December: The Great Outdoors

 Growing evidence suggests that we all need to be spending more time outdoors.

For example, lack of outdoor exposure to natural light during childhood, especially in green spaces, may be a major contributor to the myopia crisis.

Natural lighting may be viewed as an essential nutrient, and deficiencies may manifest in many ways, for example, disturbing mitochondrial function, which can set in motion a chain reaction of metabolic dysfunction. Living under “ultra-processed lighting” that no longer emits near infrared light as incandescent bulbs used to do. and blocking out necessary wavelengths of light with high-efficiency windows may come at a significant health cost.

What challenges do you face in understanding and applying the evidence to your life? What objections do you think you might meet in prescribing more of the outdoors to your patients?

In January, we started the year by examining the the six pillars of lifestyle medicine.

Please join us in the darkest days of winter for for a healthy discussion of the potential 7^th pillar: sunshine, with the authors of the article making that proposal.