After we’ve conditioned our minds to rise and set with the sun in my last blog post, let’s dive into the science of self confidence and why sunlight creates instant confidence.
Have you ever experienced a cloudy day and felt the winter blues but all of sudden the sun came out and it felt like someone just lifted you out of a dark hole of depression and onto a sandy beach in Hawaii?
While this example may be a bit of a stretch, there’s a good reason why most of us think of tropical islands when it comes to choosing a vacation. Tropical islands provide lots of sunshine, which makes you feel confident. But why does it do this.
Dozens of studies have proven that natural sunlight triggers the production of vitamin D. But what’s even more impressive is the fact that it also triggers the of nitric oxide and serotonin, two key ingredients in our confidence formula, which instantly make you feel good.
For example, researchers at the University of Edinburgh found that when sunlight touches your skin, nitric oxide is instantly released into your bloodstream, which makes a lot of sense when you think about how good it feels to be in the sun. This study also found that sunlight exposure can significantly increase your life expectancy by cutting the risk of stroke.
Researchers concluded, “We suspect that the benefits to heart health of sunlight will outweigh the risk of skin cancer. The work we have done provides a mechanism that might account for this and also explains why dietary vitamin D supplements alone will not be able to compensate for lack of sunlight.”
But that’s not all, as additional studies prove that sunshine and its resulting creation of vitamin D release serotonin, which gives you even more of that confidence high. You might have experienced this one day while basking in the sunlight when someone asked you to do something you might normally have been afraid of but that sunshine gave you just enough confidence to say yes.
In contrast, other studies show a direct link to an increase in depression during seasons where there is a limited supply of sunshine like fall and winter.[1] Doctors have even created a name for this and call it Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).
While a good vitamin D supplement is effective especially if you live in places where the sun just doesn’t shine much, it’s simply not a substitute for good old natural sunlight exposure. Most doctors recommend getting around 15 minutes of daily sunlight exposure, but if you have dark skin you’ll need around 20-30 minutes per day since your skin pigment doesn’t absorb sunlight as quickly.
To do this, I recommend exposing your back or legs to the sun while sitting and reading. Or take a walk and expose some skin the sunlight. Just make sure you keep your more sensitive areas like your face and head protected with a hat or natural sunscreen.
To instantly learn more natural ways in gaining confidence check out the top-selling book Get High On Self Confidence here.
[1] Randy A. Sansone, MD and Lori A. Sansone, MD. Sunshine, Serotonin, and Skin: A Partial Explanation for Seasonal Patterns in Psychopathology? Innov Clin Neurosci. 2013 Jul-Aug; 10(7-8): 20–24. Published online Jul-Aug 2013.
