In this week's episode of the Less Stressed Life podcast, I talk to one of my favorite people, Jena S. Griffith, about the science behind morning light and its effect on our overall health especially in terms of sleep and eye health.
For more than 15 years, Jena has immersed herself in research and education in the fields of health, wellness, nutrition, and fitness. Her mission is to compassionately support, educate and inspire people to lead energetic, healthy, and joyful lives.
Interested in The Case Study Mastermind for health professionals? Email hello@christabiegler.com with your story and why you want to be considered.
The Mastermind is a group of health professionals reviewing different case study topics each week to accelerate clinical confidence in a variety of functional lab testing, conditions, and symptoms.
Thanks to our episode sponsor Manitoba Milling flaxseed and flax milk, the finest milled flax available on the market because they use only high-quality seeds that stay fresh. You can use the code β25christaβ for 25% off your first order at manitobaflax.com and the same code for 25% flax on Amazon. For 25% milk on Amazon use the code β25ChristaBβ.
Assess your Adrenals, Detox or Get my Guide
Join us on Instagram
instagram.com/anti.inflammatory.nutritionist/
Shop our Favorites
Loving the podcast? Leave us a review!
In this week's episode of the Less Stressed Life podcast, I talk to one of my favorite people, Jena S. Griffith, about the science behind morning light and its effect on our overall health especially in terms of sleep and eye health.
For more than 15 years, Jena has immersed herself in research and education in the fields of health, wellness, nutrition, and fitness. Her mission is to compassionately support, educate and inspire people to lead energetic, healthy, and joyful lives.
Interested in The Case Study Mastermind for health professionals? Email hello@christabiegler.com with your story and why you want to be considered.
The Mastermind is a group of health professionals reviewing different case study topics each week to accelerate clinical confidence in a variety of functional lab testing, conditions, and symptoms.
Thanks to our episode sponsor Manitoba Milling flaxseed and flax milk, the finest milled flax available on the market because they use only high-quality seeds that stay fresh. You can use the code β25christaβ for 25% off your first order at manitobaflax.com and the same code for 25% flax on Amazon. For 25% milk on Amazon use the code β25ChristaBβ.
Assess your Adrenals, Detox or Get my Guide
Join us on Instagram
instagram.com/anti.inflammatory.nutritionist/
Shop our Favorites
Loving the podcast? Leave us a review!
spk_0: 0:00
in full spectrum life. There is never any blue light without red. So red sort of protects us from the blue that exists. So it's all built in protection. There is never anything that's gonna be damaging cuts.
spk_1: 0:14
Hey there, before we get started On this week's episode, I wanted to let you know that I'm curating in a small group mastermind of private practice, health professionals in integrative in functional medicine to review case studies, protocols, timelines and expected results to overcome different conditions and symptoms the mastermind members are most interested in. So this might be a good fit for you. If you're interested in sharing strategies and ideas with like minded professionals, you don't have time to take another course where your case questions may or may not be answered. You're looking for tried and true protocol approaches from practitioners that have tested them for efficient results. You're interested in improving or streamlining your client on boarding and client support process. You're looking for riel examples of an reasons test results and interventions are chosen, and the outcomes you're interested in thes niches or topics. Digestive and gut health, skin health, autoimmune conditions, nutrient efficiencies, women's health and hormones, food reactions and a little bit about genetics. It's also a good fit for you if you have a virtual practice or you're familiar with those private practice. Electronic health records like Practice Better Healthy Calix in online supplement dispensaries. Now, this may not be a good fit for you. If you're looking for support with just insurance reimbursement and licensing options, you have a scarcity mindset. You don't currently see clients or patients as part of your job, and you don't have a plan or you do not currently have a private practice or if you're unable to order any functional lab testing. But if it is a great fit, or if it does sound like something you're interested in, then I invite you to send me a message so we can discuss it further. Right now, we're planning to do a spring. I think it's spring and fall Sachin so it would start mid to end May, and it would be a weekly meeting for six weeks. This is highly dependent on the needs and the preferences of the participants, so this is subject to change based on who is selected and who is in the mastermind. But each week will have a specific case study topic chosen by participants. And then a thorough intake form will be done to ensure that we're really accelerating everyone schools. So if it's of interest to you whatsoever, even if you're hearing this much later, you can still send me a message to hello at krista Bigler dot com, or hello at less stressed life dot com. It should be actually linked in the show notes as well. You can do that. You can tell me a little bit about yourself and what you do and why you think this is a good fit for you, and then it seems like a good fit for the group. I'll send you a link to book, call my schedule. And remember, there's a spring session and a fall session. But regardless of when you might be interested, send an email. So we have a little bit of an idea on who is interest. We will allow you to be scheduled first. Thanks so much. Now, back to lighten health. Welcome to the less stressed life podcast, where our only priority is providing those ah ha moments toe uplevel your life health and happiness. Your host, Integrative dietitian nutritionist Krista Bigler, helps health conscious women reduce the stress and confusion around food, fatigue, digestive and skin issues at less stress. Nutrition dot com Now onto the show Okay, today on the less stress life we have. Jenna S. Griffith, who is someone I met at some conferences this fall, and she has worked on Nutrition Field for almost 15 years but was inspired to redirect her career path and return to school after transforming her own health by going back to school and doing in studying integrative and functional intrusion. She is currently the director of Nutrition for Culpa for Wellness Foundation and Public Wellness Center, the top ranking medical wellness center in Virginia. She's been the lead nutrition instructor in Charlottesville Community Education for the last 10 years and maintains a small private practice specializing in digestive health and chronic pain. She has certifications from the psychology of eating integrated attrition and uses food in nature as a doorway to improve the mine body and spirit. So Jenna and I met at a conference this fall, and we were chatting. She was showing us all how to change our phone setting in. So that way, when you're looking at them late in the day, you can change the screen color to red. So it's not like you'd be surprised. You're like, lay in bed and you're looking at this red screen. Even though it's kind of ugly. Your eyes do not hurt restrain like they would a normal. And so anyway, I got very intrigued by this. And here we are, in a whole month of the podcast, talking all about how light affects health. And I've invited a Jenna S. Griffith. So she's gonna talk to us all about the science here. Welcome, Jenna.
spk_0: 4:40
Well, thank you. Yeah. Happy to talk about this topic, which is very dense, but, yes, I'm hoping to give you some light and information for sure.
spk_1: 4:49
Yeah, well, if we can kind of last and have analogies, we can handle dense topics, but it isn't. It's exciting, sort of, because it's these things that we take for granted so frequently right about like so, Actually, what I'd love to know is, how did you decide? Oh, I'm like, nerd out on things related light and health. Like, tell me a story about how this sort of happened or like where you came across this and you decided, Oh, this is really interesting and action on our office.
spk_0: 5:16
Sure, sure you don't. So I'm a second career dietitian. My first degree was in journalism, you know, that's natural curiosity, natural inclination just to dive deep into things. But around 2015 I just had a health challenge and I dove really deep into Meryl's, and I became sort of obsessed with magnesium. And so, after just diving deep with magnesium and understanding, you know all the mechanisms and realizing that it has receptors or different proteins have, like 2751 receptors for magnesium. I just thought, Wow, like this is sort of under the radar. I think we don't even really get how important Bag Museum is. And then that sort of blood meats and vitamin D and that led me to the sun. And then I had my own help challenges with eyes. I've always had some weird I issues from birth, so I started just experimenting with the sun, just getting more morning sun than I decreased My my o p. A. So I'm last year sided, then I waas and I'm having try I and all these common afflictions that seems to be happening to everyone you know, with all the devices that were on all the time. And then I got even deeper and I got into the work of Dr Jack Kruse, who is a somewhat controversial neurologists don't deep in the lots of studies that he had sort of accumulated, which then led me to the book called Health and Light by John Not. And Jon. Ott was actually a time lapse photographer, and he started realizing when he has to build glass houses to put his plans inside of so he can get the right effects. He was realizing that the glass cut out the UV light and that it was detrimental to his plants. And so that's how he sort of went down the hole light, you know, research hole. And his book was really fascinating. So, I mean, for anyone wanting to even just get a glimpse into where this all started, like, it really started with him, you know, bringing this all to the surface.
spk_1: 7:17
So that was a perfect I love that. Actually, I loved the timeline that you gave. I feel like I really would have liked to stop and say, Can we go to talk about all these other topics now? But maybe you have so many, right? Just
spk_0: 7:28
even with vitamin D in the sun, right? That's a whole other podcasts. I
spk_1: 7:32
mean,
spk_0: 7:32
just really understanding. You know what we're doing? What are we missing right now for sure?
spk_1: 7:37
Well, I think we're gonna want to know some of the things that you did to decrease the Ethiopia. And maybe you should tell people what is my O p. A.
spk_0: 7:44
Just nearsightedness can't be far. So, yeah, Do you want me to go through the whole? You know what morning might provide, right? What
spk_1: 7:53
was missing this year?
spk_0: 7:54
The front page news
spk_1: 7:55
this'll stuff that we we forget to do because we don't go look at the sun. Right. So take it away,
spk_0: 8:01
right? So, yeah, we're sort of living a mismatch, right? I mean, this is not how we evolved to live this human beings. So in a sense, we're trying to make our modern lives work, you know? We're living indoors 90 to 99% of the time, and, you know, we're not getting all the messages from the sun that we have been programmed and developed and, you know, biologically and trained to get so we're not getting that. So what should be happening is that we should be at in the morning sun, and this is the first thing that I did. So because in the morning sun, when the sun rises within 30 minutes or an hour of sunrise, there is no UV a light, right? So I just want to take a step back and just tell you one thing about why we've been told to fear the sun and where this comes from, because I think that's just really important before I go through the whole process on the mechanism. So there was a study in the fifties. I believe it was in the fifties that they did on anesthetized animals. And so there are three bands of UV light. There is UV, a UV B and UV C so UBC there's less known about UBC. It is present in some might is the shortest wavelength, and it's known to damage living tissues. But what they did with this UV light is they held open the eyes of these animals and showing the light intensely into their eyes, and they damaged their retinas. And so, from then on, it was known that UV light is to be feared. UV light is dangerous, and apparently that stuff for a very long time. So that's the only study that I confined that cold people, that this should be something to fear so
spk_1: 9:40
about son in like skin cancer,
spk_0: 9:42
right? Yeah. And so even that is not proving to be true, right? So, Well, son is causing cancer, but it's the way we use it. It's the way we use the
spk_1: 9:51
sun
spk_0: 9:51
so we can start there, too. Most people use the sun, you know, they missed the morning sun and they just go out into the afternoon sun. They get burned and different things happen, right, and it causes melanoma and other things. But, you know, there are many, many studies coming out now that all cause mortality is actually increased when we stay out of the sun. So you know. So there's all that research coming out in terms of how we should be using the sun. We should be getting out in the morning because when we get out in the morning sun. It actually increases what's called our solar callous right, which is literally a callous. And there are several mechanisms for that, but we never miss. We never get that Morning Sun, which also prepares our body for the UV right later. So our skin has melon in, so that is a UV protector. Plus, of course, diet right. My background is nutrition, so diet. Of course. You know there are ways that we can protect from the inside, right antioxidants and all those things. And then there's another mechanism that sort of created by the infrared and red light in the morning sun. And that is through a protein called Fila Grin, which has the amino acid dean, which creates a substance called your iconic acid. And this also protects the skin from the UV light right? So I feel like there's even more that we don't know. But these are just a few mechanisms, so the point being if we get morning sun more often, it's sort of prepares and protects you for the UV lights later, and we're not getting that.
spk_1: 11:25
Oh, that is so interesting, actually, kind of want to reiterate it because it was heavy, but in a great way. So get that morning sun and it increases that solar callous. The skin has this melon n to receive that, but the mechanism also is melon in were increasing through that melon. And I believe Phil a gran, this is actually comes up in exhibit research because they're like, Oh, is it the fill a grand? That's the problem. And I mean, it's really like a 50 50 thing. So we increased this fill a grand, which is, like, basically skin structure essentially and so anyway, repeat a little bit for me.
spk_0: 11:57
Sure. So really three different things, right that I'm talking about. One is the obvious about, you know, blocking from the inside out and all the protection that we can get from, You know, the foods that we eat and the practices that we keep. Then, on the infrared and red light from the morning sun builds our solar caliphs. Right, So melanin absorbs the light right and is therefore a UV protector. So that's one separate mechanism.
spk_1: 12:22
So doctors can in a darker skin, right?
spk_0: 12:24
Yeah, yeah, exactly. And it protects. And then the whole other mechanism is that it increases the protein villagran, you know, which has the amino acid histamine and then the euro. Connick acid is the thing that protects us from the UV light. So I guess it's three or four things,
spk_1: 12:44
all right, so we're basically blocking from the inside out, like we can do some things from the inside what we consume. Then we've got the red light coming from the sun, and then that helps absorb the light that helps protect, like, create the mechanisms in the skin cream or production. It's like your own. It's like your homemade sunblock,
spk_0: 13:01
right? Exactly. It's just that we evolved to the outside, right. It's not that we should be outside every single second and having the sun beat down on this. But we evolved to be out when the sun is rising, and so we wouldn't have to actually break this down scientifically, right? We would just naturally get this protection because we were out in the sun and we wouldn't burn later. And so because we've had this protection, we've had the solar calendar being built up. We've had all that in a protection without having to think about it, right, we wouldn't be sleeping till 11 or 12 or being inside and then going out getting the sun and saying See, here UV light is dangerous,
spk_1: 13:40
right? Yeah. Yeah. So
spk_0: 13:42
again, it's how we're using. It
spk_1: 13:43
s interesting. OK, so we now talk about morning light, and it's important for protecting us throughout the rest of the day. But let's let's talk about how it affects some other areas. So that's like, good. Like essential beginning the beginning stage there. Like, how does your about to make its own sunblock essentially for the more damaging rays by looking in the morning? But what other things in our biology are affected by the cycles or the solar times of the sun? Like what? We're not seeing it in the morning. What downstream effects are we doing to our hormones, metabolism and all that stuff?
spk_0: 14:17
So two things. So the first part is So what does morning sun provide? Okay, so if we're out within an hour, preferably 1/2 hour of sunrise, what happens is it stimulates hormones and different neurotransmitter production, and so primarily, like we think, the crazy right with the signs. But basically it programs two amino acids. One is Tyra scene, right and the others trip defense. So Tyra Scene is responsible for dopamine, right? So the reward, motivation, pleasure like focus. All that stuff are resilient, so we're not going to get that. We don't get the morning sun, so the other side of that is the trip defend. And so Trip The fan is the precursor for serotonin and melatonin. So if we're not being out in the morning sun that we're missing our body's ability to build the stores of these hormones on, one thing that's super important in that is everybody thinks, well. Melatonin, which is the hormone of darkness, right, that it only comes out at night or it's only made at night. It's just important to know that in the morning that's when it's actually built. That's when it's actually developed. So it's not released later, but it's made from the morning sun. If you want more, Milito own, and then you have to get out in the morning sun to create it so it can help you later in the day. That's one point, and also again, we know Mel Conan as the hormone of darkness, but it is a master antioxidant. It is important in my two contrary, the function. It helps regulate metabolism. It even has a hand in regulating calcium homey spaces. So it's not just about our innocents week. So yeah, super important. And also Doug Wallace, I'm not sure what year he got the Nobel Prize in Science. I think it was 2017 and it was for his work in mitochondrial health. And he discovered that melatonin controls eight apoptosis and a Takaji in mitochondria again, like melatonin, is so hugely important to our health, and, you know, most of us are missing it. This is why we have, you know, a massive sleep epidemic in all over the world practice.
spk_1: 16:30
So these
spk_0: 16:31
are the things that we're getting?
spk_1: 16:32
Yeah, makes no. It makes a lot of sense. I'm gonna regenerate it a little bit because it's good you're telling us how you're an expert in many areas because sometimes I think I should just do a podcast episode Unlike how cool vitamin D gets hormone and a nutrient, and in the same way, melatonin. We think about it being this sleep thing. But it's also like a master and an accident protects like egg quality and does metabolism regulation. And you were talking about mitochondria. So this is essentially the brains and the cells. And the difference between a young person sells an old person sells is really mitochondria. And when we lose mitochondria, then we've got neurodegenerative diseases. But on a much lighter note, that may look like fatigue or just general chronic disease when mitochondria is not healthy. So when you're talking about apoptosis and a Takaji, essentially you're talking about the body's natural cleanup for a process of like cleaning out disease cells. So we don't continue to have those kind of replicating and essentially, yeah, yeah, so we think about melatonin being that dark thing. But anyway, go ahead. What would you add to that?
spk_0: 17:25
The only thing I would add is that according to Wallis, my cockatiel dysfunction is the core of every chronic disease that we have today. So if we're missing melatonin, you know, which is so primary in my conjugal function, then it's almost like we're trying to survive this life. You know, this modern life, yet we're missing. All of these natural messages were trying to make it work out. So you return to all these supplements returned to. You know, all these hacks, right? Because we just trying to figure out how to make our modern life work.
spk_1: 18:00
Yeah, that lends a great question. What would you say if someone says, Oh, should I just go take melatonin then?
spk_0: 18:06
Right, Right, Of course. And that begs the question. So, no, I mean So here's the thing. For some people, that might be the only thing to dio and then that has to be guided by a practitioner. And you have to be super careful. And people overdo the supplementing of the Milito nous, you know, because that's how we worked. 70 billion people take supplements. I mean, there are so many supplements without guidance out there. So if I had to take melatonin, first of all, I would try to open people's eyes. No pun intended to get them outside more often, even if it's five minutes in the morning,
spk_1: 18:42
even
spk_0: 18:42
five or 10 minutes, because these have, like quantum effects, meaning like even the smallest effect in the smallest practice will have huge effects on their biology. So I would try to get people to do that first, of course. And then, you know, we haven't gotten to the night and blocking the blue light, Um,
spk_1: 19:02
and what that means, but so busy talking about the data,
spk_0: 19:06
right? So busy. Silly up. But yeah, I would also have been do that to to protect their melatonin. So you have to create your melatonin, and you have to protect it, right? But people want to just take melatonin. They're never going to go out in the sun. And that's life right? Funding. And yes, I'm probably a very small dosage, like, you know, 0.2 or 0.3 milligrams, I'd start off with, you know, maybe two hours after a meal or an hour and 1/2 before going to sleep. But some people you taking 10 2030 milligrams,
spk_1: 19:40
it's
spk_0: 19:40
just it's really difficult. And then they're downstream effects of that. We don't There aren't many studies that have told us if it stops our own endogenous production of melatonin. I've looked for those who haven't really found that, but I have found that it effects our thyroid. It might shut down the thyroid if you start taking high doses. Right? So I'm sure there are more effects that we just don't know
spk_1: 20:05
about Like that's
spk_0: 20:05
what I would.
spk_1: 20:06
You have to wonder if it does shut down your own production a bit just because of the way what happens is when people are on it. Long term, they seem to plateau, right, and then they don't. Oh, that doesn't work. And I need to take more. You know, it's like we're shutting something often. Now. We just have to keep increasing it. So it becomes this dependant thing. That's not a good thing. It's not how we were. I mean, I am a fan of using it if needed short term, however, if needed. But the thought is that that's, you know, we're trying not to do more damage than good, right? We want your body to normally do thinks as it's supposed to help it, do it on its own properly, that
spk_0: 20:40
backward. So say you get the morning sun, right, so this is just the morning sun,
spk_1: 20:43
all right,
spk_0: 20:44
We haven't even gotten to when the ultraviolet comes out, so that's what I'll get to
spk_1: 20:48
next. So depending
spk_0: 20:50
on where you are in the world, then UV, a light comes out and that could be maybe 30 minutes after sunrise or three hours after sunrise. Like for me here in Virginia, it's about 9:30:10 a.m. right now when UV light comes out. By the way, how I note that is there's a good app. Of course, there's a good after everything called the minder. And so that just shows you when UV light is
spk_1: 21:15
present and the minder or 40 as
spk_0: 21:18
in the oven. David.
spk_1: 21:20
Okay, that invited her
spk_0: 21:22
reminder. So, yeah, that's something that I have, Whether it's okay, her quantifying your the amount, I'm not so sure, But still, I like it because it tells me based on my latitude and based on where I am, you know what's happening.
spk_1: 21:36
Purpose? That makes more sense. I was like, OK, why is it called this? It's so you can figure out if you're getting your vitamin date cool. I like the concept, but this is what it tells you it tells you when the different types of later coming out essentially so before it's like early morning to see that morning sun, not 9 a.m. Yes, probably right. And it depends on the time of the year, obviously,
spk_0: 21:56
yeah, it depends on the time of the year and where you are All that stuff. I mean, sometimes, you know, UV light comes out super early. Sometimes it's later. It depends, right?
spk_1: 22:06
Well, you may have said this, but does the morning light have a name?
spk_0: 22:10
Morning, like Not really. Is this morning light?
spk_1: 22:14
Okay,
spk_0: 22:14
Well has all the frequencies all the spectrum.
spk_1: 22:17
Morning, full strike
spk_0: 22:18
Everything. Guan? Yeah, his full spectrum light.
spk_1: 22:21
Thank you.
spk_0: 22:22
So it has green and red and blue and infrared and all of that. And now there is infrared, all traffic. And this is the other important thing. So it has green, which enables our photoreceptors in our eyes to actually see and then it has red and blue. And those are the most important ones for our discussion. So red, which, you know, we all know about infrared light and red light, the whole photo bio modulation. And I know you'll do another podcast on that, But you know, red light is incredibly healing, and blue light is also important to which I'll get Teoh. But understand. In full spectrum lights, there is never any blue light without red. So red sort of protects us from the blue that exists. So it's all built in protection. There is never anything that's gonna be damaging to us. I mean, that's just an important point to remember when I get to what comes out during
spk_1: 23:13
the course
spk_0: 23:13
of the day. So in the morning, yes, you're getting the full spectrum.
spk_1: 23:18
And to be clear, we've got our full spectrum light from the sun, which is like, it's free, so we should use that. But if people needed it because they have to go to work before our daylight, and it's like they don't see a way around that there are technically things you can buy that simulate. Full spectrum light like that would not be the default right. But would you say that that is something people could lose as they try to work toward this thinking about?
spk_0: 23:39
Yeah, I think there's a transition right. There's a continuum. I think there are other things that people can do before actually buying, but yeah, I mean, certainly that's an option, but you can actually crack your windows on the way to work. You
spk_1: 23:51
can go
spk_0: 23:51
outside for five minutes when you're at work, go outside for five minutes. It doesn't even matter if it's overcast just a long that you have. You know, that amount of light hitting the rise in some regard because what happens is which is good. I didn't even say this is that the light goes through your retinas into your brain and specifically into the hypothalamus. And in the hypothalamus is super. A key is Matic nucleus. All right, so the FC n and that alerts the Teneo planned to release all these hormones. So, like, that is the pathway. That's what's actually happening in the morning. So it's really important. You know, people who wear contacts, people who wear sunglasses and glasses and all these things in the morning. They're not getting those benefits. So I always tell people one, open your windows. You know, if you're driving to work, take off your glasses if you walk outside some glasses and regular glasses,
spk_1: 24:45
So yeah, people would
spk_0: 24:47
contact. That's really great.
spk_1: 24:48
Oh, Okay. Good. I'm glad you brought that up. Thank you.
spk_0: 24:51
So then we get to like I said, the UV a light comes out. Ultraviolet A. At that point, it stops the hormone cascades, right? So it turns off the melatonin production and next like that. So important right and cortisol increases and UV light is present, and it's still important. But it's the most important thing about UV. A coming out is that it just stops the hormones from being produced, the ones that the morning like created.
spk_1: 25:16
So again
spk_0: 25:17
we're often missing that signal to that transition. Right from full spectrum. Light to UV light coming out were often missing that were often missing. That signal that says, OK, stop making all these things. Maybe that's why people are tired in the middle of the day, right? Like everything is off. We're not getting those signals, but that's u V a. Then soon after that, you d be comes out. Now you vb signals the vitamin D receptors. Okay, so again, super important, right? We need vitamin D for all the things that we've been told about in the media ad nauseum, right? Especially now, with our immune systems, right? Melatonin, vitamin D, all that stuff. Reminder says that the sun has to be 30 degrees at a 30 degree angle in order for you to receive vitamin D. But most other reputable sources say 50 degrees. Reminder says, you know, I'm making vitamin D like at 35 degrees, So I don't know if that's true or not. But, you know, I'll assume I am so you BB is responsible for making vitamin D. So again also, that's super important. And we're missing that as well. The U V P.
spk_1: 26:27
So it's like mid day. Essentially,
spk_0: 26:29
yeah, that's a little before midday. I would say,
spk_1: 26:32
I know
spk_0: 26:32
that's maybe 10 30 11 ish, so I mean those of the important things about, you know, sunlight and then the last piece of that really is some set. So at sunset, you know, I often tell people like in the priority line of what to do first, certainly get the morning sun. That's number one, you know, Try to get out for the transition and then the last is try to get out at sunset because it just tells you that you know it's time for sleep, and that's when melatonin is released from the Peniel gland. That's when it's actually released. That's when cores all should be coming down right and melatonin comes out from. So in an ideal world, right? We'd all be living with candlelight and going to sleep soon after you're the sunset and everything would be perfect, right and utopian
spk_1: 27:24
and
spk_0: 27:24
everything. And that's just not gonna happen, right? And so they will say, Well, what do you suggest? And so because what's happening is we have artificial light, right?
spk_1: 27:34
So
spk_0: 27:35
as of whatever, like 100 years now, we have the lightbulb in existence. So we have, like, 34 more hours of light added to our days. Right? Which is, I don't know. I didn't through the mask, maybe 1500 extra hours per year or something. So and this is, you know, artificial light, which is only in the blue and green spectrum, mostly, which tells us that it's sort of noon in the middle of the day. So there's really instrumental for our biology and board telling us. So it's telling us, Hey, keep your court of all very high, don't release any militarily in and stay away. So I think the lights today, the artificial lights, the led is especially. They inhibit melatonin like up to 8%. That's a huge number. Then there are all these different light bulbs. I mean, it started it with incandescent that probably matches sunlight the most in terms of
spk_1: 28:30
like a regularly involved just for us, you know? Not necessarily my joke. For a while, my husband's kind of like an artist, a con, a sewer of led light bulbs. He was like testing them all to see which ones we'd like to the best that incandescent. That's just like the regular light bulb. Correct? You never know I was the daughter of an electrician's. So
spk_0: 28:49
yeah, I mean incandescent. They're sold more for decorative purposes
spk_1: 28:54
on
spk_0: 28:54
the Internet now. But, I mean, it's attends, right? There's a transition, and there's a spectrum of what people are willing to dio. I mean, there are many people who are just putting, you know, red light bulbs and orange like bulbs in their house at night, and that's what they're using of. The people are doing nothing, Of course, then other people still use blue light blocking glasses, which I always found interesting because it's not just blocking bloats, blacking green also, but they're blue light, blocking less is easier, say so, or were
spk_1: 29:23
just
spk_0: 29:24
blocking that light because everybody else in the family thinks you're crazy when you wear your blue blocking
spk_1: 29:29
glasses right way have to be amber as we've learned on the justice
spk_0: 29:36
has to be amber. And so when I first read this like, Oh, this sounds wild. Why don't people do this? And why don't we know this? And, you know, this is just a key piece of our environment, right? That could be affecting our health, that we're not taking into consideration.
spk_1: 29:50
Yeah, there's not a lot of money to be made here, so the television for and like, people don't I mean, you know, for information, telling people information that they it's like it's I'm motivated by science. Always, you know, like, Oh, tell me what I should do. Okay, I'm there. I got something there. Now, I'll do this, but, you know, this stuff gets lost. And so we're like, we just kind of think we can rise above sometimes the natural order of how things are supposed to be a just We'll do it. It's just we all kind of know why we don't talk about this because it's just No one has a job to promote it. Really? You know? So it's tricky. Yeah, It's trendy, though. Very trendy, right? Oh, are always more if you're here. You are on the front edge of the trend. You know, you might hear about it more a little bit later. I mean, I feel like it anyway, right? Yes.
spk_0: 30:38
Yeah. And also, you know what happens if you actually pay attention and start believing something, then you actually have to make a change,
spk_1: 30:44
right?
spk_0: 30:45
Because you have to do something with that information. So I mean, that's why for me, you know, I had the advantage when I was first learning about this, I had more free time than so I would just go outside acrylic half hour in the morning, and so that was great. And then I got the blue blocking glasses and my sleep was transformed, and I would never consider myself and again, this is just my experience. This is not science. It's just in my anecdotal experience, but I would never consider myself a bad sleeper. But I noticed within the 1st 2 weeks of wearing them that I would get sleepier earlier. And you know, I have no choice but to go to sleep. And now it's just like I have a confidence of that sleep that I don't think I ever had before. Like I don't you know, I don't ever think Oh, I'm not gonna be able to sleep or, you know, this is a problem, or I mean, it's just a whole different way to approach your day, right when you know that you're going to sleep, okay? And you dio and you know you're functioning is just so much better.
spk_1: 31:42
Well, I'd love to talk about this. Just a touch more because I'm dying to find out when you go to bed on and when you wake up, You know, I'm sure this is like I'm just sitting here with my fingers tapping on my window. But I also think about I love working on sleep. But I tend to think like, oh, it's this this this and I love like adding new thoughts to the toolbox here. But don't feel like as people age, sleep becomes more compromised. I think there's a multiple reasons for this, But what are you thinking there?
spk_0: 32:11
Yeah. So,
spk_1: 32:12
of
spk_0: 32:12
course there's other things that play decides physiology, right? So for sure, as the age military and decreases our ability to even make it decreases all of that. And I feel like now we are besieged with so much information at all times we have. You know, it's not just its chemical information, its nutritional information. It's all these things that it's super hard to just shut off no matter what. You know, I sleep well. I'd say 95% of the time and other times of the don't it's because I can't get off because there are other things going on. Or if I know I have to do a lot of work that night, then I might put on the glasses later, right? So once you get into this, you can sort of, you know, play with it, right? So I mean, one days that I'm home and I don't have a lot of work to do it night, which seems to be rare. But then I'll put them on, you know, maybe 78 oclock. And now I don't feel like secret Sleepy. I just know that I'm being protected right, that my melatonin is being protected, and then I just get naturally sleepy. And maybe I go to bed anywhere from 10 to 11. 30. It really depends. And then there are other nights where if I'm out something I don't always wear my glasses or, you know, there are different degrees of glasses, right? Like Andy, I'm sure discussed with you and those of the glasses I use. I use blue blocks.
spk_1: 33:33
But
spk_0: 33:33
anybody can get these. Anybody can try this. You can get a pair of $10. You've X classes online. That's super cheap. And just see what they do for you. So they're clunky. They're not as comfortable. But, you know, I encourage people to be skeptics because you just don't know these things until you try Teoh, right?
spk_1: 33:52
Right. Jenna, we talked about this to an extent. We talked about creating melatonin, but not as much about protecting melatonin. A ton we talked about, like looking at the sunset and how the melatonin is released from the pen yield land at that time. Can you explain to us the mechanism of how melatonin is degraded by blue light?
spk_0: 34:11
Yes. Perfect. So the other important name that we should know besides melatonin is melon option. So melon option is 1/3 receptor. So we've always known since probably seventh grade biology. Hopefully that in the eyes we have rods and cones, right? And they are the main photo receptors like the rods detect in light and cones detect color. But in 1998 they discovered melon option, which is super important for circadian rhythm alignment. So it turns out that no one option is the blue light detector that truly set circadian rhythms. So when light enters the eye directly, it activates Mylan option and then through action potentials. I don't know. We don't remember that, but basically electrically, it sort of goes through to the pinot glenn and inhibits no tone and relief. So no one often right? So 1998 super important then what? They discovered that the sides being in the eyes in 2017 they discovered and suspected, really that it was in the skin. So it's also in the skin, the blood vessels and subcutaneous fat. So that has massive implications, because that means one if we exposed to blue light at night, that is also affecting and getting through and creating dysfunction and inflammation like through our skin. And also so how that breaks down, which is even more, you know, a little bit more. Physics and chemistry is that all options, like melon option are vitamin A based right so the bond between retinal vitamin A and melon option. And it's a very weak cove, Alan Bond and it's easily broken by too much blue light. So basically, there's melon ups and dysfunction, right? So what happens is, as a result of that, you know there are downstream effects. Then you have, like, sort of free floating or decreasing a. And then you have circadian disruption and lower dopamine and potential depression. And then, if you think about it even more widely, the amount of a you know has a very important relationship with D, right? So what's happening with that? We don't know. So it's definitely has downstream effects, and then, if you want to take it even one step further. So think about thyroid on all the issues that people having with thyroid health from Hashimoto's too high proto hyper the thyroids, only a few millimeters under the skin. So you know it's gonna be vulnerable to blue light, right?
spk_1: 36:50
So
spk_0: 36:51
then you start thinking, Well, maybe, you know that's creating some dysfunction there and inflammation. So that's why some people, you know, take this really far and where scarves at night. Some people wear hoods at night, even though, as if you know, the glasses don't make you look crazy enough.
spk_1: 37:10
But, you
spk_0: 37:11
know, a lot of people are doing this. So
spk_1: 37:13
the true bio had, and I think the true bio hackers, right?
spk_0: 37:16
Exactly. Yeah, they're they're wearing hoods and scarves and think
spk_1: 37:19
because I actually don't know these people. But I guess it's so remote.
spk_0: 37:24
Yeah, but, you know, I think it's very interesting. And I think there's just so much coming out now, and I think we'll see how this affects us. Even mawr down the road. I mean, it was always suspected that it was in the skin also, But now that it's definitely discovered and it's there, yeah, I think the implications of this down the line are gonna be pretty massive.
spk_1: 37:44
Yeah, so to recap, you were talking earlier about blue light. Increasing court is all, which is a problem when we constantly have that increased. But the melon ops in was discovered in 1988 as he said, but then, most recently it was discovered in the skin in 2017. So the melon option is the photo receptor that's tied to vitamin A, said there's too much blue light that bond breaks causes light circadian disruptions The light and day distinction lower dopamine. Which does what and lower vitamin D. So lower dopamine is a calming neurotransmitter.
spk_0: 38:17
Yeah, go for mean right. Responsible for pleasure, reward, motivation, emotional resilience All that stuff, right? I mean, and then without dopamine, we don't get epinephrine and norepinephrine and so I mean, it just effects, You know, lots of things in our brain chemistry tr biochemistry. And you know who we are, How we are. You know, I think it would be interesting to see, you know, many people who are now seeing what it's like to live without any art special light. And I know that's extreme, but, you know, they're noticing, like, massive increases in health. I mean, I know even though it's anecdotal, I do know of one person who is totally reversed Her my O p. A. Writer. Nearsightedness. I've improved mine. I already said that. But other things have improved also, even in terms of weight loss and other manifestations of inflammation, right? I
spk_1: 39:10
always have to
spk_0: 39:11
say inflammation, by the way, every single presentation, every single
spk_1: 39:14
t
spk_0: 39:15
because, like right, like the most important work, but yeah, I think there's just so many repercussions and somebody possible ways we can increase our health when we know this information and then apply it in some way.
spk_1: 39:27
Right? So one more thing you would talk about UV a light in the earlier morning, and you would be in a little bit little bit after that. U v c though. When was that? Where is that coming?
spk_0: 39:38
Yeah, don't know much about UV C. I know that it is known to damage living tissue, but there is not much known about it. Honestly. So that's all I really know about UBC. I know that it can be damaging. I know that it does exist, you know, And and again, this is not to say that we should all be sun worshipping, right? I mean, there has
spk_1: 40:00
to
spk_0: 40:00
be, you know, some intelligence with its you. Also, there are people in the whole son world who believe that John and Light is what determines our health. Like full on 100%. Like food has no place. And all these other things, of course I take that stance
spk_1: 40:18
tumbling. Think those
spk_0: 40:20
Yeah, exactly. I think sometimes people are trying to make their point and trying to be heard. So they say sort of egg bold statements like that so it will pay attention. Hey, you know, this matters. Your environment matters, the sun matters, but there is also something to be said. And this is a whole other rabbit hole for people who get too much ultraviolet light on their skin who have high amounts of polyunsaturated fatty acids. And this contributes to what people called liver spots and lipo fuckin and things like that. So there is a downside, right? We've had, I don't know. Since World War Two, we've had our food supply, you know, infiltrated with all of these polyunsaturated fatty acids
spk_1: 41:03
like the
spk_0: 41:04
canola is in the corn in the soy and all these things, and that doesn't really mix well with UV light. So I mean, it just heats everything up bright, and it causes problems. So it has to be Nichols one. It has to be personalized. It has to be all those things, right? It's not just like, OK, everybody go outside and stand, you know, 12 hours in the sun all day. That has to be, you know, some intelligence
spk_1: 41:29
Yeah, and not necessary. We don't have to, like, go all like we're just saying go outside in the morning for a minute for two or five. And I mean, you could do this. Like if you have chickens or if you have a dog or whatever. Like if you're looking for something to or review, like, garden or whatever. Like we can come up with solutions or like, things that we can attach this to to make it happen a little bit easier to. And you mentioned in the line of Priority get out in the morning and then for that morning sun and then also get for sunset. Like start there. You just need two minutes per day. Like I think, confined. I think we can all do that experiment for a week and see where we are. Are you know, Jenna, you said you wanted to be really timely. So you included in your outline. Like how this ties into the Corona virus and the melatonin connection. I'm curious to see what you have to say about that.
spk_0: 42:13
Okay, Before that, I was five minutes. I wouldn't say two minutes, I would
spk_1: 42:17
say definitely
spk_0: 42:17
spot in the morning. Yeah, fried at least five minutes and then go outside for 10 minutes in the afternoon and then watch the sunset. So I would say that right first, but yet so look good, of course, Plays into our immune system, right? And so what I found super interesting. It was that at least initially, many Children weren't getting this and pregnant went in. And what's true about both of those populations is that they have very high melatonin levels. There's a study that shows that pregnant women have three times the amount of melatonin in the third trimester compared to the first
spk_1: 42:56
mm,
spk_0: 42:57
that's pretty interesting and very protective, Right? And then Children just naturally have more right just in a plea because they're young and they have everything.
spk_1: 43:06
So
spk_0: 43:07
I thought that was really interesting on, and also because, you know, we live in a blue by a topic environment. We all are under lights at some point, most of us, I mean, you and I both live in the country. But you know, most people are going to offices and living under artificial light when our world is getting more lit and so everyone has lowered melatonin I'm not saying, you know, I think it's so many more factors at play here with the crone virus that people aren't considering. And it has to be the virus when we have honestly poisoned air water. Like, you know, food. Our psyche has been hurt. And then, you know, we add in any wireless radiation which is also considered, you know, a non native PMF, right? So blue light is considered a non native electromagnetic frequency. Basically, that's an artificial frequency. No added that might have biological effects. So we have sort of like this soup that we're living in that is not contributing to help, right? So definitely the blue light and the light part of it is that it has decreased our melatonin, which is, you know, the super antioxidant, which is so crucial for our community. And so no doubt that's having a hand in who is more susceptible. And who is it?
spk_1: 44:31
Yeah, Jenna, I that's loved learning so much about the science behind light in different parts of the day and kind of like stepping back as well looking at the big picture. I really can't wait for you to come back and talk about magnesium and vitamin do you sometime. But tell me how people can find you online.
spk_0: 44:50
Yeah, sure. So I'm on on instagram Jenna G R D. And that's J E and a g e dot org. Um, on Facebook with my full wrong name, Jenna Sovetsky Griffith and I put up a lot of studies and things there. I have no website at this time because I'm just switching everything over. And that's it for me, really. And of course, email is Genesis, and that's J N A f underscore mailbox at yahoo dot com.
spk_1: 45:20
Jenna, thank you so much for coming on and shining about this, and I know we'll have you vaccine.
spk_0: 45:25
Yes, I know there's so much right?
spk_1: 45:27
There's even
spk_0: 45:27
more.
spk_1: 45:28
Yeah, ever even run for sure. Okay. Thank yes. One of the best gift you could give us at the less stress life is your feedback. We are paid in podcast reviews. If you enjoyed this or any other episode, please leave us a review in the iTunes store or from your podcast app. Just search for less dressed life as if you're not already subscribed. Click on the banana face image scroll to the bottom, where it shows the text of other reviews and write a review while you're there. Hey, make sure you hit. Subscribe for Android or stitcher users. You gotta go to the desktop site and search for less dress life and then scroll down to leave a review. Stitcher doesn't load Apple reviews on their site, so if you want, you can leave a review in both places. Your feedback means a lot to the success of the show. Thanks so much for taking the time to do that, you rock.