Vitamin D | Cirencester Personal Trainer
--- See The Light ---
"Even on a grey day, catching some rays in the outdoors will lift your spirits"
With it winter well and truly on us and just having the winter solstice here is why vitamin D is so important.
Resist the temptation to hibernate - wrap up warm and get outside. Natural light is better for you than artificial because its stronger and brighter, even on a grey winters day. In fact, research has shown that a daily midday one-hour walk can be as helpful as light treatment for beating winter blues or SAD.
Sunlight also provides the perfect balanced light from a variety of wavelengths, which is vital for good health. 'Exposure to natural light is important for the body clock, even in winter months,' says Russell Foster. To wake up naturally, leave your curtains open at night or invest in a dawn simulator alarm, which is programmed to mimic gradual sunrise with increasing light.
Being outdoors might lift your spirits, but won't boost your levels of vitamin D - which is essential for healthy bones - in UK winter. From Novemeber to March our skin can't make vitamin D from sunlight, so if your in an at-risk group of diffiency and, for example, are elderly, housebound, have dark skin, are pregnant or breastfeeding , the department of health recommends taking a vitamin D supplement.
Cirencester Personal Trainer
Leigh A W Guilbert