UVB & How Your Light Environment Is Working Against You
Why UVB Matters, Why Glass Breaks the Signal, and How to Fix Your Light Environment
Ultraviolet B (UVB) is a narrow band of light between 280-315 nanometers. When it hits your skin, it triggers vitamin D synthesis, activates neuroendocrine pathways, and generates photoproducts that oral supplements cannot replicate. Your biology evolved to receive this signal daily.
Most people now live indoors. You work behind glass. You commute in a car. You sit in an office under LED lights that contain zero UVB, no red light, and no near-infrared. Even when sunlight streams through your window, glass blocks UVB almost completely while letting UVA through. The result: chronic UVB deprivation, missing red and infrared wavelengths, and distorted UVA exposure. This affects everyone, regardless of latitude.
The problem gets worse at higher latitudes. Above 35 degrees latitude, winter sun sits too low in the sky. The atmosphere filters out UVB completely from November through February. Your skin cannot make vitamin D in those conditions. Neurodegenerative disease rates are significantly higher than at lower latitudes. Many people get mood issues and seasonal affective disorder (SAD).
I dealt with this living in Canada for years. I mounted a UV reptile bulb in my room just to address the metabolic and mood effects of not having enough sunlight. That bulb isn’t approved for human use, but people do it anyway because months of zero functional sunlight is worse. Moving to Austin solved my problem. The sun angle here allows year-round UVB access.
But what if you can’t move to a sunny climate? What if you work indoors all day? What if you’re stuck in an office with no outdoor access?
That’s what this article solves.
The paid section covers exact protocols for morning and midday light exposure, how to use specific types of light indoors to replace missing wavelengths, what devices actually work, dosing schedules, safety parameters, and how to fix your light environment regardless of where you live.
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