Expose Your Eyes to More Sunlight in Order to Feel More Positive

I recently started to expose myself to more sunlight in order to widen my eyes and improve my mood and affect. It really has worked, my eyes are wider, calmer and I feel better. I also squint less, especially when I am outside during the day. Living indoors we get a lot less sunlight than our ancestors and it has been shown that there is a huge relationship between depression and diminished exposure to the sun. Different forms of depression including seasonal affective disorder, common malaise and angst may be ameliorated by exposure to sunlight. Common forms of phototherapy have shown great promise but these usually use artificial light and do not address squinting, which I think plays a big causal role in negative affect. I think that squinting is tied neurologically to anxiety and depression and that if we can stop squinting, and have wider eyes we can live happier lives.

The only problem is when we are out in the sun, we squint heavily. I have tried to expose myself to just the right amount of indirect sunlight so that I can bask in it, wide-eyed, without squinting. I have worked up from here exposing myself to more and more sunlight without having to squint but every time I tried to expose my eyes to direct sunlight (not looking directly at the sun of course) I couldn’t help but to squint. The following is a great exercise that should allow you to tolerate more sunlight without squinting.

Allow yourself to sit or lie in the sun so that the sun’s rays enter into your eyes. You are not looking directly at the sun but your eyes are getting direct sunlight. This means that your skull and brow are not providing any shadow for your eyes. Close your eyes and breathe deeply for a few seconds to five minutes without squinting. Your eyes should be closed, top to bottom, with your lids “wide shut,” meaning that you are not squinting at all. You can even do this through your windshield or window at home to reduce your exposure to harmful rays. This practice will allow you to tolerate more sunlight and will improve the look of your eyes, making them feel and appear more healthy, calm and open.