“Why Does the Sun Make Us Happy? Experts Explain the Science Behind It”

“Sun is a metaphor for the good life,” says psychologist Jean Pierre van de Ven. “Sun is a holiday, sitting outside, doing terraces, swimming, barbecuing. We look forward to that and that thought alone makes us more relaxed. And as soon as all these wonderful summer activities are really possible again, we feel completely ‘summer’. The fact that we feel better when the sun is shining has mainly to do with ‘associative behaviour’ or ‘conditioning’.”

With the advent of summer time, the days became longer. “As the days get longer, your biological clock changes, which is influenced by light, exercise, eating and sleeping,” says Joris Vernooij, internist at the Dutch Fatigue Clinic.

“Your hormone balance also moves along with your biological clock. The production of the neurotransmitter serotonin, which ensures an active body and a good mood, increases, while the sleep hormone melatonin decreases. The more and the longer your body is exposed to natural light, the more serotonin it produces.”

In the spring, your body is therefore brought from a winter rest position to an awake position. Now that spring has really set in, the tiredness disappears like snow in the sun.

“The sun is the greatest source of endorphins,” continues orthomolecular therapist Willem Trip. “These are happy substances that make you less sensitive to pain. We need them to de-stress. Especially in this time when we are constantly ‘on’, while our bodies are certainly not meant to be on edge all the time.”

“The sun reduces stress and ensures that not all energy goes to the brain, but also to our immune system and to our muscles,” Trip explains. “So that those three are in balance again. So when the sun shines, we can also generate more energy ourselves.”

Good weather also means that we go outside more. And the air outside is healthy. Research shows that your heart rate, blood pressure and muscle tension drop within three minutes in a natural environment. Your night’s sleep will also benefit. Researchers at the University of Groningen discovered that daylight not only influences when you go to sleep, but also the quality of your sleep.

Exposure to sunlight allows for deeper uninterrupted sleep the following night. Early birds in particular benefit from this. Because it turns out: the earlier you get sunlight in the morning, the easier you fall asleep in the evening and the more rested you wake up. “More sun irrevocably leads to fewer sick people,” says Trip. “Because our immune system is activated. So go outside everyone.”

Finally, when the sun shines, life seems more fun. Suddenly everyone would be more attractive. According to an article in Psychology Magazine (May 2022) During a French experiment, 13.9 percent of women gave their phone number to a flirtatious stranger on cloudy days. When the sun was shining, that rose to 22.4 percent.

Tel Aviv University also conducted research into the effect of sunlight. In September 2021 reported The Jerusalem Post about the conclusions of the report. Men and women were exposed to UVB radiation during a controlled period and then were not exposed to UVB radiation for two days. Both groups had more romantic feelings and a higher sex drive after contact with the sunlight. Sunlight exposure affects the regulation of the endocrine system, which is responsible for the release of sex hormones.

We have not yet conducted such a study. “But it is of course true that we wear less clothes when it gets hot and we therefore see more of our bodies,” laughs Van der Ven. “That can give you ideas.”

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