『Sunlight Matters』のカバーアート

Sunlight Matters

Sunlight Matters

著者： Dave Wallace
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Welcome to Sunlight Matters, the podcast that illuminates the incredible power of the sun and its impact on our health, well-being, and way of life.


From its essential role in vitamin D production and mental health to its influence on architecture, urban planning, and sustainability, the sun shapes our world in ways we’re only beginning to understand.


In each episode, podcast host Dave Wallace will chat with experts—from scientists and health professionals to designers and outdoor enthusiasts—to explore why sunlight isn’t just a backdrop to our lives but a force that shapes everything we do. So step into the light because here, Sunlight Matters.


Photo of Sun @Andrew McCarthy Cosmicbackground.io

© 2026 Sunlight Matters 衛生・健康的な生活
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  • Sunrise Challenge

    Sunrise Challenge
    2026/07/23
    Hunting the Sunrise: What Happens When You Live by the Sun?Most of us instinctively believe we know the difference between indoors and outdoors. But while a typical indoor space might provide 300 lux of light, even an overcast sky can expose us to around 10,000 lux. On a bright summer’s day, that figure can rise to 100,000 lux.Our eyes adapt so effectively that the difference may not feel dramatic. Our bodies, however, know exactly where we are.In this episode of Sunlight Matters, Shadowmap’s Georg puts his own body to the test. For three weeks, he is getting up before dawn, travelling across Vienna to watch and film the sunrise, and examining what happens when he begins living in closer alignment with the natural cycle of light and darkness.Guiding the experiment is daylight and sleep researcher Nicholas Witton, whose work explores how visible and non-visible light affect human sleep, behaviour and biology.The experimentGeorg has committed to watching the sunrise outdoors every morning for three weeks. Alongside a detailed personal diary, he is using: A wearable light sensor recording different wavelengths of light every 30 seconds, including melanopic light and near-infrared exposure Salivary cortisol and melatonin testing Continuous monitoring of sleep, heart rate, heart rate variability, stress and physical activity Blood tests taken before and after the experiment Established sleep and chronotype assessments The experiment also coincides with a highly restricted diet that excludes meat, salt, sugar, heated oils, tobacco and stimulants. That makes this citizen-science project fascinating, although not a controlled clinical trial: any changes cannot necessarily be attributed to morning light alone.What Georg has experienced so farAfter an initially difficult adjustment, Georg describes noticeable changes in his energy, productivity and relationship with sleep.On his best morning, after a particularly good night’s rest, he watched the sunrise, meditated, swam and cycled back into Vienna feeling almost “high” with energy. He is procrastinating less, working more efficiently and organising his day around protecting his bedtime.Perhaps the most profound change is psychological. After years of unreliable sleep and sometimes dreading bedtime, Georg is beginning to look forward to it and trust that he will sleep well.There are trade-offs. Rising at around 4.30 am makes evening socialising almost impossible, and the early days brought fatigue, sleep debt and the occasional need for a substantial nap. But after his first week, the routine is already beginning to feel more natural.Are our cities designed to keep us from the Sun?One of the experiment’s unexpected findings is just how difficult it can be to see the sunrise in a city.Buildings obscure the horizon. Parks and cemeteries remain locked until long after sunrise. Rooftops are inaccessible, and many of the best views belong to people living in elevated apartments or on the outskirts.Georg uses Shadowmap to identify the parts of Vienna that will receive direct sunlight shortly after dawn. He then works out whether he can physically reach them, sometimes successfully and sometimes not. One failed attempt involved a locked cemetery, climbing onto a hut and a characteristically Austrian encounter with a member of staff.His experience raises a serious question for architects and urban planners: if access to morning light is important for our health, should cities provide places where everyone can experience it?As Georg puts it, sunlight should not become a privilege reserved for those living on the upper floors.What we discuss Why modern humans spend roughly 90% of their lives indoors The enormous difference between indoor and outdoor light How artificial lighting disrupted our relationship with the solar day Why morning light helps synchronise our biological clock Cortisol, melatonin and the body’s transition between sleep and wakefulness Whether morning people and night owls once helped protect early human communities How industrialisation imposed standard working and sleeping times The effects of “social jet lag” Why sleep is usually the first thing we sacrifice The value of short power naps and complete 90-minute sleep cycles Georg’s changing mood, energy, productivity and attitude towards sleep Why viewing the sunrise may offer something beyond simply being outdoors The difficulty of finding direct morning sunlight in a modern city How Shadowmap can help people hunt for accessible sunrise locations The responsibility of architects and planners to design more sunlight-conscious cities What the team hopes to discover when Georg’s biological and light-exposure data arrive A tomato plant under the stairsNicholas offers a memorable description of modern life: we have become like tomato plants kept beneath the stairs rather than beside the window.We can alter what we eat, how ...
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    52 分
  • Shooting the Sun: Andrew McCarthy on Astrophotography, Icarus and the Artemis Moonde

    Shooting the Sun: Andrew McCarthy on Astrophotography, Icarus and the Artemis Moonde
    2026/07/09

    If you've ever seen a photo of the Sun that stopped you in your tracks, there's a very good chance Andrew McCarthy took it. His image of our star is the first thing you see when you open the Shadowmap story, and it's the artwork behind Sunlight Matters itself. So this one is personal.

    Andrew is the Arizona-based astrophotographer behind some of the most iconic space images of recent years, including Icarus, his jaw-dropping shot of a skydiver falling in front of the sun, named one of the photos of the year. In this episode, he tells the full story of how it was pulled off: an ultralight plane, a dry lake bed in the Arizona desert, months of maths, and one last-chance jump.

    We also get into:

    • How a cheap Dobsonian telescope and a blurry photo of the Orion Nebula changed his life
    • Why space isn't grey, and the misconceptions that almost everyone (including Andrew) starts with
    • What you can actually see with a pair of binoculars, from the Andromeda galaxy to the Large Magellanic Cloud
    • How he photographs the sun in hydrogen alpha to reveal the chromosphere, convection cells the size of Texas, and plasma jets thousands of miles long
    • The moon photo that went viral, ended up on the side of NASA's Artemis I rocket, and led to an extraordinary collaboration with Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman, which showed the hidden colours of the moon, revealed for the first time from photos taken in lunar orbit, and the print release that raised $40,000 for cancer research at MD Anderson
    • Why watching a Starship launch hits you like a ton of bricks (literally), and his advice for anyone who wants to see a rocket launch for themselves
    • His plans for the 2026 total solar eclipse over Iceland and Spain, which he intends to shoot from a boat
    • And a few tips for my own 4 am sunrise photography habit

    Andrew's mission is simple: to show you the universe as if you had superhuman vision, and to inspire the next generation of astronauts, engineers and stargazers. Job done, frankly.

    Follow Andrew

    • Instagram: @cosmic_background
    • Website: cosmicbackground.io
    • X: @AJamesMcCarthy

    Sunlight Matters is a podcast exploring the role of the Sun in human health, architecture, cities, and everyday life.

    Through conversations with scientists, architects, and technologists, the series examines how natural light shapes our bodies, our buildings, and the way we live indoors.

    Hosted by Dave Wallace, Sunlight Matters asks a simple but overlooked question: what happens when we disconnect from the Sun?

    Because sunlight isn’t optional. It matters.

    Please do not forget to Like and Subscribe.

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    57 分
  • In Defense of Sunlight with Rowan Jacobsen

    In Defense of Sunlight with Rowan Jacobsen
    2026/06/25
    What if sunlight isn't the enemy we've been told it is? In this episode of Sunlight Matters, science writer Rowan Jacobsen discusses his new book, In Defence of Sunlight, and explores the growing body of research linking natural light exposure to improved health, longevity, sleep, and well-being. From heliotherapy and vitamin D to infrared light, circadian rhythms, green light therapy, and modern light deficiency, this conversation challenges conventional assumptions and reveals why sunlight analysis and understanding our daily lightscape may become increasingly important for human health in the future. Discover how natural solar exposure, outdoor environments, and the rhythms of daylight continue to shape our biology in ways we're only beginning to understand.Key Topics DiscussedWhy Rowan Wrote In Defence of SunlightHow a research fellowship at MIT introduced Rowan to emerging studies linking sunlight exposure with improved longevity, cardiovascular health, and cognition.Discovering that sunlight exposure was often associated with better health outcomes despite decades of messaging encouraging people to avoid the sun.The gap between public health messaging and the broader body of scientific evidence surrounding sunlight and health.The Forgotten History of Sunlight as MedicineThe role sunlight played in treating rickets and tuberculosis during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.The rise of heliotherapy and mountain sanatoriums where patients were prescribed sunlight and fresh air.How sunlight was once considered a mainstream medical treatment.The shift from sunlight as medicine to sunlight as a health risk emerged with concerns about skin cancer.How "Sunlight is Dangerous" Became the Dominant NarrativeThe rise of ultraviolet lamps and excessive sun exposure in the 1930s–1950s.The public health response to increasing skin cancer rates.Why public health campaigns became increasingly forceful in promoting sun avoidance.Whether the pendulum has swung too far away from balanced sunlight exposure.The Modern Light Deficiency ProblemWhy today's children spend dramatically less time outdoors than previous generations.The health implications of spending most of life indoors.COVID-19's impact on outdoor habits and sunlight exposure.The concept of "light deficiency" as a modern environmental challenge.Infrared Light: The Hidden Half of SunlightInfrared light accounts for approximately half of the solar spectrum.Research suggesting infrared wavelengths may influence mitochondrial function and cellular efficiency.Why trees appear to "glow" in infrared imagery.How modern indoor lighting provides almost no infrared exposure compared with natural environments.Light, Science and Research BiasWhy sunlight benefits have often been discovered accidentally rather than through direct research.The role funding structures play in shaping scientific inquiry.Examples where studies focused on disease risk unexpectedly revealed benefits associated with sunlight exposure.The growing community of researchers connecting findings across multiple disciplines.UV Light: Risks and BenefitsVitamin D production and nitric oxide release.Richard Weller's research into sunlight and cardiovascular health.Sunlight's role in inflammation regulation.The challenge of identifying optimal exposure levels for different individuals.Future research into obtaining the benefits of UV without excessive skin cancer risk.The Rise of Light MedicineRed light therapy and its expanding use in healthcare.Emerging applications of green light for migraines and anxiety.New UV technologies designed to stimulate vitamin D production while minimizing risk.The possibility of personalized light-based treatments in the future.Understanding "Lightscapes"Rowan's concept of "lightscapes" — the unique combination of light conditions that surround us at any moment.How different light environments may influence physiology, mood, and wellbeing.The importance of considering both place and time when thinking about light exposure.Potential future applications for tools such as Shadowmap.Living Without Artificial LightRowan's month-long experiment in the Arizona desert.Eliminating artificial light after sunset.The profound effect of darkness, natural dawns, and gradual sunsets on sleep quality.Why the contrast between bright days and dark nights may be more important than total light exposure.Circadian Rhythms and Modern LightingThe role of blue light in regulating melatonin production.How LED lighting differs from traditional incandescent bulbs.The effects of light pollution and evening screen exposure.Why modern lighting environments may disrupt sleep and circadian health.Green Light and Human EvolutionEmerging evidence linking green light to migraine relief.Why forests and tree canopies create distinctive light environments.The relationship between green light, infrared light, and plant biology.How natural environments may provide complex light exposures humans evolved ...
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    47 分
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