I wish I could show you, when you are lonely or in darkness, the Astonishing light of your own Being!

Even after all this time, the Sun never says to the Earth, ‘You owe me’, With a love like that, it lights the whole Sky

——  Hafiz of Shiraz, Persian lyric poet 

Well you only need the light when it’s burning low

—— Passenger, ‘Let Her Go’

In this last week, during the dreary transition from January to February ’26, I have been thinking about light. My name means ‘light’ or ‘brightness’ in Sanskrit and I have always been happy with the name my parents gave me. On our annual visits to India when I was a child, the immigration officer would invariably look at my passport, smile at my name, and pay me a compliment. When we lived in Northern Ireland, my name was not a burden which my friends couldn’t pronounce – they had no trouble and I was often called Roisin, a popular Irish girl’s name meaning ‘little rose’. We all love and need light in our lives but it is often something which is taken for granted or forgotten until we feel the lack of it. 

During my recent period of illness, light became very important to me. My lack of exposure to sunlight after spending long periods at home with my toddler resulted in a severe Vitamin D deficiency with horrible symptoms. I took the recommended tablets in February ’25 and thought ‘why did this happen?’. Well, going outside with a small child on your own everyday is exhausting. Especially during the period where they they can’t really walk yet but desperately want to walk and don’t want to be in the pram. Add in some UK Winter weather, South Asian skin type, working from home and a poor diet and it’s really a recipe for Vitamin D deficiency. 

My appendix removal operation was in August, which resulted in me missing most of the UK summery sunshine too. By October, once I had physically recovered from the operation, I was craving sunshine and suggested to my husband that we move to Spain or Bali for six months. Totally wacky, impractical, expensive and huge upheaval for our family but I was desperate. I said, ‘well, Winston Churchill moved to the South of France for 6 months over the Winter after his appendix operation!’. Yes, well if Winston can do it, then so can I, I thought. In the end, I managed to negotiate to use some of our savings to go on 2 separate trips to sunnier climes. One to the Costa del Sol in Andalusia in Southern Spain (literally the Coast of the Sun) and one to Tenerife (known as the Island of Eternal Spring). We had two wonderful trips during which I was outside most of the time to soak up as many rays as possible.

Thinking about the situation, I realised going abroad every time I need a fix of sunshine is obviously not a sustainable solution. Not only is it bad for the planet and my bank balance, it also is quite a lot of effort (holidays with a toddler are not really restful at all). There are plenty of people who manage perfectly well without this luxury. And I needed to be one of them. So I started thinking about how I could improve my exposure to sunlight at home. I was reading a book about stress and circadian rhythms and another about Winter and thought about some simple measures I could put in place immediately. 

My first fix was to open my curtains in my room every morning without fail. With this, I also opened the window for at least 10 minutes for some fresh air. Sunlight streamed through but I read that the light doesn’t help you make Vitamin D if it is filtered by the window glass and I couldn’t open the windows enough for the light to fall directly on my skin. So this was good for my mood and to help my space feel light, bright and happy but not good enough. My second fix was then to ensure I had some time outside each day – a 30 minute walk at least in my local park. This was tougher than it sounds as I usually looked for a period of sunshine or at least lack of rain which is hard to come by in the Winter. However, when I made it happen, it was wonderful to stand in the rays of the sun, soak them up, and be grateful for the warmth and energy radiating onto my skin. When I didn’t manage to get out for a walk, I took a Vitamin D supplement (The NHS recommends all adults and children over 4 years old consider taking a Vitamin D supplement containing 10micrograms or 400IU each day in the Autumn and Winter or throughout the year if you are at risk). I almost instantly felt the benefit of both of these fixes which not only brought me more sunlight but happiness and more connection with nature. 

Having done all of this, I was inspired to think about all the other light we have in our lives which doesn’t come directly from the sun. Firstly, I thought about the light in the home. When buying our home, I was very keen to buy a house where the light made sense (too much watching of home architecture shows on TV). We have a large window upstairs which gets sunlight at sunrise and I started to do my yoga here in the mornings after some gentle encouragement from my husband (the seller had a yoga mat laid out here when we viewed and we always intended to do this but never got round to it). What a revelation. To feel the sun’s rays as you practice yoga in the morning is truly blissful. But at night, when there is no sunlight and we are reliant on artificial light, what then?

What I had read about circadian rhythms taught me that as far as possible we should be in sync with our environments. This is what makes our bodies tick along smoothly. But in Winter our routines often necessitate us to be awake even when it is dark outside and therefore turn on the light to see properly. But I realised that the light we often bring into our homes is more than what we need for the activity at hand. My books told me exposure to bright artificial light at night can even be carcinogenic due to the suppression of melatonin, a powerful sleep hormone. I started to use our lamps more instead of the overhead light to have a more gradual, gentle transition to bedtime in the evenings. I taught my son the difference between the ‘big light’ and the lamp to include him in the process of limiting artificial light. I was grateful to not only be using the lights less and reducing exposure to light at night but also to be saving on energy! Funny how the things that are good for us are often better for the planet, too. 

I then realised wait, it doesn’t stop there, what about my phone, my laptop, my favourite TV programmes? Surely these devices have to be factored into my thinking on light? These devices mainly affect health through blue light exposure. This exposure is known to suppress melatonin. It also causes eye strain and affects eye health and skin health. I started using my devices on lower brightness settings where possible and turned on the blue light protection feature on my phone. I am now also more careful to use my devices only in the daytime where possible. I keep a book on my bedside table if I need something before bed to prevent me scrolling on my phone. 

I think these changes have made a positive impact on my mood, sleep and my overall wellbeing. I am hoping this perceptible change within me translates into better Vitamin D levels too (and normalises my melatonin production). My life feels more in tune with nature. I would like to keep a bullet note here of all the changes I have made in case I need to flick back to them at some point in the future:

• Peel back the curtains and throw open the window!
• Get outside and feel the energy of the sun on your skin 
• Treat Vitamin D and melatonin supplements as your insurance policy 
• Yoga at sunrise when the opportunity presents itself 
• Cosy lamps in the evening 
• Device use in the daytime only with low brightness settings 
• Book at the bedside at night to curb phone scrolling temptation 

I don’t get to do all of these things everyday. When I am back at work part- or full- time I am not sure how I will remember/have time to do all these things. I can only hope that they will become second nature and part of my day to the point where I don’t have to think about them.