How Much Sun Do You Really Need Every Day?

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1:24In Okinawa, Japan, centurions tend their gardens and exercise outdoors with their sleeves rolled up. And in Costa Rica, where the sun is strong year-round, people often work outdoors. In Sardinia, Italy, older men walk long distances in the midday sun. They farm, they garden, and they tend livestock. This isn't a coincidence. It's based on biology as sunlight has many benefits. And sunlight is not only a natural mood booster and the most potent source of vitamin D, it's a foundational element of immune function, hormonal health, and even longevity. Welcome to the Dr. Josh Axe Show.

2:20So do you want to know what sunshine is really? It's electromagnetic radiation from the sun. It includes different types of UV known as ultraviolet rays, some visible and many invisible, including infrared light. And light from the sun acts as a biological signal. It regulates dozens of systems, including your circadian rhythms, your hormonal production, your sleep, your cognitive function, and your immune defense. And think of sunshine as a natural software update for your body, ideally taking place every single day. And UVB is a type of ultra violent light, UVB, which triggers vitamin D production in the skin.

3:03It's only available when the sun is at a certain angle, generally between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. So just so you know, if you're getting sunlight at 8 a.m. or 5 p.m. in the evening, you're likely not getting vitamin D. You need to get it when the sun is between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. UVA is another type of ultraviolet light. This penetrates deeper into the skin, and it's associated with tanning and aging. Then you have infrared light, which comes off the sun. This produces warmth in the body and has benefits for mitochondrial function and circulation. You're probably familiar with this one because this is a sort of light infrared that you get from infrared saunas.

3:48And that same way it heats your body up in a deep way. Well, the sun is even stronger at doing it than infrared light beds and then visible light. This enters our eyes and plays a role in circadian rhythm regulation, energy, hormones, and even mood. Now, I want to talk about why sunshine is the best vitamin D source. You can take vitamin D supplements, but it doesn't compare to the benefits of getting actual vitamin D from the sun. When UVB rays hit your skin, your body starts to convert something called 7-dehydrocholesterol. It converts it to vitamin D. Then vitamin D3 goes through a process in the liver and the kidneys to become the active form of vitamin D known as calcitriol.

4:34So there's a conversion that's happening in the body. The form of vitamin D our bodies make from sunlight is highly bioavailable, and it converts very efficiently in the body to energy and being used for hormone production and really all the things that make us healthy and allow our bodies to run well. Sunlight also gives you more than just vitamin D. It boosts nitric oxide, which helps lower blood pressure and build your strength and stamina. It sets your circadian clock. It supports mitochondrial function. These are things that pills cannot replicate. And while vitamin D supplements are useful, they bypass the skin and they don't offer the same circadian or nitric oxide benefits as sunlight.

5:16And D3 is typically the more usable form, but sunlight is even better and more usable than vitamin D supplements you can take. Now, another thing that people are starting to do because of the vitamin D supplements, they're good, but they're not as good as the sun. There's something in between and that's vitamin D lamps. You can get UVB lamps. These can be used in places with limited sun exposure. Okay, like if you're living in Canada or in Minnesota where my wife is from or somewhere up north, you can actually do these lights. Okay, now you've got to be careful because you don't want to burn your skin.

5:50That's one thing I will tell you with the sun. It is never good to burn your skin. That will age your skin. That will increase your risk of cancer. You never want to burn ever. Okay. However, getting some light on your skin, some sunshine, or from a lamp without getting burnt has tremendous benefits. In fact, these sort of lamps, they've been shown to reduce seasonal depression, and they also support vitamin D production in your body. You can also do light therapy via photobiomodulation. This is used for other conditions like inflammation, autoimmune disease. That can be good as well. So listen, doing light in lamps like infrared, loads and loads of benefits.

6:28but none of them have the comprehensive benefits that the sun has. Okay. Now I want to talk about why we need vitamin D. Vitamin D plays a crucial role in immune function, bone health, and inflammation regulation. It also helps the body absorb calcium and magnesium and supports muscle function and is involved in hormone production and mood regulation. Okay. So vitamin D is probably the most unique of all nutrients. Low levels of vitamin D are linked with fatigue, chronic infections that you can't overcome, like Lyme and long COVID, depression, and autoimmune disease. And there are several studies that have shown that people who don't have enough vitamin D had a much greater level of having severe infection, hospitalization, and deaths from COVID-19 in the past.

7:21So we know if vitamin D levels are low, your risk of getting sick with a cold or flu or not being able to overcome those sort of conditions like pneumonia is much, much higher. I want to give you an example of one study. This was published in a really phenomenal journey called PLOS-1. And they showed that patients with vitamin D deficiency were 2.4 times more likely to be hospitalized from COVID-19, 2.2 times more likely to need ICU care, and 1.8 times more likely to die from the virus. So we know vitamin D is critical. You know, I was one of the first people saying this. I talked about how important vitamin D was, and I actually had some media outlets come against me and say, Dr.

8:02Axe is being unscientific. I already knew without looking at the medical journals that this was going to be the case because I knew how vitamin D worked on the immune system and how it fights infections. Now, of course, the science catches up later, but that's the reality. Listen, vitamin D is so powerful because it's not only a vitamin, it's a pro-hormone. It's an anti-inflammatory nutrient. In fact, vitamin D appears to reduce the inflammatory response and enhance innate immune defenses, making it a key nutrient in all of respiratory health, immune health, and recovery and hormone balance. Now, I want to mention UV light has sometimes been somewhat controversial.

8:45In fact, I know that there is a light therapy expert named Praveen R.N.A. from the University of Buffalo. And here's what they said about UV light specifically. They said, UV light as a therapy has unfortunately sometimes been controversial. It has received bad press because of its excessive use in tanning boosts and its connection to skin cancer. while we do need to be cautious with its use in moderation, this type of light is good for you. Here's something you need to know. Sunlight is an essential nutrient. In fact, it's more essential than omega-3 fatty acids. It's more essential or as essential as every other nutrient you can get dietarily.

9:26The other thing we know about sunlight is it's a natural antidepressant. When it enters your eye in the morning, by the way, your eye is directly connected to your nervous system. It stimulates special cells in the retina that communicate with the brain's supracosematic nucleus, which is your body's master circadian clock. So of all the things that keep your body balanced in the hormones, cortisol going up, melatonin going up, estrogen, progesterone, insulin, all of your hormones being balanced and you having stabilized mood, vitamin D is the single most important nutrient you can have. and from there, Sunshine also promotes the release of another hormone, serotonin, which is a neurotransmitter that regulates your mood, your motivation, your focus.

10:12Higher serotonin levels are associated with improved mood, calmness, and reduced anxiety. If you're a person also, you want to be more productive at work, one of the things that my staff has done at some of my businesses is around lunch, everybody goes on a 20-minute walk. People eat lunch, they go on a 20-minute walk outside. I encourage my employees to, if they're doing a phone call, if it's not a Zoom or they don't have to be in front of video, take a walk outside while they're on the call. Get vitamin D. Many of you have jobs where you could be doing a call while you're on the phone. You could be doing the call outside while you're taking a walk.

10:50You're walking, there's benefits. The vitamin D benefits. There's a load of benefits that way. Now, a neurologist had something really interesting to say about vitamin D as well. He said, studies have shown that moderate sunlight exposure is highly beneficial to the human brain, improving mood and cognitive health. When sunlight reaches the retina, it stimulates the central neuroendocrine system, promoting regulation homeostasis. So there's a system in your body, your neuroendocrine, your brain, your nervous system, and your hormonal system. Okay, your brain and nerve system are responsible for many of the hormones in your body being released, like cortisol, for instance, like melatonin.

11:29And when those hormones are released, then it's a domino effect, it impacts every other hormone in your body. So if you're struggling with infertility, or PCOS or something like that, what's going to happen is when you get outdoors more and get more vitamin D in that sunlight, it's going to help get cortisol where it should be. that then is going to cause progesterone and estrogen and insulin to be exactly where they should be, which will support fertility and hormone balance of all types. There's also studies showing that sunlight supports testosterone production in men. Do you have unexplainable illness, hormone dysfunction, weight loss, resistance, brain fog, and you're tired of being dismissed when you know something isn't right?

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12:54You know, there's a great study published in the Journal of Effective Disorders, and they found that the greater time outdoors was linked to lower chances of lifetime major depressive order. In fact, this study was done on over 400 ,000 people, and it revealed that they spent a median, an average of 2.5 daylight hours outdoors. And each additional hour spent outdoors was linked to reduce antidepressant use, greater happiness, and less tiredness. And I've said this many times. if you want to get better sleep, overcome depression, overcome anxiety, have more happiness, just better mental health, better everything, overall health, spend more time outdoors.

13:36You know, I noticed that I feel the best, I sleep the best when I spend all day outdoors. Literally, if I spend a whole day outdoors, like boating on a lake, you should try this all day at the beach, all day at the lake, you will feel incredible. It's not just the fact that you're not working. It's the fact that you are outside and you are, listen, when we go to the book of Genesis in the Bible, God says, I made you from the dust of the earth. I made you out of mud. Okay. God created humans to be, have a deep intimate relationship with the planet, with nature. In fact, you know, when we die, we don't go up to heaven.

14:15Heaven is here on earth. We continue to be connected to the earth here. Okay. So it's important to understand we need to live in tune with nature. If you're going to be healthy, more time outdoors, more time in nature will help you heal. And one of the most powerful ways to do that is getting direct sunlight or sun contact. Okay. You know, if you want to really set your circadian clock in the right way from first thing in the morning, then right when you wake up in the morning, one of the first things you should do is go for a walk outside. Okay, you know, either go and then have a, you know, some breakfast or do it right, right after.

14:53But sunlight morning exposure helps start suppressing melatonin. So you can wake up and start releasing the right amounts of cortisol. Okay, and this will also allow you to release more melatonin in the evening. If you can do that as well, it helps regulate that in the body. Without sunlight, especially in the morning, the circadian system in your body becomes confused. And melatonin is either released too early or too late, leading to insomnia, waking up at night, feeling groggy in the morning. Those are all side effects. If you are not sleeping well, the number one prescription is more time outside, especially in the sun.

15:31It's the number one prescription that will help you typically, especially if you're active doing something like walking outside. Studies show you fall asleep more easily. You are less groggy in the morning. you sleep for longer, the more time you spend outside. And even if it's just 10 to 15 minutes in the morning, that alone can start to trigger that circadian balance. Now, there are also studies showing that vitamin D and sunlight specifically support mitochondrial function and cellular energy. Red and near-infrared light stimulate something called cytochrome C oxidase in your mitochondria, this increases the production of ATP in your body and boosts your energy.

16:13And ATP is used for everything from muscle movement to brain function to hormone production. This process is called photobiomodulation. And it's the one reason why red light therapy has become popular for everyday energy. And listen, I love red light therapy. I have a red light bed at home or red light panel at home. I believe in it and I use it. However, sunlight is still even more powerful and more important, especially getting out there, you know, once in the morning, because that's going to set your circadian clock and you're going to get certain rays more in the morning. The middle of the day is where you'll get the most vitamin D, remember, okay?

16:52And then the evening, when that goes down, you're getting actually different rays there as well. And that starts to support melatonin and cause cortisol to start to decline. Okay. So really, and this is where just going for a 20 minute walk around breakfast, lunch, and dinner, getting in that type of habit is a great way to really get all of those different types of rays based on the time of day it is. Now I want to say this as well. I've, my mom, when she had cancer in the past, one of the things I prescribed for her is sunlight therapy. I have a cousin who had cancer, and I prescribed him sunlight therapy.

17:31Because sunlight supports your immune system in multiple ways, and not just by raising vitamin D levels. Vitamin D itself actually activates T cells and supports the production of antimicrobial peptides like catholicidin, which helps the body fight off bacteria and viruses. In fact, UV rays themselves can kill bacteria and viruses and cancer cells. Historically, sunlight was used to sterilize hospital rooms and tuberculosis wards before antibiotics even existed. To destroy microorganisms, UV rays penetrate the cell's membrane, destroying the DNA, and so they stop the reproduction of certain types of viruses and bad bacteria in the body, parasites in the body.

18:17So again, it was the first disinfectant that was out there is sunlight. Same thing. If somebody had an issue with mold, oftentimes they would expose it to sunlight. Sunshine also boosts, as I mentioned earlier, nitric oxide production. This is a molecule produced in the skin in response to UVA types of rays. And nitric oxide has a vasodilating effect, so it improves blood flow. So it's great for circulation, immune defense, blood pressure, energy, building muscles, getting more fit, and reducing inflammation. Nitric oxide. So you've probably heard beetroot juice, for instance, is really good for nitric oxide.

18:55Well, so is the sun. Really, really powerful in that way as well. Vitamin D also has been shown to support, as I mentioned earlier, absorption of nutrients. Calcium, vitamin D, K2. you need vitamin D to absorb other nutrients, which of course is important, calcium and magnesium for preventing osteopenia and osteoporosis. If you want really, really strong bones, it's important. Also, there is a longevity study done on sunshine. This was a Swedish study and they found that women who avoided sun exposure had a life expectancy around 0.6 to 2.1 years shorter than those with regular sun exposure. So there's a lot of women today who have been told, oh, if you get sun on your skin, it'll age you.

19:45Don't get any sun on your skin. Well, that could take years off your life. Now, here's what I recommend for most women. If you want to look younger, listen, cover up your face. You don't need to get much sunlight on your face, but on your back and shoulders and chest and arms and legs and those areas, get some sunshine. If you really don't want your skin to age, then don't get burnt. I'll say that I've said it already. Do not burn your skin in the sun. I have this happen all the time. People are like, well, I like to like, I've known a few people and they like to burn their last day. They literally try and burn their last day before leaving on vacation.

20:22Cause like, well, it turned into a tan, whether it turns into a tan or not, it increases your risk of cancer. Anytime you burn your skin and it ages your skin. If you're getting just a little bit of sun here and there regularly, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, an hour, of course, depending upon the time of year, it's not going to age your skin. Or if it does, it'll be so minutely and it's going to increase your lifespan a lot. Okay. So again, if you really want to protect your skin, be more conscious on some of the areas, maybe your face, but outside of that, you should be getting, you should be getting sunlight on most of these areas of your body.

20:54If you want to increase your lifespan and if you want to generally be healthy, Okay, sun tan lotion, sunscreen blocks UV radiation, which you need some of it. So what I recommend doing is get outside, get some sunlight 15-20 minutes, and then put on a shirt, cover up, okay? Or put on a mineral-based sunscreen that has zinc oxide, okay, that's a natural sunscreen, and put that on with nothing artificial in it. I mean, you can make your own with zinc oxide and essential oils like lavender and myrrh and some others. That's great as well. Okay, so that can be an option. I do want to mention a few other conditions where sunlight is beneficial.

21:36Skin conditions, okay? Psoriasis being one of the biggest. Hyperpigmentation is another. Moderate sunlight may reduce pigmentation, inflammation, and skin conditions like also eczema would be another one. So eczema, psoriasis, melasma, it's helpful for all of those. Acne is incredibly, incredibly helpful. One of the reasons why people get acne in the first place is a vitamin D deficiency. So you want to do it for acne. Just inflammation overall for your body. It's great for that. It even supports collagen production. So again, there are still some dermatologists and influencers out there that are overblowing sort of this fear of the sun.

22:16OK, the sun is one of the greatest healing tools, if not the greatest that's ever existed when it comes to fighting cancer, fighting chronic infections, fighting autoimmune disease, balancing your hormones, supporting anti-aging. You want to get sun, but in the right dosages, right? You can overdose anything. If you're laying out and getting scorching your body, of course, that's not good for you. There is a an expert in in something called solar phobes. His name is Dr. Robert Stern. and he's actually the department chair at Harvard School of Dermatology. And he says, Solar Phobes are people so concerned about getting skin cancer that they stay inside and cover every bit of skin they have.

22:58They cover it up like they were going out into the Arabian Desert. The marketing of ultra-blocking sunscreens and special sun-protective clothing plays into these fears. And it's negative. It's making people sick. Smart sun exposure, so short, frequent doses in the morning, afternoon, and in the evening, without burning, may offer benefits to outweigh the risks to people. Okay, they do. Okay. Now, one other thing I need to note is, listen, there are all different types of skin tones, right? If you have very, very pale white skin versus black skin versus all of the sort of skin tones in between, it's going to make a difference on how much sun your body can handle.

23:43And it actually impacts your vitamin D synthesis. Okay, so just being aware of that as well. Sort of, again, don't burn and get the right amount of sunlight based on your skin tone. In fact, the darker your skin, sometimes the more you need exposure for vitamin D synthesis in some cases. Okay, now I want to talk about sunlight and skin cancer. UV exposure increases skin cancer risk, but the magnitude of that risk depends on duration, intensity, skin type, and whether you burn or not. Okay. Again, the biggest thing the science shows is whether you burn. Okay. Also, sunlight decreases your risk getting it on your skin in the right dosage, not overdoing it in the right way, small micro doses.

24:27It decreases your risk of a lot of internal cancers, including colon cancer and breast cancer. Because you've got more vitamin D, you've got more nitric oxide. So it helps with that. There was a 2016 Swedish study that found that women who avoided sun exposure had higher all-cause mortality than those with moderate sun exposure, even when skin cancer was accounted for. So overall, more sunlight without burning decreases your risk of all types of skin cancer. Okay? So just think about that. So you want to get more. without burning. There's an estimated of 42 % of American adults that are vitamin D deficient, and 94 % are suboptimal.

25:12So 94 % of people need more vitamin D. That's almost everybody. Very, very high. In fact, when you look at chronic deficiencies, especially if you include industrialized nations, vitamin D is the number one deficiency. Now, in nations that are impoverished, Vitamin A is very, very high. But overall, vitamin D is the greatest deficiency most people have. And rates climb up to over 80 % in African-Americans and 70 % in Hispanics due to melanin blocking some of the UVB radiation. And so you need to get even more. The darker your skin, typically the more time you need to spend outside. Now, a lot of economists are saying a recession may be on the horizon.

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26:36Now today when buying gold, I personally trust Preserve Gold. And right now they're offering a free wealth protection guide. You can actually get this guide. You just need to text AXE to 50505 or visit preservegold.com forward slash AXE. And this is another reason why if you've got kids, they should be playing a lot of time outdoors. Did you know that vitamin D in sunshine is critical for growth, immunity, and even brain development? So if your kids are inside on iPads and phones and playing video games inside most of the time, listen, they need to be spending almost every minute they are not in school outside, as much time as they possibly can.

27:24Think about our ancestors. I mean, kids, you know, even when they were very young, they were on over 50 percent of jobs were related to agriculture. OK, in history. So kids were getting milk, taking care of chickens, helping plant. They were spending loads and loads of time outside. We could spend very little time outside today, so they should spend as much time outside as possible. Now, in terms of dosages, I want to give you some general and a general idea of how much sunshine you actually need. For a minimum dose for light skinned individuals, you need about 10 to 20 minutes of midday sun on your arms and legs, typically at least three to four days a week.