Ep. 604 “It’s Not Just Vitamin D!” – How Sunlight Supports Blood Pressure, Mood & Hormonal Health with Rowan Jacobsen | Perimenopause, Menopause, Sleep

About this episode

The episode discusses the importance of sunlight for health with guest Rowan Jacobsen, focusing on its effects on blood pressure, mood, and hormonal balance.

Today, I’m thrilled to connect with Rowan Jacobsen. Rowan writes about science, nature, and the world’s lesser-explored corners for publications including Harper’s, Outside, The Atlantic, Scientific American, Smithsonian, and The New York Times, among others. He is the author of nine books, has lectured at Harvard and Yale, and has appeared on CBS, NBC, and NPR. In today’s conversation, we discuss his unique and fascinating new book, In Defense of Sunlight, which explores the nuances surrounding light exposure. We look at the value of sun exposure and vitamin D, and Rowan explains why light acts as a master regulator in the body and how our modern lifestyles may be disrupting our natural biology more than we realize. We examine the effects of shift work, cortisol rhythm dysregulation, and the minimum effective dose of sunlight intensity and exposure, and Rowan breaks down how UVA and UVB wavelengths impact our physiology. We also cover the importance of nitric oxide production, and Rowan shares recommendations from his work. Stay tuned for an eye-opening conversation on why sunlight may be one of the most overlooked foundations of human health. For those who enjoy reading about…

People in this episode

Guest: Rowan Jacobsen

Topics covered

• sunlight
• hormonal health
• blood pressure
• mood
• perimenopause
• menopause
• sleep

Keywords

• vitamin D
• circadian biology
• nitric oxide
• UVA
• UVB
• cortisol
• shift work
• light exposure

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Harper’s, Outside, The Atlantic, Scientific American, Smithsonian, The New York Times

Books & works: In Defense of Sunlight

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