How Much Sun Do You Really Need Every Day?

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Did you know that people in the world's longest-living regions called the Blue Zones spend hours outside in the sun every single day and usually without sunscreen? In Okinawa, Japan, centenarians 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 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. So 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 ultraviolet light. Ultraviolet light, UVB, which triggers vitamin D production in the skin.

It's only available when the sun is at a certain angle, generally between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. So just so you know, if you're getting sunlight at 8:00 a.m. or 5:00 p.m. in the evening, you're likely not getting vitamin D. Okay? You need to get it when the sun is between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 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 the sort of light, infrared, that you get from infrared saunas.

In 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. 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.

Okay, so 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.

And D3 is typically It's 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, is 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. 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 got to be careful because you don't want to burn your skin. That'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, but 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. 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. So 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 journal called PLOS One. 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. Axe 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 prohormone. 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. In fact, I know that there is a light therapy expert named Praveen Arunaiyan from the University of Buffalo, and here's what they said about UV light specifically. They said UV light as a therapy, therapy has unfortunately sometimes been controversial.

It has received bad press because of its excessive use in tanning booths 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 could get dietarily. The 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 suprachiasmatic nucleus, which is your body's master circadian clock. So of all the things that keep your body balanced and the hormones, cortisol going up, melatonin going— 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. Higher 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. Okay, people eat lunch, they go on a 20-minute walk outside.

Okay, 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, or you can be doing the call outside while you're taking a walk.

You'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. Your brain and nerve system are responsible for many of the hormones in your body being released, like cortisol, for instance, like melatonin.

And 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 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.

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If you want to check it out and grab one before they're gone, just go to mybloodwork.com now. You know, there was a great study published in the Journal of Affective 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 reduced 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. You know, I notice 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 have a deep intimate relationship with the planet, with nature. In fact, when we die, we don't go up to heaven. Heaven 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 after.

But sunlight, morning exposure, helps start suppressing melatonin so you can wake up and start releasing the right amounts of cortisol. 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. It'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. And 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, a 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 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? And 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. 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 because 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 cathelicidin, 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.

And so 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. Well, 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.

Okay, 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. Don't get any sun on your skin. Well, that could take years off your life.

Now, here's what I recommend for most women or men. 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 because, like, well, it'll turn into a tan. Whether it turns into a tan or not, it increases your risk of cancer. Anytime you burn your skin, 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 in some of the areas, maybe your face, but outside of that, you You should be getting sunlight on most of these areas of your body if you want to increase your lifespan and if you want to generally be healthy. 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, or put on a mineral-based sunscreen that has zinc oxide. 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, and, uh, and, and myrrh and some others. That, that's great as well.

Okay, so, so that can be an option. Um, I do want to mention a few other conditions where sunlight is beneficial. Skin conditions. Okay, uh, 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, it 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, this fear of the sun.

Okay, 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 an expert in in something called solar phobes. His name is Dr. Robert Stern. 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.

They 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 that 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 these sort of skin tones in between. It's going to make a difference on how much sun your body can handle. And it actually impacts your vitamin D synthesis.

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. 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 microdoses.

It 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 a 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, so just think about that. So you want to get more without burning. There's an estimated 42% of American adults that are vitamin D deficient, and 94% are suboptimal. Okay, so 94% of people need more vitamin D. Okay, 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, and that's why I believe now is the time to take steps towards protecting your financial health, just like you would protect your physical health.

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You just need to text Just text AXE to 50505 or visit preservegold.com/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 and sunshine is critical for growth, immunity, and even brain development? Okay, 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. Think about our ancestors. I mean, kids, you know, even when they were very young, they were on— over 50% of jobs were related to agriculture, okay, in history. So kids were getting milk, taking care of chickens, helping plant things.

They were spending loads and loads of time outside. Kids 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 3 to 4 days a week. For darker skin tones, You need 30 to 60 minutes a day, almost every day of the week. Okay? So, if you've got darker skin, you probably need at least double, if not triple, the amount of sunlight that somebody does with light pale skin.

Again, if somebody's Irish with very light skin versus African American, this person, African American, needs typically triple the sunshine that the person with that lighter skin Irish descent has on there. And a lot of this has to do with just sort of adaptation, you know, genetically and what's happening in terms of how much sunlight we actually need.

I want to mention too, really, you don't need to worry about overdosing on getting too much sunshine. As I mentioned, as I— we started off with the Blue Zones. Most of these people in Sardinia and these other areas of the world, they're spending almost all day outside. Now, they might be covered up a good amount, but a lot of them are spending a lot of time outside.

And they're living longer than anywhere else in the world. So you don't need to worry about overexposure of vitamin D if you're doing light, like you would maybe a supplement, which that's hard to do as well. I mean, many people with major vitamin D deficiencies could be doing 10,000, 20,000 IUs daily and more if they're very, very deficient as well.

The reality is this, sunshine, is your number one source of vitamin D. It's your top source of nitric oxide. It improves your mood, your energy, your sleep, your immune system. It's the number one booster of longevity. It's been shown to fight cancer. It's been shown to fight chronic infections like Lyme and long COVID and Epstein-Barr and mold and parasitic infections.

It's been shown to reduce autoimmune disease. It's been shown to Help fight depression and anxiety. It is one of the most powerful forms of natural medicine on the planet. And so think about it like that. Vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin, you want to get more sunlight. And I'd encourage you, look at your daily calendar, think about a habit you could get into.

Again, I mentioned the habit earlier, walk outside for 20 minutes in the morning around breakfast, 20 minutes around lunch, and 20 minutes around dinner. If you did that, that'd get you outside an hour a day in those different doses, and that would be tremendous, tremendous for your health. So the next time you step outside, remember sunlight isn't something to fear.

It's something to harness and cherish. Get your dose wisely, avoiding getting burnt, and let nature's original medicine do what it was designed to do— help you heal and thrive. I want to say thanks so much for tuning in here to the Dr. Josh Axe Show.

Where every week we dive deep into the science and principles of how you can heal physically, mentally, and spiritually and take your health and your life to the next level. Make sure to subscribe, like, and share. By the way, the number one thing you could do to support this podcast is be a subscriber. And then the second thing is share.

Let other people know the truth about food and lifestyle medicine. So whether it's on social media or texting a friend or family that you know needs to know about sunshine, listen. You know how many people are posting online not to get sunshine? Sunshine's bad for you. Sunscreen's bad for you.

You could be that hero, that truth bearer of letting people know, listen, that's false, by sharing this episode. So thanks so much for doing that. I can't wait to see you on the next show.