The Surprising Link Between Sunlight and Blood Sugar

Now that clocks have fallen back, many Americans face a dreary daily reality: finishing the workday after the sun has set. That could be problematic for health, since sunlight benefits us in many ways. It helps regulate our internal clocks, boosts mood, and supports the production of vitamin D, which is essential for bone and overall health. Emerging research offers yet another reason to soak up the sunshine while you can, linking more sunlight exposure to improved metabolism and lower blood sugar. “Light is an underestimated lifestyle factor when it comes to metabolism,” says Patrick Schrauwen, a senior scientist at the German Diabetes Center in Düsseldorf who has been studying this relationship. “We focus on diet and exercise, but I think exposure to natural light also plays a role.”Schrauwen was a co-author of a small study, published in the January issue of Cell Metabolism, in which 13 people with Type 2 diabetes spent several days during working hours in one of two environments. They were either exposed to natural daylight through windows or only artificial lighting from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Continuous glucose monitoring showed that people spent more time in the normal blood sugar...