127: Are You Missing This One Performance Nutrient? (Hint: It's FREE!)

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Sunlight might be the missing link to your energy, focus, and performance as an entrepreneur, yet most of us spend our days trapped indoors under artificial light while ignoring the consequences to our health. Jeffrey Mort shares his personal journey of how chronic light deficiency contributed to his nervous system dysfunction and made him vulnerable to long COVID, and how prioritizing sunlight exposure became crucial to his recovery.

• Sunlight is a critical nutrient that regulates circadian rhythm and nervous system function
• Three common sunlight myths: always wearing sunglasses, always using sunblock, and believing artificial light is equivalent to natural light 
• The World Health Organization classified shift work as a carcinogen in 2012 due to disrupted light exposure
• Morning sunlight exposure without sunglasses helps set proper cortisol patterns and improves energy
• Testing vitamin D levels is essential - functional medicine recommends 50-80 ng/ml versus conventional medicine's 30 ng/ml standard
• Three actionable steps: get morning sunlight, test vitamin D levels, supplement wisely with D3 and K2 when needed

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Entrepreneurs, listen up, because this might be the
missing link to your energy,your focus and your performance.
You're building your business,grinding long hours indoors,
glued to screens, barelystepping outside, and yet you
wonder why you feel exhausted,anxious or foggy, no matter how
much coffee you drink.

(00:21):
Well, here's the truth yournervous system is paying the
price for your lack of sunlight.
Are you struggling with burnout, you can't sleep, or you wake
up feeling absolutely drained,constant brain fog or mood
swings.
You know, it's not just stress.
This is a biological problem,and today I'm breaking down why

(00:43):
sunlight is a nutrient your bodyneeds to function at peak
performance.
The myths keeping you trappedindoors and how I personally
suffered the consequences ofignoring this for decades.
Stick with me, because by theend of this episode, you'll know
exactly how to use sunlight asa tool to regulate your nervous

(01:04):
system, sharpen your mind andfuel your success.
Let's get into it.
Hello, I'm Jeffrey Mort.
If you're like mostentrepreneurs, you're busy
taking care of business, yetwho's taking care of you?
If you're ready to take yourenergy and performance to the
next level in your life and yourbusiness, then this podcast is
for you, because today you'regoing to start breaking

(01:27):
boundaries of your mind, bodyand business with integrative
health, and when you do that,your possibilities are limitless
.
I'm grateful you're here.
Ah, yes, always grateful.
Welcome back to BreakingBoundaries for Entrepreneurs.
I'm your host and personalhigh-performance health coach,
jeffrey Mort, and today we'rediving into a game-changer for

(01:51):
your health, your energy andyour longevity.
That's right, we're talkingabout sunlight today.
This past weekend, most of usturned our clocks forward for
daylight savings time, but is itreally saving us?
In last week's from the heartletter, we tackled that question
and if you missed it, make sureto subscribe in the show notes

(02:14):
so that you never miss anotheredition and you can always go
back and read the previouseditions as well.
Now let's get into it, becausewhen it comes to sunlight and
your nervous system, there's alot of misinformation out there,
and, as someone who spent 35years in construction as a
master electrician, waking upbefore sunrise, working in dimly

(02:38):
lit buildings under artificiallights and barely seeing the sun
in the wintertime, I'veexperienced firsthand what
happens when you don't getenough natural light.
In fact, this chronic lightdeficiency played a huge role in
my nervous system becomingdysregulated and it made me

(03:00):
incredibly vulnerable to postviral inflammatory syndrome, aka
long covid.
In 2021.
I'll talk a little bit moreabout that in just a minute.
Today, we're going to bust thebiggest myths about sunlight,
explain why shift work is nowconsidered a carcinogen, or has
been for a while, and give youreal, actionable steps to start

(03:25):
using sunlight as a nutrient yes, a nutrient to support your
nervous system, boost energy andoptimize your health.
So, of course, this podcast isfor educational purposes only
and is not medical advice, and Idon't claim to diagnose or
treat or cure disease of anykind.

(03:45):
However, I can help youdiscover the root causes of why
your health is not optimized.
So let's start by busting somecommon myths about the sun.
Myth number one you shouldalways wear sunglasses outdoors.
Well, wearing sunglasses allthe time blocks natural light
from entering your eyes, whichis critical for regulating your

(04:07):
circadian rhythm.
Your eyes have specializedreceptors that tell your brain
whether it's time to wake up,produce serotonin or wind down
for sleep.
Overuse of sunglasses canconfuse your internal clock and
disrupt your nervous system.
Now myth number two sunblock isalways necessary.

(04:29):
Yes, sunburn is bad.
Sunburn is bad, but blockingall sunlight prevents your body
from making vitamin D, a hormoneessential for immune health,
for mood and for nervous systembalance.
Your skin also has receptors onit that absorb that sun, so
safe sun exposure is key.

(04:50):
And then myth number threeartificial light is just as good
.
No, that's not true.
Blue light from screens is notthe same as natural light, and
you know for that matter.
Neither is I mean.
You know you can buy a um a 10000 lux lamp.
That could be helpful in thosedarker months, those winter

(05:10):
months, but it's still not thesame.
It can overstimulate yournervous system.
The blue light that is suppressmelatonin and contribute to
poor sleep and burnout.
So let's talk a minute abouthow shift work and lack of
sunlight wrecks your nervoussystem.
Did you know that shift workhas been classified as a

(05:31):
carcinogen, meaning potentiallycancer-causing, since 2012 by
the World Health Organization?
People who work night shifts orspend most of their time
indoors have a higher risk ofcancer, metabolic disorders and

(05:54):
nervous system dysfunction.
Why?
Because your body relies onnatural light cues to regulate
everything from hormones toimmune function.
As I mentioned, I felt thisfirsthand in my career as an
electrician For decades.
I woke up most days around 3.30or 4 am so that I could get my
workout in before I had to drivean hour.

(06:16):
To work in the dark, workedlong hours, usually indoors,
under very dim temporary lights,and barely saw the sun.
So not only was I not gettingsun, but I was straining my eyes
to see what I was doing in youknow, my activities and the work
that I was doing.
And, if you know, in my careerI was also a foreman and I was,

(06:39):
you know if I wasn't actually inthe building doing the work, I
was in a job trailer underartificial lights, with zero
windows as well, and barely sawthe sun, especially from October
through March, when daylightsavings time was not in effect.
I felt drained, I feltirritable, to say the least, and
most often, not my best self.

(07:02):
We'll just leave it at that.
And but I ignored it.
And so then, in 2022, I got hitwith long COVID.
You know, post viralinflammatory syndrome is what
they call long COVID and uh, Ijust I realized just how much my
dysregulated nervous system andlack of sunlight played a role

(07:25):
in my struggle.
We'll say the word struggle isan understatement.
I mean, there was a durationwhere I literally could not walk
or talk, and it was.
It was a very difficult time,like I remember asking myself is
is this how I'm going to spendthe rest of my life Because it
just seemed like the days weregetting well.

(07:46):
The days were getting, you know, the days were going on but I
wasn't progressing.
I was actually getting worseand I just it was.
It was.
It was a really rough time.
Anyways, that's when I madelight exposure a priority and I
can tell you it changedeverything.
And there were days, you know,I said I couldn't walk or talk.

(08:06):
Luckily this was going on, uh,springtime, summertime and fall,
and so there were days where Iwould just take a blanket and
and lay it down on the lawn andjust bask in the the summer sun
and just absorb that sunlight,and that made a huge difference.
That, and getting my bare feeton the ground and grounding,

(08:26):
drinking plenty of really freshspring water as well, all of
this made a difference.
It wasn't just the sunlight,but it played a huge role, and
just laying in that sun for 30,40, 60 minutes would make me
feel more energized so that Icould go about my day.
So why is sunlight a nutrientthat you need?

(08:48):
Well, think of sunlight asimportant as hydration for your
body.
You wouldn't go days withoutwater.
You would die.
So why go days without propersunlight exposure.
Sunlight regulates yourcircadian rhythm.
It improves your sleep and yournervous system balance.
It also boosts serotonin anddopamine, which enhances mood

(09:10):
and focus, and then it triggersvitamin D production, which is
essential for immune health andlongevity.
But here's the problem Mostpeople in the Northern
Hemisphere are vitamin D3deficient for more than half the
year, and that's why testingyour vitamin D levels is so
important.

(09:30):
So I want to give you someactionable steps.
Here in this podcast, we'regoing to talk about how to get
the most out of sunlight.
So three simple steps tomaximize the benefits of
sunlight and support yournervous system.
Number one get morning sunlightregularly without sunglasses.
If you want to wear them tolook cool.

(09:53):
Everybody owns a cool pair ofsunglasses.
That's fine.
But get that morning sunlightwithout the sunglasses.
If you can do 10 or 20 minutesof natural sunlight exposure
within 30 minutes of waking up,that's amazing.
If you're driving to work duringthat time, when the sun's
actually up especially now thatdaylight savings time is

(10:16):
implemented the sun rises at thesame moment, but you know it
rises a little bit later.
So maybe now you're driving towork and the sun's just coming
up.
If you can see it through thewindow.
Roll down that window, becauseyour automobile window, the
windows in your home, mostlikely have UV blocking glass or
a component of film on it.

(10:37):
So you know, roll that windowdown, get that sunlight exposure
.
This is called sun gazing, andof course you don't want to look
directly at the sun, butlooking in the direction of the
sun.
This helps to set your circadianrhythm for the day.
It's going to trigger wakingcortisol and we can see this on
functional lab testing.
We can not only test yourvitamin D3 levels but we can

(10:59):
also test your cortisol levelsto make sure that your waking
cortisol and your lunchtimecortisol are in the proper
ranges.
So you want that cortisolelevated in the morning and then
you want it lower at night.
So getting that morningsunlight helps to set your
circadian rhythm for the day.
Next, test your vitamin D3levels At-home.

(11:22):
Functional lab testing makes itreally easy.
I will link up the lab test inthe show notes.
Very inexpensive, you can dothis right at home.
It's a simple finger prick, acouple of drops of blood on a
card.
You mail that in.
They rehydrate it and they'reable to tell if your levels are
optimal.
Now you can do this with yourconventional medicine doctor as

(11:43):
well.
But the problem is,conventional medicine often says
that 30 is a normal number.
30 nanograms per milliliter iswhat we're measuring for the
blood level here, but functionalmedicine recommends 50 to 80
nanograms per milliliter forreal health benefits.

(12:03):
So we want to see our clientssomewhere in the 70 range,
somewhere around 70, butdefinitely above 50.
And then you know you might bethinking well, jeff, don't I
need vitamin K2 along with thatD3?
And you are correct.
If you live in the NorthernHemisphere, you're likely
needing vitamin D3supplementation, you know, from

(12:25):
September through June, and agood starting point is about
2,000 to 4,000 IUs internationalunits per day alongside with
vitamin K2 for proper absorption.
However, you don't have to takean additional K2 product or a
D3 with K2 if you're taking adaily activated multivitamin or

(12:48):
our daily nutritional supportpowder, which already has the K2
in it.
So you can save your money onthat more expensive d3 with k2.
If you're already taking themultivitamin that you should be
taking anyways, just make sureit's got vitamin k2 in it as
well.
So by now it's clear that youwant to take the next step
towards better health if you'restruggling with health issues or

(13:09):
you just want to optimize yourenergy and your longevity.
You're already in good healthand you want to take it to the
next level.
Don't wait for things to getworse or start going downhill.
I offer you to schedule a freehealth consultation, completely
complimentary the link's in theshow notes and let's get to the
root cause of what's holding youback.
So until next time, stayhealthy and keep breaking those

(13:32):
boundaries.
Bye-bye everybody.