Dear Dr. Debbie,
It’s winter. My children could entertain themselves in the house all day with crafts, movies, video games, and playing with dolls. But something feels missing. Remind me why they should be getting outside?
It’s Cozy In Here
Dear I.C.I.H.,
It’s nice to be cozy at home on a winter’s day. But as you suspect, you shouldn’t overdo time indoors just because it’s cold out. Besides fresh air and exercise, outdoors is where the sun is.
Health Benefits of Sunlight
As earthlings, we live on a planet with 24-hour cycles of daylight and darkness. Both are important for our health. We know that Vitamin D, found in sunlight, combines with calcium to contribute to dental health and bone growth. There are many other benefits to sunshine than this.
Mohamed Boubekri is a professor of architecture at the University of Illinois who is studying the effects of buildings on human health. He has a particular interest in natural lighting. Key to the human dependence on sunlight is its cuing to us that it’s time to be alert. He is a proponent of as much natural lighting as is possible for children in their classrooms.
More sunshine during the day brings on better sleep during the darkness of night. The amount of natural sunlight needed for children’s best sleep can be obtained in about two hours of being outside. (Natural lighting through a window is a fair substitute.) Adequate sunlight, as described in a review of research on the effects of light on children by the Journal of Environmental Psychology, suppresses melatonin during the day, then as the light fades, melatonin is released to induce falling asleep. The journal suggests that children are even more susceptible to this effect than are adults.
Worsening the effect of not having enough sunlight during the day, electric lighting and screens pose the temptation to ignore the darkness of the evening which further threatens healthy sleep habits. Good sleep habits, Boubekri reminds us, affect other health concerns: “digestion issues, changes in hormones, and even slower healing from wounds”.
Intellectual Benefits of Sunlight
Boubekri and his colleague Nastaran Shishegar looked at lighting for students and office workers and have concluded that sunlight “affects cognitive function and alertness. Exposure to natural light is associated with improved productivity, attention, performance, and better academic results.” The closer we can stick with the earth’s natural pattern of dawn, daylight, dusk, and darkness, the better our brains work.
There is a growing trend to increase natural lighting in classrooms by increasing the number of windows and skylights. Healthy Schools Network Inc., a national nonprofit focused on promoting better environmental health in schools, reports that “natural lighting had a positive effect on students’ attitudes and performance. Students tended to be more attentive and displayed lower levels of hyperactivity in the classroom.”
Even on days they are not in school, your children’s brains could benefit from some sunlight.
Emotional Benefits of Sunlight
A dose of sunshine can have a positive effect on mood. The hormone induced by morning sunshine and throughout a sunny day is serotonin. Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, says, “When you have average levels of serotonin in your body, you might feel focused, happy or calm.” John Denver sang, “sunshine almost always makes me high.”
This works not only in poetry and song lyrics, it comes out in research, too. Interviews were conducted with over 800 operating room nurses in Shandong Province, China which is just south in latitude from Calvert County, Maryland. They have about the same length of daylight as we do. Some of the nurses had more and some had less opportunity to enjoy natural sunlight in this work setting. The researchers found a “positive association between sunlight exposure and mental health” and noted, incidentally, that better mental health correlated with better physical health.
Lay out the proper winterwear – double pants, triple layers for the torso, double socks, waterproof footwear, double layers for the head, and gloves or mittens for their hands. It’s worth the effort to get them to go out and take in some sun.
Dr. Debbie
Write your question to Dr. Debbie! Please include age(s) of your child(ren) and other details about the situation or concern.
Deborah Wood, Ph.D. is a child development specialist and founding director of Chesapeake Children’s Museum, located at 25 Silopanna Road in Annapolis. Online reservations are available or call: 410-990-1993. Walk-ins are welcome. There is a Nature Walk on Thursdays at 10:30 am. Art and Story Time with Mrs. Spears and Puppy the Puppet is on Mondays at 10:30 am.
Visitors of all ages can take the African American History Challenge on Saturday, February 7. Come dressed as a famous African American, or borrow one of our costume kits, and enjoy free admission.
Dr. Wood is presenting a series of Zoom workshops on Wednesday evenings for parents and other caregivers of young children: Temperament Differences on February 11, Effective Discipline for Preschoolers on February 25, “I Had it First!” Conflict Resolution on March 11. All workshops are from 7-9 pm. See the full series on the calendar on the Chesapeake Children’s Museum website.
