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    Created in 2008, Phoenix Rising is the largest and oldest forum dedicated to furthering the understanding of and finding treatments for complex chronic illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia (FM), long COVID, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), and allied diseases.

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Red and near-infrared light therapy, LEDs

Johannes

Senior Member
Messages
315
However, once I can get regular exposure to the sun, of many hours a day, do my symptoms start to lessen. In the past it seems to take about a month of a lot of direct UV exposure before my symptoms fall backward to as low a level as they get, and PEM becomes very mild and difficult to fully instigate.
I cannot say what it is about the sunlight and UV rays that help my condition… but there is no doubt that the exposure drastically helps improvement.
My wife and I are considering trying to relocate to a southerly region in America with great sunlight and UV levels for the months of November through March. Then we would live here in New England for the sunny season. We are not sure how we would financially be able to mange that though. But we need to try something, because the complete lack of UV rays in autumn, winter and early spring months are killing me.

Your taxes are high enough they certainly should pay 60%, at least!
Will you be hanging out on your sailboat again this summer?

It is amazing that we have so similar effect of the sunshine! But no surprise. I know of four other persons telling the same. I don't remember what I wrote to this threat but my doctor knows several CFS patients who have benefitted moving to Spain.

I wonder if a lot more people would benefit sunshine. Could it be that they are too afraid to go outside to sunshine because of their symptoms getting worse... I don't know.

Yes, we will trying to be sailing from around the end of June to the end of September..ish again.
 
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Nord Wolf

The Northman
Messages
564
Location
New England
It is amazing that we have so similar effect of the sunshine! But no surprise. I know of four other persons telling the same. I don't remember what I wrote to this threat but my doctor knows several CFS patients who have benefitted moving to Spain.
It is rather interesting that we have such similar experiences with our condition and lack of sun exposure. I would think it to be a more common occurrence among folk with ME/CFS. Especially since I think it has a lot to do with the mitochondria, and so sunlight helps the body with energy that it just cannot make on its own.

Spain - very sunny and very arid/dry. My wife and I certainly need to relocate next winer to a warmer sunnier climate. But our biggest question (beyond how we could afford it) is whether to look at arid or moderate humidity regions. The arid regions of America right now are all in such prolonged states of severe drought with constant winds that I feel it might be equally harsh on my system as winter is. The other option is heading more to the southeast part of the country where the UVs in winter are about 3-4, the temps are mild and the average humidity is 72%.
 

Johannes

Senior Member
Messages
315
Here is a dosage of unnecessary thinking for brain fatigue. Sorry about that...

I wrote earlier, that I once flew to Malaga, Spain at the end of September. UV index in Finland was 0 and in Malaga 3. I was so sick when I left Finland, but it took only two days (sunbathing) in sunshine and I was back to my Summer condition.

I have always been thinking that it takes about three months for my body to heal after Winter, to get better but now that I am thinking it with years of experience...that is not the case.

I started sunbathing this year at the end of March. I started to feel the effects of it at the end of April. But UV index rose above 3 only in the middle of April. In the beginning of April it was around 2. So it is possible, that I start to get better only when UV index is around three or more. That would mean that it only took about two weeks to start to notice the effects.

I have this Spring been sunbathing approximately three hours a day but in earlier years, (except last Spring) I hadn't been able sunbath more than 15 minutes a day around the end of March, an hour a day at the end of Aprith, three hours at the end of May and many hours at the end of June. But with red and near-infrared therapy I have been able to start being in sunshine beginning almost three hours a day, already in March.

So it may not be only the UV index but the time spent in sunshine, when UV index is above 3. But that may not be the whole truth.

Also, I have been thinking that it takes so long time to feel the effects because the cells of my body are so broken, that healing cells takes so much time. But now I don't think that is true.

I am at my best at the end of July, when I have been in sunhine that provides UV index of 5,5 the whole month. I spent 5 to 7 hours a day in sunshine. So it could be the higher UV index but it could also be the longer hours in sunhine, that make me feel better. Altogether, I think it is the cumulative UV + other kind of radiation dosage that is the key here.

The UV index is above 4 between the first week of May to middle of August, in South coast of Finland. According to the latest information, UV index in Malaga is above 4 all year around and the most cloud coverage around February. But according to my brother who lives in Malaga area, there are rarely clouds the whole day, just a few hours avery now and then.

UV index is highest around 13:20 o' clock summertime, that is 20 minutes past 1pm. So if one would want to have maximum UV for three hours, one should be sunbathing from 11.50 to 14.50 o'clock. That is 10 minutes to 10 pm untill 10 minutes to 3pm.

If it is vitamin D, one is wanting, this would be the best time for sunbathing too, because UVB radiation, which is needed for our body to synthesize vitamin D, is also at its peak during those hours. There is no UVB radiation in sunshine before 10 am and after 5 pm. UVB radiation and natural infrared radiation are protecting our cells from harmfull UVA radiation and preventing them turning into cancer cells. Their radiation is at their peak also at the same time with UVA radiation.

By the way, I was fixing our sail boat on thorsday for almost two hours! My wife helped me by driving a car some 50 minutes to the docking yard and another 50 minutes back. I was very tired for the rest of the day with terrible brain fog and the next day I was still very tired but now I am OK. No PEM! I was laying in the sun 3 hours on thursday and 5 hours on friday, partly sitting. Now I can say for sure that the effect of sunshine has started.
 

Nord Wolf

The Northman
Messages
564
Location
New England
I am at my best at the end of July, when I have been in sunhine that provides UV index of 5,5 the whole month. I spent 5 to 7 hours a day in sunshine. So it could be the higher UV index but it could also be the longer hours in sunhine, that make me feel better.
I'm sure my skin here in the mountains of Vermont is as white as yours... how do you keep from getting sunburn during those long hours of direct UV exposure?
By the way, I was fixing our sail boat on thorsday for almost two hours! My wife helped me by driving a car some 50 minutes to the docking yard and another 50 minutes back. I was very tired for the rest of the day with terrible brain fog and the next day I was still very tired but now I am OK. No PEM! I was laying in the sun 3 hours on thursday and 5 hours on friday, partly sitting. Now I can say for sure that the effect of sunshine has started.
Awesome! Still waiting for the temps to warm enough here to get out in the direct sun regularly. It is coming... but it has been slow getting he this year.
 

Johannes

Senior Member
Messages
315
@Nord Wolf Well, when I started sunbathing, the UV index was so low, that I didn't burn myself. My skin gradually got used to the radiation. As skin goes darker because of the sun, it also protects better from burning. In July I don't go to sunshine around 1pm because there is a risk of burning my skin, I also find shadow if there is too much sunshine. Even in shadow, at the sea there is lots on UV radiation. I am using sunblock lotion only to my ears and nose, which burn easier, or if I start to feel burning, to any place. But I prefer clothing due to my chemical sensitivity. Sometimes I use a shirt for protection and always sunglases. I also try to be sideways or my back towards the sun, not only my face. But UV index 5,5 is quite rare here. So it is not that burning all the time, only around 1pm. In Australia it can go as high as 12! And one more thing...I bought a really good hat to protect my ears, nose and neck: A Stetson.

But it depends on ones skin type, how much sunshine one can stand without burning.

I have been outside even when the temperature has been around 5 degrees of Celsius = 41 Fahrenheit. Or even less. How? Well, I am laying on a thick mattress on the ground. The mattress reflects my body temperature back to me and insulates the coldness of the ground. It is very warm gainst my skinn. And the direct sunshine is providing so much heat that I sweat. I do have a cap in my head and two pares of socks in my legs. Wool socks. And shorts. It may sound like it is cold but because it is not windy at all at our backyard, it is not cold. Sometimes, if I feel too cold, I may use a shirt to cover the areas which are in the shadow.
 
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pamojja

Senior Member
Messages
2,384
Location
Austria
I'm sure my skin here in the mountains of Vermont is as white as yours... how do you keep from getting sunburn during those long hours of direct UV exposure?

Have a interesting experience with sunburn. Got disabled 13 year ago and used life-style changes and comprehensive supplementation against. Additional a chronic bronchits for 1 year 10 years ago. Got so bad, thought now only Sea-air could be able to help, and flew to a South Indian beach. There after some time got really sick for 1 month with fever, diarhea and vomiting, but after free of the bronchitis (diagnosed as COPD after, but remaining asymtomatic since.

Since then I always in the middle of deepest winter about January, with the palest of skin to the very same beach for 6-week vacation, for 8 years in a row (till corona stopped me, and use infrared-light now instead). Always the from the first day throughout for 4 hours daily in swimming suit in the sun. Not even once burned.

The last sunburn experienced was on a whole day train-ride to that beach for the first time 10 years ago. where I left an arm the whole day at the window (without glass) of the train-coach.

Only plausible reason why I wouldn't get sunburned anymore with 4-hours daily sunexposure from the first day on in tropical sun, are the many antioxidants from my supplements to me.


PS: Also condributing to my remission of a walking-disabilty from PAD 6 years agp. and constant PEMs 3 years ago.
 

Nord Wolf

The Northman
Messages
564
Location
New England
Well, I am laying on a thick mattress on the ground. The mattress reflects my body temperature back to me and insulates the coldness of the ground. It is very warm gainst my skinn. And the direct sunshine is providing so much heat that I sweat. I do have a cap in my head and two pares of socks in my legs. Wool socks. And shorts. It may sound like it is cold but because it is not windy at all at our backyard, it is not cold. Sometimes, if I feel too cold, I may use a shirt to cover the areas which are in the shadow.
Thanks for sharing your insights, timeframe observations and sunning setup! Makes good sense. We have a small deck off the main deck that is always in the sun, but we also have lots of wind up here. Even when sunny the wind this time of year, and earlier, is too strong and chilly to lay out. I had canvas tarps I hung around the sides this morning. We had an old futon mattress we were going to give away, but I dragged it down to the lower deck and the setup works perfect! Full sun, but no wind. Today was the first day since last September I actually got to lay in the sun! I could feel my body just sucking in the energy!
 

Nord Wolf

The Northman
Messages
564
Location
New England
Since then I always in the middle of deepest winter about January, with the palest of skin to the very same beach for 6-week vacation, for 8 years in a row (till corona stopped me, and use infrared-light now instead). Always the from the first day throughout for 4 hours daily in swimming suit in the sun. Not even once burned.

The last sunburn experienced was on a whole day train-ride to that beach for the first time 10 years ago. where I left an arm the whole day at the window (without glass) of the train-coach.

Only plausible reason why I wouldn't get sunburned anymore with 4-hours daily sunexposure from the first day on in tropical sun, are the many antioxidants from my supplements to me.
Very interesting. Thanks for sharing. Could very well have something to do with the many antioxidants. I've always taken quite a few of them, but this year I've boosted the amount, so it will be interesting to see if there are any differences with the sun exposure this year.
When I was a kid I hardly ever got burned and was in the summer sun constantly. But in the last handful of years I have to ease into the UVs to avoid getting burned.
 

Johannes

Senior Member
Messages
315
Thanks for sharing your insights, timeframe observations and sunning setup! Makes good sense. .... Today was the first day since last September I actually got to lay in the sun! I could feel my body just sucking in the energy!

You are welcome!

Here's some more. These are very simple things I've noticed.

I lay on my side so that also my back and other side would get sunshine. Then I ofcourse turn for other side.

But I have noticed two things what comes to wind and feeling cold. If I lay down on my back, there is more surface exposed to sun and also more surface heat insulated from cold ground than if I would be on my side. If I would lay on my side so that my back is exposed to the sun, the shadow on my stomach is greater than the shadow on my side would be if I would lay on my back. So, if I get too cold laying on my side, I just turn to my back and it is not that cold anymore. I am not sure if my english was right....

The second thing is, that I may feel a little bit cold for the first minute or so but when sunlight heats my skin, it will be a lot warmer. Infrared and near-infrared lights are penetrating the skin quite deep, even more than two inches = 5cm. And when feeling warmer, a little wind does not affect so much.

And ofcourse, if it is too cold, just wearing jeans but no shirt is yet warmer, because our body can compensate so that the rest of the body is a bit warmer. And add T-shirt if that is not enough.

According to studies, a healthy person gets enough vitamin D just by exposing his/hers face and arms to sunshine using T-shirt for 15 to 20 minutes a day around 1pm. It may not be enough for us but it should count for something. And also according to studies, sunshine causes alls kinds of positive effects through our eyes too, such as BDNF and some hormones, which all are really important to CFS patients. But I always use good quality sunglases.

It is good to hear that you have been able lay now in the sun after such a long break. 👍🙂
 
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Johannes

Senior Member
Messages
315
I don't know if I should update this writing here or on the other thread which tells more about sunshine specificly.

I have not used my red and infra-red panel anymore. My wife does because it clearly helps with her lichen planus as well as sunshine.

I have fixed our boat again today. I worked for 2 hours. My wife drove to the yard. I am as tired as 5 days ago when I did it last time. Five days was not enough for me to recover. Maybe seven days rest would have been enough. But I wanted to go there because I thought that I may stand for this kind of over doing this time. The time will tell how fast I recovered now. But I did enjoy fixing our boat.
 
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Johannes

Senior Member
Messages
315
After having spent many hours at the boat yard plus doing some home work, I can conclude, that the more time I am in sunshine and the higher the UV index, the more I can do light or medium hard work. UV index here in Finland is not more that 4 this time of the year. But it is enough to get sun burn if I am not carefull.

I have now been fixig our boat approximately twice a week, four hours yesterday. On wednessdays I cooked and planted flours for an hour and 45 minutes. It takes three to four days to rest, in order to get well rested again. The first day after overdoing is hardest, I have to mainly radically rest. But I am not still all that time. I am doing some light things at home, and walking 2 x 10 minutes with our dog.

During the first day of rest, after overdoing, I feel over exited (or how do you say?) Maybe someone could help me how to say this? Is it over reving, or spiking or going overdrive? I feel like I am unable to stop doing things even if I am exhausted. My brain work too fast. I am doing things too fast but what I really should do is to rest.

I wish there was a way to know for how long I can work, so that I could stop before I overdo. Mostly I stop working only after I noticing, that I should have stopped 30 minutes ago.

I have to say that this is too hard too. I wouldn't do this much if I could avoid it, but I really want to go sailing and living onboard with my wife. For now it is not possible because the boat is not water tight. I am changing septic tank hoses and a couple of pipe penetrations below the sealevel and the toilet seat, which was broken. They all seem to last some 15 years. I also added ventilation valve to the roof and painted a ceiling and a bulkhead. There are still lot of small things to doAn

And after that a thorough cleaning of the boat. There is class fiber dust everywhere. It would be dangerous to breath in that and it also makes skin ichy. First vacuming and then washing with lots of water. I plan to use pressure washer Because the boat has no textiles inside right now. Just have to protect 12V electrics.

Ourboat, should float again before the middle of June.
 
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Nord Wolf

The Northman
Messages
564
Location
New England
UV Ray Test continues -

Now that I’ve gotten my sunning deck set-up for warm weather as well as cool windy weather, I’ve been getting regular UVs since the start of May. My average UV exposure is:


4 hours of direct UV exposure per day while nude

---30 minutes per side (front, back, right, left) 2x per day

4.5 hours of indirect UV exposure

Average daily total on sunny days of UV exposure = 8.5 hours


Of course the largest potency are the 4 ours of direct exposure.

When I began at the start of May our average UV level was 3. In the last week the average has been around level 6.

From last December through this past mid April I was bed ridden about 90% of my waking hours. With the regular UV exposure in the above doses for the last 3 solid weeks, I’ve been able to do basic house chores of cooking, dishwashing, vacuuming, running loads of clothes in the washer and taking easy walks around our yard - 1 acre. I am still tired and if I push activity too much I can easily get weak, extreme tiredness and some Fibro flare-up, but I’ve had no serious or lasting PEM since the end of April. I have to remind myself that I am really only a month out of having been mostly bed ridden for 5 months, so my body is still working out of the hole. But there has been marked improvement since getting the above doses of UV exposure for only 3 weeks so far.

My lungs are still not happy, and the level of pollen that has been in the air has not been helping. However, my neurologist has ordered both a high definition brain mri and an EGM with F-wave test for this summer to check nerve damage from being poisoned with arsenic in 05.

My doc still has me taking 20,000 IUs of Vitamin D3 daily with 200 mcg of Vitamin K2 and K1. He said the medical field tends to grossly under-dose Vitamin D for people. Also Poison Control states that the average adult would need to consume 60,000 IUs of Vitamin D3 for 30 consecutive days for it to become toxic in the body. Therefore 20,000 IUs plus regular UV exposure cannot build anywhere near toxic levels.

The noticeable difference in UV exposure, combined with our observations for the last couple years, has led my wife and I to rent a house in the southeast of America from November through March next winter. Here in the northern mountains of New England there are no UVs from mid October through mid April. My system starts to crash hard by the end of October. We have an average of 70% cloud cover all winter with 0-1 levels of UV exposure. Where we are headed for next winter only gets a max average cloud cover in Dec and Feb of 45%, and the rest of autumn and winter, far less. In December their lowest UV level is 2, but Jan is 3, Feb is 4 and March is 5. Also, in January their average length of day is 10.5 hours, and their average sunlight is over 5 hours per day, whereas ours up here is less than 3 hours.

Anyway, this UV exposure as possible ME/CFS treatment for me seems to really be doing something! Last year I finished writing a book, but then my ME/CFS got so severe I had to put the project away. Because of the daily sun exposure this month, and small amounts the last two weeks of April, I’ve managed to bring the book back out, get it edited and send it off for formatting.

Progress! 😃 ☀️
 

Johannes

Senior Member
Messages
315
Nice to hear from you!

"Average daily total on sunny days of UV exposure = 8.5 hours"

Impressive!

"When I began at the start of May our average UV level was 3. In the last week the average has been around level 6."

You haven't burned yourself, have you?

I also have been working with a book. I have been responsible for translating a book from english to finnish. I have three translators doing the job and I have been checking the grammar and editing it. The next step is to have it changed to pdf-book with pictures. The project started in year 2014 but because of my sickness it is still not ready. I think it will be ready by the end of this year.

My fixing boat for four hours was too much. It took four days to get better. Tomorrow I'll be fine. And tomorrow I'll do only 2,5 hours.
 

Nord Wolf

The Northman
Messages
564
Location
New England
Burned myself - ha, ha… nope. I worked my body up to the levels it gets now. My skin is dark enough now where it can stand that level without getting anywhere near burned. I’ve been lucky with the amount of sun we’ve been getting this month. Our springtime can be very cloudy, so I’m taking full advantage while the sun is shining!

Translating is a tricky, slow and tedious process. My friends in Finland attempt translating some things from time to time; songs, docs… but it is challenging. Glad you have been making progress as well.

4 hours of boat-work… yes that sounds like a lot of energy expenditure. My wife and I have wanted to learn to sail for years, but never seemed to have the time. We were always busy with other hobbies and activities. Now that she has Parkinson’s and I have ME/CFS, it may not happen. But when we are able we drive over to the Maine coast and rent time on olden schooners, sloops and other sail-craft out in the bays and into the Atlantic. Great fun! I’m sure you have a real good time on your boat all summer!

A photo of my sunning deck. When cool and windy I can attach tarps to the corner upright poles to close it in. We live in the mountains surrounded by forest, so have all the privacy we need. And that is my registered service dog on the ramp.
sun deck1.JPG
 

Johannes

Senior Member
Messages
315
This is my backyard. As you can see, plenty of chairs facing different directions according to sunshine. And what you can't see is behind my back: a rocking chair (sofa), where I can lay down, if want to. Or take its mattress and put it anywhere to the ground. The sun is shining continuously from 10am to 8pm to some part of the yard. I just have to move from chair to another a few times during th
20220527_092624.jpg
e day.
 

Johannes

Senior Member
Messages
315
Time has passed. I have fixed our boat ten times this year. Three more, and it is time to float the boat. That is on the 15th of July. Sadly, because I expected it to float already a couple of weeks ago but gladly, because I have never been so able to fix it since year 2012. The few last trips took six to seven hours, including 1 hour driving back and forth which my wife drove. So 4 to 5 hours work a day. I stopped workin every time only when I was too tired to work. Not very wise. But I was surpised that I could do it every second day. More preferable would have been every third day but I just had to try to work faster in order to get it finished in time.

It is now clear to me that Sun bathing three to five hours per day, 4 to 6 times a week made me able to do lots more than just two hours a day for 4 to 6 times a week. It did not affect only the working time, but endurance of muscles and also their recovery was faster.
 
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Johannes

Senior Member
Messages
315
This is my last update on energy from sunshine. I managed to go fix our boat 15 times this Spring/Summer, altogether appr. 55 hours. I was so tired all that time. But my muscles and cognitive problems recovered pretty fast, in a coulke of days and I had PEM only once. The latest visits were 5 to 6 hours per day plus travelling time. Now it floats! 😄

Two more trips to wash it and carry matresses and other textiles etc. onboard but this time travelling time is only 25 minutes because the boat is now in its summer pear. I will propably write something here around September. But after that, I think it is time to continue writing here:

https://forums.phoenixrising.me/thr...lps-me-tremendously.87136/page-3#post-2398825

because from now on I have nothing new to say about red and near-infrared light and propably much more about sunbathing and sunshine.

Have a nice Summer everybody!
IMG_20220616_182525.jpg
IMG_20220616_182525.jpg
 
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Nord Wolf

The Northman
Messages
564
Location
New England
NICE BOAT !!

“Studies in the past decade indicate that insufficient sun exposure may be responsible for 340,000 deaths in the United States and 480,000 deaths in Europe per year, and an increased incidence of breast cancer, colorectal cancer, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, autism, asthma, type 1 diabetes and myopia.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7400257/

If you research you can find a number of sites that cite research that shows direct sun rays on a regular basis, in safe amounts per skin type, can heal mitochondria, assist in the production of new mitochondria, as well as help the body recycle old mitochondria. Direct UVBs also help the body increase red blood cell production, which in-turn helps increase oxygen in the body. Yes UVAs are harmful to the body, but UVBs counteract the UVAs and help protect the body from the harmful UV ranges. So long as our sun exposure does not result in sunburns, the body metabolizes the UVs and Vitamin D synthesis produces Vitamin D3, simplistically speaking.

In my humble opinion, if the core issue preventing optimal health, or even proper healing, is an inability of the body to produce cellular energy, healing must begin there, as opposed to a specific body organ system. We cannot learn to run before we learn to stand, as the old saying goes.

As I have stated earlier this year, I spent last December through early April 90-95% bed ridden. My maximum step allowance over the winter, per day, ranged between 30 and 100. Since being able to lay in the sun regularly, and absorb her energy, I’ve been able to take short easy walks through the yard, or on occasion through a festival and gain an average of 3,000 steps per day, and a maximum of 5,000 in a single day about once per week. I’ve been able to do light chores, mostly daily since early May. I also recover more quickly when I crash that when I wasn’t getting sun exposure, I’m still unable to specifically exercise without crashing, but my daily overall activity has increased dramatically since focusing daily on Heliotherapy.

Yes I am still tired most of the time. Yes I can get very weak if I do slightly too much. Yes my whole body can flair up in terrible pain if I push my “energy envelope” and do slightly too much. Yes if I push it my cognitive function plummets as well as my eyesight. Yes I still require an average of 10 hours of sleep per night, and then naps or lots of reclining rest times each day. BUT my activities, daily steps and energy have drastically improved since the winter! Improving the entire body from this “neuroimmune” disease takes a lot of time, wicked amounts of patience and there is zero guarantee of high level recovery. But I do believe in an improved state of living, because being as low as bed ridden just sucks!

I started out after winter by getting 15 minutes per day in direct sun. I had to slowly build up my skin pigment to endure more sun, safely. After all, practically zero UVs or direct sun from October through mid April brings out my lily white Scandinavian and northern Germanic skin color! Also, the whiter the skin is, the more it reflects the sun rays away from the body. I feel this is the reason it takes us a while of regular sun exposure in early spring to start building pigment. The darker the skin gets, the longer we can lay in the sun and the more quickly we darken.

At the start of May the UVs here maxed at level 3. By the end of May they were averaging level 5. Now with the sun being as far north as she goes for the year, our highest UV days top out at level 9, but average 7. Obviously the time of day (angle of the sun), clarity of the sky, humidity levels and particulate levels all determine the exact amount of UVs at any given time throughout each day. No sunscreen for me either. Sunscreen blocks over 93% of the bodies ability to absorb Vitamin D. I also eat a diet and follow a supplement regime that is potently high in antioxidants. The key is timing.

For the last few weeks I’ve reached a direct sun exposure time of 30 minutes per side; front, back, right and left sides. That gives me 2 solid hours a day of direct Heliotherapy. I also get about 4 to 5 hours per day of indirect sun ray exposure. I have not burned once this year because I’ve been pacing my exposure. Since the second to last day of April to now it has been about 60 days. 20 of those days were cloudy. That has given me 40 days of direct Heliotherapy so far this warm season.

We also gain Red to Near Infrared levels of sunlight too. It is said the best times to gain the most infrared is nearer the sunrise and sunset, when the angle of the sun blocks most UVs. Supposedly if your shadow is longer than you are tall, then it is the optimal time to gain Red to Near Infrared and avoid most UVs.

I live on a dead end dirt road in the mountains of Vermont with a completely private yard. I have a sunning deck with full sun exposure for almost seven-eights of the day this time of year. My Heliotherapy exposes every inch of my body to direct sun rays. I strip down, give my thanks to the sun goddess, open myself to her energy and the light, focus on complete relaxation and the absorption of the energy through every pore of my body. It is not only a practical physical healing therapy, but a deeply spiritual one as well. My journey with the sun during my exposure time is very moving.

On another note, sunbathing allows my body to naturally detox through the skin. This is something that seriously lacks when you are forced to spend most of your time in bed!

My wife and I also have this device, the only one of its kind FDA approved, to use year round, but especially during the low to zero UV seasons.

https://www.amazon.com/Alaska-North...words=UVB+Light+Therapy&qid=1655491533&sr=8-5

Since that does not supply Red to Near Infrared ranges of light, we have another light panel specifically for those ranges. This will allow us to get optimal UVs and Red to Near Infrared year round, which will also help our bodies make and maintain optimal levels of Vitamin D/D3 all year.

I get my vitamin d levels checked again on July 8th. It will be interesting to see what they are.

I feel strongly that there are other deeply powerful medicines contained in the light and energy of the sun that no lamp could ever produce. Those will be missed in the season of ice, but perhaps the sunlight and Red to Near Infrared lamps will work to assist the body continue to heal throughout the year.

One last thing about laying in the sun for that much time per day.

“Clinical studies have proven that 2 hours of nature sounds in a single day reduces damaging stress hormones up to 800% and activates between 500-600 DNA segments responsible for repairing and healing the physical body.” Dr. Joe Dispenza

Sunning here in the mountains isn’t just a journey with the sun, but also a healing practice through sound.

Have fun on the boat this summer Johannes!
 

Johannes

Senior Member
Messages
315
Thank you @Nord Wolf ! 😊 I was aware of those studies concerning sun exposure but not nature souds. Well, we live almost at the forrest, 10 meters from one.

I fixed my boat 23 days altogether between the 5th of May and 21st of July, approximately 5 hours a day and I became so tired, that only last week I started to feel happy again; energetic without deppresion and my bowel started to work better with less problems of hard chemical sensitivity. It took so much off of my energy. Normally, I could have been this well at the beginning of June. But better late than never. Besides, the boat is better than ever and I don't have to fix her anymore for a couple of years, I hope.

Enclosed, find a of picture from our last trip. There are thousands of island like this in Finnish coast, and you can anchor your boat to the shore and overnight there for free. I bet this picture looks a bit different than many of our readers have used to...

I started finding an appartment from Spain a bit too late, because I was so tired. I hope we can get one before December for four months.

I have had an occupational therapist to help me to cope with this sickness of mine. Unfortenately, no one can help with CFS. I am also getting help with homework from the city but the city demands that I would have to participate cooking, cleaning etc. in order to get that help for free. For that, I would have to stop doing things like sailing because together, they are too much for me. I would get too tired.

So, ...there is another rule...If I would like to receive help without doing anything physical, I would have to pay for the help for four months more than it costs for me and my wife to move to Spain for four months. Moving to Spain will hopefully mean: no deppression and no need for help. So it is not Hard to quess which one will I pick. But I would need to find an appartment first though. Anyway, this kind of life would cost us too much without doing some serious changes to our lives. Moving to a very small home here in Finland to start with. Lets see. The time will tell
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Glad to hear you are feeling better.
 
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Nord Wolf

The Northman
Messages
564
Location
New England
Besides, the boat is better than ever and I don't have to fix her anymore for a couple of years, I hope.
Yep, boats are great, but like cars, they take a lot of money to maintain! You have a great looking craft though, so I would think the cost is worth it :)
Enclosed, find a of picture from our last trip. There are thousands of island like this in Finnish coast, and you can anchor your boat to the shore and overnight there for free. I bet this picture looks a bit different than many of our readers have used to...
Great photo! Looks a bit like the coast of some islands off the coast of Maine.
I have had an occupational therapist to help me to cope with this sickness of mine. Unfortenately, no one can help with CFS. I am also getting help with homework from the city but the city demands that I would have to participate cooking, cleaning etc. in order to get that help for free. For that, I would have to stop doing things like sailing because together, they are too much for me. I would get too tired.
The politics and red tape involved with healthcare are insane. None of us should have to make a choice between things that keep us positive and support us emotionally and mentally with disability assistance. But I know what that is like, as I'm sure many folk here do also.