Welcome to 2025 and back to the Meaning of Light series!

Following the success of our inaugural “Meaning of Light” series in Autumn 2024, this year we continue to explore the profound impact of light on human health, wellbeing, and the built environment. From the unseen effects of poor lighting on our daily lives to the groundbreaking science of light’s interaction with our bodies, this series delves deeper into the world of light.

This month we invited Professor Richard Weller from the University of Edinburgh, to discuss all things sunlight, health and dermatology. A professor of medical dermatology, Richard Weller is a clinical academic seeing patients and conducting research.

Ulysse Dormoy (Atrium’s CEO) and Richard Weller began the webinar discussing the changing of attitudes towards sunlight due to advancements in science and research. Where 100 years ago we embraced sunlight, we are now more fearful of it. The risk of melanoma from sunlight exposure, Richard argues, is no reason to discredit the powerful impacts that sunlight also has for good health and life span. For example, blood pressure generally reduces in summer months and in sunnier countries, risk of cardiovascular disease incidence is reduced.

One of the mechanisms driving good health through sunlight exposure is Vitamin D. Taking us back to the 1920s, Richard discussed the discovery that shining UV light at children cured rickets and that it was the Vitamin D obtained by the light that was promoting recovery from the condition. However, Richard was keen to point out that the idea that sunlight is/equals Vitamin D is wrong. Vitamin D is just one of many mechanisms of action resultant from sunlight. For example, Richard discussed the results from a meta-analysis suggesting that Vitamin D has a negligible effect on heart attacks, strokes and cancer. So, while higher levels of sunlight are correlated with lower incidences of cardiovascular disease, the cause is not Vitamin D. Vitamin D is, however, a good indicator for how much sunlight is being obtained.

Nitric oxide is a chemical messenger that aids in regulating blood pressure. In the early 90s, it was demonstrated that high nitrate diets (those containing beetroot) improved athletic performance due to the nitric oxide released in the stomach and, following this, Richard himself published a study showing that the release of nitric oxide also occurred on the skins surface. After years of trying to understand why nitric oxide would be released on the skin, the conclusion that Richard came to be that sunlight was the cause and that, potentially, this was the pathway by which blood pressure was reduced in the summer months. After further research, they showed that shining UV light did in fact increase nitric oxide in the skin, which led to the dilation of arteries and blood pressure was reduced.

Due to our universal health records, the UK is an excellent country to undertake accurate studies on lifespan and all-cause mortality. Richard and his team began trying to answer the question, does UV exposure affect mortality in the UK? Looking at various markers of sunlight exposure (such as where one lives in the UK, and sunbed use), they found that the sunlight was indeed correlated with higher life span expectancy.

As the webinar progressed, Richard and Ulysse discussed many other topics such as the evolution of pale skin in response to UV exposure and possibly disease, and welcomed questions from the live audience, prompting further discussions on how to achieve UV light in winter, the link between sunburn and melanoma and the use of sun cream.

If you missed our event yesterday, or any of our 2024 episodes, you can find them all on our YouTube channel!

Next month we’re thrilled to welcome renowned architect Tye Farrow, who will be talking about bridging the gap between the medical and design worlds in “Constructing Health – The Neuroscience of Place and Human Wellbeing.” Join us on the 6th of February, you can sign up through our LinkedIn events or message us on our social medias for the link.