.