The Sun and It's Impact on Health
Back in the early 1900s, Niels Finsen was ahead of the curve when it came to using natural elements for medical treatment. He saw firsthand how sunlight exposure made a huge difference in his patients’ health. In fact, they bounced back faster under sunlight than they did with the standard treatments of the time. Finsen was a big advocate for the healing power of sunlight, long before the pharmaceutical industry started dominating medicine and pushing natural remedies like his to the sidelines.
As drugs and pills became the easy, go-to solution, treatments like Finsen’s, where you needed to actually spend time outdoors, started to disappear. Why bother with sunlight when you could pop a pill and call it a day? This shift in medicine wasn’t just about better health outcomes; it was about convenience and the rise of commercially driven solutions. And as pharma exploded, the natural, labor-intensive methods took a backseat.
But like most things in health, what’s old eventually becomes new again. Interest in light therapy made a comeback with the invention of the Ruby laser, followed by advances in low-level light therapy. Suddenly, light’s therapeutic benefits weren’t just a thing of the past, NASA and other agencies started putting real money into researching it, and the results weren’t too different from what Finsen saw over a century ago. In vitro studies, human trials, all of it pointed to the same thing: light can heal.
It’s funny when you look back at the architecture of the early 20th century. A lot of homes had sunrooms or sanatoriums, spaces specifically designed for people to soak up direct sunlight because folks knew how important it was for their health. These weren’t just fancy additions; they were built with wellness in mind. I remember hearing about a sunroom in an old Newport Beach house, originally meant for sunlight exposure, but eventually repurposed. Over time, we’ve strayed from what our ancestors knew about health and nature, but the truth is, they were onto something.
It’s a good reminder: not all progress comes in a pill bottle. Sometimes the best solutions are the simplest and we’re just now coming back around to rediscovering them.
John Welbourn is Founder/CEO of Power Athlete Inc and former NFL player. John was drafted with the 97th pick in 1999 NFL Draft and went on to be a starter for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1999-2003, appearing in 3 NFC Championship games, and started for the Kansas City Chiefs from 2004-2007. In 2008, he played with the New England Patriots until an injury ended his season early with him retiring in 2009. Over the course of his NFL career, John started over 100 games regular season games with 10 play-off appearances. He was a four-year letterman while playing football at the University of California at Berkeley. He graduated from the college of letters and sciences with a bachelor's degree in Rhetoric in 1998. And did his Masters work at the UC Berkeley School of Education in 1999. Since retiring from the NFL, John has worked extensively with the NFL, NHL, MLB, Olympic athletes, the US Army and Naval Special Warfare. He works as a consultant and advisor for several companies focused on improving human performance through training, nutrition and fitness-based technologies. John provides daily coaching and mentorship to over 5000 athletes around the world through his Power Athlete Coaches Network and training program delivery platform. Since in 2013, John has hosted a weekly podcast, Power Athlete Radio; a podcast dedicated to improving performance and connecting with some of the smartest people on the planet. With more than 700 episodes Power Athlete Radio has proven to be on the top podcasts in the strength and conditioning realm. John travels the world lecturing on performance and nutrition for Power Athlete and as a keynote speaker. John is a married father of three and resides in Austin, Texas. You can catch up with him at his personal blog, “Talk To Me Johnnie”, at Power Athlete or on social media @johnwelbourn.