Episode 68 - Reclaiming Health Through Circadian Biology & Sunlight Wisdom with Zaid K. Dahhaj

Modern life has inverted everything your body was designed to receive. Artificial blue light floods your evenings while you hide from the sun during the day, wearing sunscreen & sunglasses that block the very signals your cells need to function. Operating in complete opposition to your circadian design creates a cascade of disconnection, from hormone chaos to chronic disease susceptibility.

This conversation with circadian biology educator Zaid K. Dahhaj reveals how your entire body operates as a sophisticated circadian system, sensing time through light, food, & natural rhythms. We explore the master clock coordinating every cell, why UV light is hormetic rather than harmful, how sunscreen & sunglasses disrupt critical signaling, & the surprisingly simple practices that restore your body's innate wisdom.

What if healing chronic disease, hormone imbalance, & even eyesight issues begins with remembering you are designed for full spectrum sunlight, not filtered, artificial existence?

Topics covered

In this episode, we discussed

Zaid's journey from competitive athlete to circadian biology educator
Circadian biology defined: body as a timing system tied to the sun & moon
Master clock (SCN) & peripheral clocks in every organ & cell
Natural versus artificial light impacts on the circadian system
The light bulb invention correlated with chronic disease emergence
Ancient sun worship confirmed by modern circadian science
Early 1900s heliotherapy curing tuberculosis & lupus with sunlight
UV light as a hormetic stressor, not inherently toxic
Near-infrared preconditioning removes isolated UV cytotoxicity
Sunscreen breaks apart the hormetic signaling
Chemical sunscreens are transforming into photo-carcinogens under light & heat
Sunscreen blocking UVB & preventing vitamin D synthesis
Morning sunlight creates collagen, elastin, & natural SPF
Midday UV treated like exercise: progressive overload approach
Sunglasses blocking master clock signals & creating light sensitivity
Sunglasses prevent melanin production & increase burn risk
Violet light stops myopia progression via the EEG1 gene activation
Circadian eyesight regeneration through unfiltered light exposure
Skin is a circadian organ with light-sensing proteins in all layers
Blue light disrupts skin's circadian signaling, not just eyes
Practical timing: sunrise, UVA rise, midday UV, nighttime darkness
Natural fabrics for nighttime skin protection from artificial light

About Zaid K. Dahhaj

Zaid K. Dahhaj is a circadian biology educator and coach, helping people reconnect with sunlight, natural rhythms, and the body’s innate clocks to restore health. His work bridges quantum biology, ancestral wisdom, and modern lifestyle design, making circadian science practical, relatable, and transformative.

Where to find Zaid K. Dahhaj

📝Website:
✍️Substack:
📲X:
📷Instagram
🎙️The 2AM Podcast

Listen to the Episode

Timestamps

[00:03:09] Zaid's journey to circadian biology

[00:05:35] Circadian biology defined: body as timing system

[00:09:41] Sunrise spectrum versus isolated artificial blue light

[00:14:08] Early 1900s heliotherapy curing tuberculosis with sunlight

[00:19:55] All hormones circadian, inverted light creating chaos

[00:24:20] Sunscreen blocking vitamin D & creating photo-carcinogens

[00:29:36] Morning sunlight creating collagen & natural SPF

[00:31:49] Midday UV protocol: warm-up, training, recovery

[00:36:23] Sunglasses preventing melanin production & increasing burns

[00:42:48] Violet light stopping myopia progression

[00:44:24] Skin containing light-sensing proteins in all layers

Circadian Biology: Your Body as Sophisticated Timing System

Every aspect of your body, from skin to brain to organs, operates as a circadian system geared around sensing time through light & food. This isn't about optimizing schedules or hacking productivity. This is about recognizing that your body's fundamental design ties directly to the solar & lunar cycles, & modern disconnection from these rhythms creates systemic dysfunction.

"The entire human body is a very sophisticated circadian system that picks up on time through various zeitgebers or external circadian cues. Light being the most powerful one."

The Master Clock & Peripheral Clocks

Your suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), located in the hypothalamus, functions as your master circadian clock. It receives light information primarily through your eyes & skin, then transmits signals to peripheral clocks present in every organ, cell, & tissue throughout your body.

When you watch sunrise, the SCN takes that light information & coordinates repair cycles in your liver, kidney function timing, hormone production rhythms, & cellular regeneration across your entire system. If the master clock doesn't receive the right signal because you're indoors under artificial light, the wrong signal cascades to every peripheral clock, creating systemic circadian disruption.

Your Skin: A Light-Sensing Circadian Organ

Your skin contains non-visual photoreceptors throughout every layer:

Melanopsin senses blue light
Neuropsin detects UV light
Encephalopsin & rhodopsin pick up other wavelengths
Mitochondria function as circadian & electromagnetic organelles

This means your skin doesn't just protect you from the outside world. It actively reads environmental light signals to coordinate internal function. The eyes, brain, & skin form one inseparable circadian unit, all originating from the same tissue when you were an embryo in your mother's womb.

Natural Light vs Artificial Light: Ancestral Design Meets Modern Inversion

Full spectrum sunlight is the original light source your body evolved to receive for systemic function & chronic disease prevention. Compare this to the isolated blue light from phones, laptops, & conventional indoor lighting that now dominates most people's existence.

"In nature, there's no isolated blue for the most part. There's no isolated UV. The full solar spectrum is the OG light source that we were designed to receive."

What Artificial Light Does to Your System

Isolated blue light without balancing wavelengths creates consequences modern science is only beginning to document:

Increases blood sugar & insulin independent of food through the POMC peptide hormone system
Disrupts melatonin production when present after sunset, creating insomnia & sleep fragmentation
Raises cancer risk through mechanisms tied to circadian disruption
Prevents vitamin D synthesis because you're indoors during UVB-available hours
Creates chronic cortisol elevation when morning bright light exposure is absent

The correlation between the light bulb's invention & the emergence of chronic disease patterns is not coincidental. Prior to widespread artificial lighting, humans experienced bright days under full spectrum sunlight & dark nights after sunset. Your circadian system functioned as designed. Modern life inverts this completely.

The Hormetic Nature of UV Light: Reframing "Dangerous" Sunlight

UV light functions as a hormetic stressor, meaning intentional exposure followed by recovery makes your body more resilient. This completely contradicts mainstream dermatology's narrative that UV is inherently toxic & melanin signals DNA damage.

Historical Evidence: Heliotherapy's Forgotten Success

In the early 1900s, scientists like Auguste Rollier & Niels Finsen pioneered heliotherapy, using full spectrum sunlight at high altitude to heal serious diseases:

Tuberculosis of the skin (lupus vulgaris) resolved through sunlight exposure
Rickets healed when patients received adequate sun
Various infections responded to solar therapy before antibiotics existed

"They essentially healed lupus vulgaris, tuberculosis of the skin, through full spectrum sunlight exposure at high altitude. High altitude, you got more UV light. And so that goes against the narrative that modern dermatology pushes, which is that UV light's inherently toxic."

The Synergy Science Reveals

Research from the late 1990s in the Journal of Dermatology showed something remarkable: when you precondition cells with near-infrared light first, you remove the cytotoxic effects of isolated UV. This reveals that wavelengths work synergistically. Near-infrared makes up 20-22% of the solar spectrum, while UV comprises only 3-5%. Nature provides the protective wavelengths alongside the hormetic stressor.

Your melanocytes were designed to receive full spectrum sunlight & create melanin as a hormetic benefit, not as damage response. Blocking UV with sunscreen prevents this entire adaptive process.

Why Sunscreen Disrupts More Than You Realize

Sunscreen breaks apart the hormetic signaling your body evolved to use for resilience & health. Understanding the mechanisms reveals why dermatology's sun avoidance advice creates the very problems it claims to prevent.

Chemical Sunscreens Become Photo-Carcinogens

Chemicals like oxybenzone & avobenzone may seem benign in isolation, but when you introduce light & heat, they undergo transformation into photo-carcinogens. They create runaway production of reactive oxygen & nitrogen species (ROS & RNS), overwhelming your body's designed capacity to use these as limited hormetic signals. This oxidative damage cascade is the hallmark of cancer development.

What Sunscreen Actually Blocks

90% of UVB is blocked even by SPF 15, preventing vitamin D synthesis
UVA & UVB hormetic signaling that melanocytes need to produce protective melanin
Infrared wavelengths in some formulations, blocking one of the most healing light ranges
Circadian skin clock coordination, disrupting repair & regeneration cycles

Meanwhile, most sunscreens don't block blue light, allowing high-energy short wavelengths to penetrate skin without the balancing full spectrum context.

"If you're blocking UVA and UVB, you're not giving melanocytes the signal to create more melanin, which is a hormetic benefit. And then you also create other consequences on the backend leading into the nighttime."

The Vitamin D Crisis

No wonder vitamin D deficiency is epidemic even in sunny climates. UVB is the only wavelength range responsible for creating this powerful anti-cancer hormone. Even the lowest SPF blocks most UVB before your skin can synthesize meaningful amounts.

Circadian Sunlight Protocol: Morning, Midday, Night

Everything in circadian alignment works together. Sunrise prepares your skin for midday UV. Midday exposure provides hormetic stress. Nighttime darkness allows recovery. You cannot skip steps & expect your system to function optimally.

Morning Sunbathing: The Warm-Up (First Light to 1 Hour After Sunrise)

Get at least 30 minutes of full body exposure to sunrise light with most skin exposed, no sunglasses, no contacts, no prescription glasses. This spectrum is 80%+ red & infrared, which:

Creates collagen, elastin, & hyaluronic acid in your skin barrier
Stimulates urocanic acid for moisture & protection
Provides natural SPF 15 through red & infrared exposure
Awakens your master clock & coordinates all peripheral clocks
Primes your skin for upcoming UV exposure

"Morning sunlight is the warmup. Midday sunbathing is the training session, and then the nighttime is the recovery phase."

This timing varies by season & latitude. First light appears before official sunrise, so start exposure when daybreak begins.

UVA Rise (1 Hour After Sunrise)

Continue skin exposure as UVA becomes available. This wavelength supports mental health, hormone production, & further skin preparation for UVB.

Midday UV: The Training Session

Treat midday sunbathing like exercise: progressive overload. Start where your current skin tolerance allows:

Lighter skin: Begin with 2-5 minutes, increase gradually
Medium skin tones: May start with 5-10 minutes
Darker skin: Could begin with 15-30 minutes

Consistency matters more than intensity. Daily practice with gradual increases creates melanin adaptation & hormetic benefits. This is when your body receives UVA & UVB together with the full spectrum, creating vitamin D, stimulating melanin production, & activating repair processes.

Nighttime: The Recovery Phase

Just as you build muscle during sleep recovery, not during the workout, your skin regenerates itself using darkness at night. Cover skin with natural fabric clothing (cotton, wool) to protect from artificial light exposure. This is when repair cycles, hormone balance, & cellular regeneration occur.

Sunglasses: Blocking Signals Your Master Clock Needs

When you wear sunglasses, you prevent your master circadian clock from receiving the signal it needs to coordinate your entire system. Your intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells contain melanopsin that senses blue light intensity. This information travels to your SCN, which then relays timing signals to every peripheral clock.

Consequences of Chronic Sunglasses Use

Light sensitivity develops because melanopsin requires full spectrum sunlight & high lux (light intensity) to work with dopamine production in your retina. This process, called photo-adaptation, allows your eyes to adapt to different environmental light levels. Wearing sunglasses prevents photo-adaptation, creating the very light sensitivity that makes you reach for sunglasses.

Increased burning occurs because UV light entering your eyes peripherally (not staring at the sun) signals your POMC system to produce melanocyte-stimulating hormones (alpha, beta, gamma MSH). These peptide hormones initiate melanin production, your ultimate photo-protection. Block the signal with sunglasses, & you open the door to burns.

"I've seen that time and time again, and I've also seen people remove the sunglasses. Lo and behold, they don't burn at all."

Circadian disruption cascades when your master clock doesn't receive proper light information, affecting sleep, hormone production, metabolism, & every system tied to peripheral clocks.

When Sunglasses Are Appropriate

Limited scenarios warrant sunglasses use:

High glare environments (water, snow, high altitude)
Sunrise or sunset driving, when you literally cannot see the road safely

Otherwise, your eyes need raw, unfiltered full-spectrum sunlight.

Reclaiming Circadian Eyesight: Beyond Genetics

Prescription glasses, contacts, & chronic indoor existence contribute to vision deterioration, but circadian alignment can restore eyesight. This contradicts the belief that genetics doom you to poor vision.

Zaid shares his personal example: 20/16 eyesight despite his father having macular degeneration (which prevented his pilot dreams) & his mother needing reading glasses. It's not genetics outside rare circumstances. It's epigenetics & circadian alignment.

Violet Light Stops Myopia Progression

Research shows violet light from the sun activates the EEG1 gene in humans, halting myopia progression entirely. This explains why children who spend hours outside have dramatically lower myopia rates compared to children in classrooms under artificial light.

Practical Application for Prescription Glasses Users

Set aside 20-30 minutes daily to sunbathe or watch sunrise without prescription glasses on. You need sight to navigate life, but you also need unfiltered light reaching your eyes to begin circadian eyesight regeneration. Many people report vision improvements through consistent practice.

Iris shares her experience: "I used to experience like a mild form of night blindness when I would be driving. But ever since I started my circadian protocols, I don't need my glasses anymore to drive at night because my eyes just adjusted to the consistent circadian practice."

The Bottom Line

Your body is not broken. Modern environments are inverted. Every cell, from melanocytes creating protective melanin to retinal ganglion cells coordinating your master clock, was designed to receive full spectrum sunlight in circadian alignment. When you hide from the sun, slather on sunscreen, wear sunglasses, & flood your evenings with isolated blue light, you create the disconnection that manifests as hormone chaos, sleep disruption, chronic disease susceptibility, & vision deterioration.

The solution sounds almost too simple to be profound, yet it addresses root causes that pharmaceutical interventions never touch: Watch sunrise with bare eyes & exposed skin. Get progressive midday UV exposure. Embrace darkness after sunset. These aren't ancillary practices you add after addressing nutrition & exercise. Circadian alignment is the foundation upon which everything else builds.

Your ancestors honored the sun as life-giving for reasons modern science is only beginning to understand. The heliotherapists of the early 1900s cured tuberculosis & lupus with sunlight before antibiotics existed. Every ancient wisdom tradition & cutting-edge quantum biology research points to the same truth: you are designed for sun, not shelter from it.

"The human body is incredibly wise. And so if you give yourself the right environmental inputs, the body will take care of the rest. You don't have to think about cortisol and melatonin or the intricate dynamics. You just need to do the right things that we were designed to do."

How has artificial light & sun avoidance shown up in your health challenges? What shifts when you commit to circadian alignment practices?

Key Takeaways

Your entire body operates as a circadian system sensing time through light, with a master clock coordinating peripheral clocks in every organ, cell, & tissue
Full spectrum sunlight is your original design, while isolated blue light from artificial sources creates systemic dysfunction independent of other health practices
UV light is hormetic, not inherently toxic - your body evolved to receive it alongside protective wavelengths like red & infrared
Sunscreen blocks hormetic signaling, prevents vitamin D synthesis, disrupts melanin production, & can transform into photo-carcinogens when exposed to light & heat
Morning sunlight provides red & infrared that creates collagen, natural SPF, & primes skin for midday UV exposure
Midday UV requires progressive overload approach like exercise: warm-up (morning), training (midday sun), recovery (nighttime darkness)
Sunglasses block master clock signals & prevent melanin production, creating light sensitivity & increased burning
Your skin is a circadian organ with light-sensing proteins throughout all layers, making it equally important as eyes for receiving environmental signals
Circadian eyesight regeneration is possible through consistent unfiltered light exposure, contradicting genetic determinism narratives
Violet light from sun stops myopia progression in children by activating specific genes, explaining outdoor play's protective effects

Transcript

[00:00:00] Iris Josephina: This episode, oh my goodness. It was such an honor to have Zaid on. He is a circadian biology educator, helping people reconnect with sunlight, natural rhythms, and the body's innate clocks to restore health. And his work really bridges quantum biology, ancestral wisdom and modern lifestyle design, making circadian science, practical, relatable, and transformative.

[00:00:32] Iris Josephina: And we really dove deep into, okay, what exactly is quantum biology? Why is it so foundational? We spoke about the master clock in our bodies. We spoke about. Natural light versus artificial light. And we spoke about timing of sun exposure and about some controversial topics like sunscreen and also how sunglasses impact our health.

[00:01:07] Iris Josephina: So this was an incredible episode, rich of incredible content and a refreshing look on circadian biology, but also at some of the practices that we are considering normal right now that may not be as normal and especially healthy as we think. So enjoy listening to this episode and please feel free to let us know what you think.

[00:01:39] Iris Josephina: You are listening to the podcast of Iris Josephina. If you are passionate about exploring the menstrual cycle, cyclical living, body wisdom, personal growth, spirituality, and running a business in alignment with your natural cycles, you're in the right place. I'm Iris. I'm an entrepreneur, functional hormone specialist, trainer and coach, and I am on a mission

[00:02:05] Iris Josephina: to share insights, fun facts, and inspiration I discover along the way as I run my business and walk my own path on earth. Here you'll hear my personal stories, guest interviews, and vulnerable shares from clients and students. Most people know me from Instagram where you can find me under at cycle seeds, or they have been a coaching client or student in one of my courses.

[00:02:29] Iris Josephina: I'm so grateful you're here. Let's dive into today's episode.

[00:02:34] Iris Josephina: Welcome to a new episode of the Inner Rhythms Podcast. Today we'll be discussing a topic that is really, really close to my heart, circadian biology, and I have Zaid with me. Am I saying that correctly, your name or is it Zaid?

[00:02:51] Zaid K. Dahhaj: No, you got it right the first time. Most people get it wrong the first time, so it's good to see.

[00:02:55] Iris Josephina: cool. Good. I got it right the first time. So before we dive into the immense topic of circadian biology.

[00:03:04] Iris Josephina: Can you share a little bit more about yourself and how you got into this work?

[00:03:09] Zaid K. Dahhaj: Sure thing. So I, I really started my journey in health and wellness from the perspective of a competitive athlete, more more specifically competitive soccer. I started playing at the age of four spent around 20 to 22 years pursuing that, trying to get a professional contract didn't work out in the way that I wanted to because that led me into, you know, certain events like my father's passing due to a second heart attack.

[00:03:33] Zaid K. Dahhaj: Myocardial infarction, which mainstream medicine often calls a widow maker. And so that led into his coma, eventually his passing. And that's what really turned like a kind of surface level interest in health due to the fact that it helped my performance on the field into more of an obsession where I wanted to understand the deeper layer of different health subjects, whether it's nutrition supplementation, and just trying to understand why my father went through that experience.

[00:03:58] Zaid K. Dahhaj: 'cause obviously I don't want to go through that experience as well. and then, you know, heading back or heading after that into, going a few years after that experience, I found circadian biology through the work of Dr. Jack Cruz, a few other people, and that's what really opened my mind to a deeper level of root cause health essentially.

[00:04:16] Zaid K. Dahhaj: And from there, I mean, it's taking on a life of its own. It's, it's been an awesome experience diving into all these different things, but I do feel like this is, this is my arena and I feel like this is something that I'm gonna focus on for the rest of my life.

[00:04:28] Iris Josephina: Beautiful. I'm so sorry for what you've gone through with your dad. That's really intense.

[00:04:34] Zaid K. Dahhaj: Yeah, I often say it was the most difficult experience of my life, but honestly it was, it was a needed one because it, it gave me a kick up the butt and it led me down this path. And regardless of how difficult the situation can get, I think I am very grateful for it. And, it's, it's about kind of taking the lessons from that kind of experience, right.

[00:04:52] Iris Josephina: Yeah, I can't relate to that. My, my own father passed away from cancer when I was 19, and it also got me on the health journey, so I can very much relate. To that and also the like the more preventative mindset about health because there's obviously so much that we can prevent. So since circadian biology is your jam, this is what we're gonna talk about.

[00:05:16] Iris Josephina: And before we dive a little bit deeper, 'cause I just finished my certification. Applied quantum and circadian biology, which is really cool. can you explain like in lay language, what exactly is circadian biology and why is it so foundational? yeah, to health in general.

[00:05:35] Zaid K. Dahhaj: So the way I like to break this down is that the, first of all, the entire body is a circadian system. So every aspect of the body, from the skin to the brain, to the organs, all of it is geared around. Sensing time in the form of light, in the form of food. And so the circadian system is really about timing first and foremost.

[00:05:54] Zaid K. Dahhaj: But it's more so tied to the movement of the sun and the moon. so we have to think about the solar cycle. We have to think about the lunar cycle. And again, every aspect of the body is circadian nature. So for example, your skin has light sensing options. Known as non-visual photoreceptors. You have melanopsin, which is the blue light sensor.

[00:06:12] Zaid K. Dahhaj: You have opsin, which senses blue green light. So the, you know, the entire human body is a very sophisticated circadian system that picks up on time through various zeitgebers or external circadian cues. AKA food light being the most powerful one. Even social interactions, there's like ber, which is pretty cool to think about.

[00:06:33] Zaid K. Dahhaj: And that's what really allows us to take advantage of. Quote, unquote, coherence, for lack of a better word. And so if you think about like, let's say organs or, yeah, every organ system in your body. I mean, ultimately they contain circadian genes, that have circadian clocks, which allow for optimal functioning and repair cycles.

[00:06:51] Zaid K. Dahhaj: And so it, it's a very sophisticated SY system that I think ties back into evolutionary biology, circadian biology, and it is pretty incredible when you dive into this perspective because it tells us that. essentially the modern environment is completely inverted as, compared to how we were evolutionarily designed.

[00:07:11] Zaid K. Dahhaj: yeah, I mean, there's, there's rabbit holes in tangents that we can get off of that, but I think ultimately the human body is tied to the movement of the sun movement of the moon and the lifestyle component's. A very important part of the timing perspective as well.

[00:07:24] Iris Josephina: And would you say with that there is also like a master clock and in our bodies and where, where would that master clock be and how does it coordinate the other clocks of like our organs, our cells? Can you explain a bit more about that?

[00:07:40] Zaid K. Dahhaj: Yeah, so this is super cool. Like we, we do have, we have to make this classic distinction between the master circadian clock, otherwise known as the supra cosmetic nucleus that's fi found in the hypothalamus within the brain. And then you have a bunch of peripheral clocks that the SCN super cosmetic nucleus controls as a result of either light exposure, food consumption.

[00:08:02] Zaid K. Dahhaj: Social interactions as mentioned, but I think light exposure is the most straightforward example to use because ultimately, if we wake up for sunrise, for example, when we get that light onto our skin and into our eyes, the SCN takes that light information and basically transmit, transmits it to the rest of the body.

[00:08:21] Zaid K. Dahhaj: And so the peripheral clocks are, are unique to basically every organ, cell and tissue in the body. So your organs, kidney. Your liver, all of these things have peripheral clock, peripheral clocks that, pick up on what the SCN is picking up on ultimately. So what that really tells us is that if we're not in circadian alignment, then the SCN is not gonna get the right signal.

[00:08:43] Zaid K. Dahhaj: Meaning that the right signal is not going to be relayed to all the organs, cells, and tissues in the body. And so that, that's where we can see systemic circadian disruption. Which then leads to a host of other problems. But ultimately we want to be in circadian alignment knowing that.

[00:08:59] Iris Josephina: Yeah, so if I'm understanding correctly, the natural light exposure and natural light cues specifically, or especially sunrise and sunset, they really shape the circadian clocks in our body. And how does this compare to what artificial indoor light does to our body? Can you speak to that a little bit?

[00:09:21] Zaid K. Dahhaj: Yeah, so sunrise and sunset are perfect examples. I think sunrise more specifically is also very cool because I, I call it the first domino that you push to create circadian alignment in the system. And so if you're, if you're out there, you're basically getting a, a flood of red and infrared. Which make up the majority of that spectrum around the sunrise time.

[00:09:41] Zaid K. Dahhaj: And then, you're creating a, a very powerful signal for the body to do what it's designed to do, essentially. Now, if you compare that to being indoors, which most people do. Let's say they're on their phone, laptop, or just under conventional lighting systems. That kind of light provides isolated blue light without any of the other light wavelengths that that nature provides essentially.

[00:10:02] Zaid K. Dahhaj: Because if you look in nature, I mean, there's no isolated blue for the most part. There's no isolated uv, and so the, the full solar spectrum is. The original light source, the OG light source that we were designed to receive for systemic function, for the prevention of chronic disease, so forth. And so you're, you're looking at, you're looking at a lighting system that human beings have created that is alien and foreign to the human body.

[00:10:25] Zaid K. Dahhaj: And so as a result, considering systems thinking, many different consequences occur as a result of being exposed to that type of light. I mean, we could talk about how artificial light. More so isolated blue actually can, can increase blood sugar and insulin independent of food, through the p OMC system, in my opinion, through various peptide hormones.

[00:10:44] Zaid K. Dahhaj: We could talk about how there's an increased risk of cancer through the exposure to isolated blue light that's been shown in the literature. So regardless, I mean, coming from the systems thinking perspective, a lot of problems occur when we expose ourselves to isolated blue as opposed to full spectrums online.

[00:11:01] Iris Josephina: Yeah. I even read that there is a potential correlation between the invention of the light bulb and the onset of like chronic types of disease that we know these days. Is that something that you would consider as true?

[00:11:15] Zaid K. Dahhaj: I've seen that chart float around. I think that there's a lot of truth to it because prior to that, I mean, what we had incandescence, even, even incandescence, as in as a human introduction, still have their downsides. But prior to that we only essentially had firelight and then full spectrum sunlight. So again, the, the entire circadian system that is the human body is.

[00:11:36] Zaid K. Dahhaj: Very intricately tied to how light is in our environment and what light is present. And so I, it's, it's not a long shot for me to say that being exposed to these altered light spectrums causes various chronic disease models, or at the very least, creates more so environment in the body that allows for things like cancer or autoimmunity or type two diabetes to thrive.

[00:12:00] Iris Josephina: Yeah, I am very scared for how we are doing, like the modern world and everything has wifi these days and everything has like some sort of light in it. It's, I'm really concerned about where we're going as humanity and not really thinking about this when we create, I mean, obviously. Tools are created with the idea like, oh, let's make our life more easy and convenient and comfortable, but many people don't really think about, okay, but maybe we're completely wrecking our health with those things.

[00:12:31] Iris Josephina: Yeah,

[00:12:32] Zaid K. Dahhaj: very scary because when you consider how the modern lifestyle is developed, how modernity has been created, ev almost every lighting source is essentially toxic from this circadian standpoint. you know, you think about kids being on iPads, you think about, hanging out with your friends under, in a room that has isolated blue with high luxe or light

[00:12:50] Iris Josephina: Mm.

[00:12:51] Zaid K. Dahhaj: From every angle. I think we're just creating chronic circadian disruption, which ties into the other discussions of like skin cancer and, and chronic disease and whatnot. But, it, it's a big problem that we really need to create awareness around.

[00:13:04] Iris Josephina: Yeah, I really feel we should mainly bring awareness about the importance of the sun. Like many ancient cultures have. Honored the sun and I've have celebrated the sun as life giving. How do you see from like a circadian biology perspective, how is that ancient wisdom now? Slowly finally getting confirmed by, by modern science.

[00:13:31] Zaid K. Dahhaj: I think it depends on like what timeframe you want to focus on. So if we're talking about the, you know, prescience then from an ancestral standpoint, we had most of our skin exposed. We were in circadian alignment by getting bright days under full spectrum sunlight during the day, and then, dark nights after nightfall.

[00:13:50] Zaid K. Dahhaj: The, the human body was working as it should, pre-scientific times, let's say more so ancestral times. If you go to the, like, early 19 hundreds, I mean, I talk about this a lot with the work of, let's say Helio therapist, Augusta er, or the first scientist to really study full spectrum sunlight as it relates to biology.

[00:14:08] Zaid K. Dahhaj: Neil Berg Finon, these individuals really ushered in a more scientific lens on full spectrum sunlight, not. As it relates to circadian mechanisms, because that's a rabbit hole in and of itself, but more so how full spectrum sunlight allows you to be more resilient against disease. I mean, we're talking about tuberculosis, rickets.

[00:14:28] Zaid K. Dahhaj: These are very, very serious forms of disease that manifested in the early 19 hundreds as a result of moving from more so like, a natural living environment in farmlands and agricultural situations to large scale cities where everyone is packed. Sanitation was not really on point. And so the, the work that those two individuals did was pretty incredible because, I mean, they, they essentially healed lupus, vulgaris, tuberculosis of the skin, through full spectrum sunlight exposure at high altitude.

[00:14:57] Zaid K. Dahhaj: High altitude, you got more UV light. And so that, that goes against the narrative that modern dermatology pushes, which is that UV light's inherently toxic melanin is a sign of of skin or DNA damage. So all that to say that I think modern science is starting to discover a lot of the intricacies involved with full spectrum sunlight.

[00:15:15] Zaid K. Dahhaj: it could explain these things through melatonin, through vitamin D three, synthesis through, how cancer can manifest. But I do think that modern science has a very reductive standpoint and so they can't understand the whole for what it is because they look at a system and they essentially pick up on one or two things within that system.

[00:15:34] Zaid K. Dahhaj: They don't look at how all these parts within a system interconnect and interact with one another. And I think that's a big problem because. We, we need to kind of change our mindset around how we study these things, knowing that a reductive viewpoint will not tell us the the truth comprehensively.

[00:15:51] Iris Josephina: Yeah, I agree. I read some research about UV and most of the research that they did were to discover that UV was harmful for the skin, was an isolated UV light, which is. Absolutely not what we receive from the sense of how can you even possibly come to the conclusion that UV is bad when you have created an artificial UV environment that a human being would barely ever get themselves into.

[00:16:17] Zaid K. Dahhaj: Exactly, and, and so it follows the philosophy that if, you know, if, if God or evolutionary adaptation or both created a system that is perfect in its ability to receive full spectrum sunlight. That literally means that every cell from melanocytes to Carino Cytes was designed to receive that full spectrum sunlight in circadian alignment.

[00:16:36] Zaid K. Dahhaj: And so if we understand also that the human body is a hormetic system, hormesis being, the fact that we become more resilient as a result of. Intentional bouts of stress paired with recovery, then we can understand that UV light is a hormetic stressor. And what's funny is that in the scientific literature, literally from the Journal of Dermatology in the, in the late 1990s, they have studies showing that if you precondition cells, with near infrared light first.

[00:17:05] Zaid K. Dahhaj: Which makes up us makes, I mean, near infrared light makes up, makes up around 20 to 22% of the spectrum. UV only makes up around three to 5%, but if you expose cells to near infrared, first you remove the cytotoxic or cell toxic effects of isolated uv, which tells us that there's a synergistic relationship between all light wavelengths.

[00:17:24] Zaid K. Dahhaj: And so it's pretty shocking when you understand all that together. But either way, I just think, you know, modern science has a lot to, to do epistemologically to just think from the right perspective.

[00:17:35] Iris Josephina: When you were saying that bef, actually, before you said it, I was thinking like, oh, but one thing we often forget is also skin entrainment. Like a lot of people, they're in their clothes in artificial light, and then they go two weeks on vacation to the sun and they expose all their, all their skin without any skin entrainment.

[00:17:54] Iris Josephina: So it's also a behavioral thing. I feel that we need to like educate people on like, okay, how do you behave in a circadian way? What does that mean? What are the things that you do in your day to day to make sure that you're in alignment with how you're supposed to be living? I feel a lot of people have have like amnesia around that.

[00:18:17] Zaid K. Dahhaj: Certainly, I mean, just to, not to interrupt, but I think, we have to consider that the skin is a circadian organ that has light sensing proteins, mitochondria, which are, are circadian and electromagnetic organelles. But more importantly, we have to focus down on the skin clocks within the skin barrier because the skin clocks are what dictate what literally dictate function and repair.

[00:18:38] Zaid K. Dahhaj: And so if those skin clocks are off through chronic circadian disruption, you have. Aberrant, aberrant function and repair cycles, which means that you get negative outcomes on the back end of that. And you know, some very simple things like morning sunbathing, when, when the, the spectrum is rich in red and infrared.

[00:18:55] Zaid K. Dahhaj: In the, in the am. progressive overload applied to midday UV exposure, darkness at night because the skin regenerates itself using darkness at night and also through sleep. All of these things tie together to, not only create circadian alignment, but also. Kind of teach people how to, to do that in a very practical way from a lifestyle standpoint.

[00:19:18] Iris Josephina: And how does that timing of sun exposure. Specifically impact hormones like melatonin, cortisol, and also reproductive hormones. Could you speak to that?

[00:19:29] Zaid K. Dahhaj: It's a great question. I think that we have to consider that all hormones in the body are circadian in nature. So they're circadian hormones. You can't divorce. The, the two from each, from one another. Now what, what do we know about certain relationships of different hormones? I mean, you have the fact that melatonin and cortisol have an inverse relationship when melatonin is at its highest at night or when it's supposed to be compared to how most people live their lives.

[00:19:55] Zaid K. Dahhaj: Cortisol is supposed to be at its lowest. So when you look at cortisol in the morning time, it's supposed to be at its highest when melatonin is supposed to be at, at its lowest. And there, you know, there's that thing of the cortisol awakening response. That's what actually gets you up. It's that spike of cortisol.

[00:20:10] Zaid K. Dahhaj: That's a good thing. It's not a negative thing, but we have to understand that there's a, an intricate dynamic between hormones from a circadian standpoint and. If you were to flip the, if you were to invert the light and dark cycle, if you were to live like the average American or Australian or whatnot, then you're essentially creating chaos in the system to where melatonin doesn't rise, when it needs to rise at night.

[00:20:32] Zaid K. Dahhaj: That leads to things like insomnia, waking up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, various sleep symptoms, and then if you are not getting that. That sunrise, if you're not exposing yourself to Hilux daylight in the morning time, then cortisol doesn't rise in the way that it should, which means that you have a prolonged cortisol spike, or more so a chronic cortisol spike throughout the day.

[00:20:54] Zaid K. Dahhaj: And that creates different issues and whatnot. So I, I think again, this very intricate system that is incredible to study, but we need to be in circadian alignment for everything to work. As optimally as it should. And it also ties into various things like, you know, testosterone, production, DHT, progesterone for women.

[00:21:13] Zaid K. Dahhaj: if we're talking about, you know, fertility and wanting to get pregnant, infertility's a huge problem today. All of these things tie directly into the circadian discussion. Which means that circadian principles are the foundation. It's not some ancillary side dish that we focus on every once in a while.

[00:21:31] Zaid K. Dahhaj: It has to be really the the main meal that we focus on for most of our lives. And then we can add certain things like nutrition and exercise and whatnot, which I think are also fundamental.

[00:21:43] Iris Josephina: I love that you say that the circadian part is the, the foundation. Like F I've seen like a lot of these trends and they're good trends, but they're also like in some way a little bit reductionist. 'cause there is like this big division, like, oh, men are on their circadian with them, with their testosterone and women are on their infra rhythm.

[00:22:04] Iris Josephina: I'm like, no, people just don't do it like that. Because you miss the whole point. Like if you're just gonna focus on, oh, women are in Fian and you're gonna ignore the whole circadian part. When circadian biology is the foundation of fertility, like this is how I'm working with my clients. Like for do we do the circadian part first and then we put everything that we can do to support the menstrual cycle on top of that, on top of the circadian stuff.

[00:22:30] Iris Josephina: And a lot of people are like, really? Do you want me to like look at the sunrise? I'm like, yes and yes. Yeah, it does. Yeah.

[00:22:40] Zaid K. Dahhaj: you're very right in that sense. I mean, people like to put things in neat little boxes and kind of have this reductive mindset, but I, I do think that ultimately we need to understand that the human body is incredibly wise. And so if you give yourself the right environmental inputs, the body will take care of the rest.

[00:22:55] Zaid K. Dahhaj: You don't have to think about cortisol and melatonin or like the intricate dynamics. You just need to do the right things that we were designed to do, from a very real perspective.

[00:23:05] Iris Josephina: Yeah, I love that perspective. I always say to my clients like, your body is just responding. It's not doing anything else, but responding to what it receives or what it doesn't receive, and then we just need to, you know, bring adjustments in that. So I love that. I would love to now go into a topic that a lot of people probably will maybe get triggered by.

[00:23:26] Iris Josephina: I wanna get into sunscreen and how, how we can look at sunscreen from a circadian perspective and how sunscreen might be blocking parts of. The light spectrum entering the body and confuse the body, circadian, and and quantum signaling.

[00:23:50] Zaid K. Dahhaj: yeah. How, I mean, what, what is the real circadian problem involved with sunscreen use? I think that first and foremost we're sunscreen is designed to block UVA and UVB. Most, most, more specifically, I mean, if we're talking about SPF, that there's more of a focus on blocking UVB, which, by the way, the lowest grade of SPF, I think it's SPF 15 blocks, at least 90% of U-V-B-U-V-B is the only light wavelength range responsible for creating one of your most powerful anti-cancer hormones in the form of vitamin D three.

[00:24:20] Zaid K. Dahhaj: So if you're using the lowest form of SPF. You're not making that much D three negligible, negligible amounts, if any. And so I think ultimately, from a high level perspective, using sunscreen breaks apart the hormetic signaling involved in the human body. And so considering that UV light UVA and UVB are hormetic stressors. You're not getting the hormetic benefit that the human body evolved to receive. If you're slathering your slathering, your slathering yourself up with either chemical based sunscreens or mineral based sunscreens. And I do take more of a stance against mineral based as well, which is interesting in, in the health space because people make it seem like a mineral based is like a, a gift from God.

[00:24:58] Zaid K. Dahhaj: But there are very real downsides, right? FI, I want people to frame that in their minds. UV light's, a hormetic stressor. If they use sunscreen, which blocks UVA and UVB, you disrupt the very intricate process of hormesis that the body's designed to, to operate with. There are many problems that sunscreen offers, especially the chemical based ones.

[00:25:20] Zaid K. Dahhaj: I think things like oxylene or avobenzone. These are chemicals that in and of themselves might not pose that much risk. But when you introduce light and heat into the equation, which most people are doing when they're using sunscreen and high UV index environments, they actually undergo a transformation to where they become photo carcinogens.

[00:25:42] Zaid K. Dahhaj: And obviously that's not a good thing. Not only do they become photo carcinogens when you introduce them onto the skin barrier and they interact with the sun, they also create this runaway phenomenon of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, which creates oxidative damage, which is the hallmark of cancer.

[00:26:02] Zaid K. Dahhaj: So R os and RNS are things that, they're essentially hormetic signals that the body is designed to use in very limited amounts and within a limited context. But the moment you introduce sunscreen, again, you're breaking apart that hormetic context and you're creating this runaway phenomenon, which leads to, to problems over time and even acute. Outside of that, you have, the fact that it does alter the, the light spectrum from the sun. You know, I've talked crap about low emission glass and how that can actually, interfere with how the skin barrier is supposed to work. But sunscreen, in my opinion, does many of the same things. So you're blocking UVA and UVB.

[00:26:40] Zaid K. Dahhaj: You are, there are infrared blocking sunscreen options these days, which, you know, if you look through the literature on infrared. It is one of the most powerfully healing and regenerative light wavelengths around. I mean, you quite literally cannot find any negative evidence on infrared. That's how powerful it is.

[00:26:58] Zaid K. Dahhaj: And so why would you wanna block that? Doesn't make any sense. And then you have the fact that most sunscreens don't actually block blue. They don't consider blue light, which is a short wavelength, high energy input that gets through the skin barrier. And so if you start to mess around with the full spectrum as the, the skin was designed to receive it, then you create these third order, second and third order consequences to where you can create problems.

[00:27:23] Zaid K. Dahhaj: So melanocytes, for example, the skin, the cells that are designed to create melanin are designed to do different things at different times of day. If you're blocking UVA and UVB, you're not giving melanocytes the signal. To create more melanin, which is a hormetic benefit. and then you also create other consequences on the backend leading into the nighttime and whatnot.

[00:27:42] Zaid K. Dahhaj: Carat, cytes, same thing. you know, the production of collagen, elastin, hyaluronic acid is something to consider as well. The human body is, is really incredible in its ability to, to handle hormetic stress. I mean, that's what it's designed to do. And so these are all things we need to consider, again, blocking of of UVB, which blocks vitamin D three production.

[00:28:03] Zaid K. Dahhaj: No wonder everyone is vitamin D three deficient, even if they're sunbathing with sunscreen on. And, I'm trying to think if there's anything else. I think those are the main things that really, that provide us more informed consent, because if you go to your dermatologist or ophthalmologist, they're not gonna tell you about any of this stuff because they don't know about it.

[00:28:21] Zaid K. Dahhaj: And I think that's really a, a manifestation of. A Rockefeller medicine inspired education style, but either way, I think we wanna avoid sunscreen, and on the backend of that, we have circadian replacements that we can talk about as well.

[00:28:35] Iris Josephina: Yeah. So what, what are the alternatives or, or even alternative behaviors that you recommend for, protecting, can I say protecting our skin or supporting our skin? Mm-hmm.

[00:28:49] Zaid K. Dahhaj: Sure. So I think supporting is, is probably a more accurate, wor accurate word because the, the protection against UV still, it still upholds the, the narrative that UV is inherently damaging. So it's definitely a good distinction there.

[00:29:01] Iris Josephina: Mm-hmm. Yeah. So what? What could we do to support our bodies for optimal signaling and optimal receiving for the whole spectrum of light that is supporting our health?

[00:29:16] Zaid K. Dahhaj: So this is the magic I think, of circadian alignment. It's that everything works together, and so sunrise, midday, nighttime, all of these things work together to do very specific. Jobs, for the benefit of your health. And so if we think about morning time from an ancestral perspective, you know, our ancestors has had most of their skin exposed.

[00:29:36] Zaid K. Dahhaj: am sunlight is rich in red and infrared. I mean, I think it makes up a around 80 plus percent of the spectrum at that time. Re red and infrared from a scientific perspective, create collagen, elastin, hyaluronic acid within the skin barrier. These are the youthful skin components that everyone raves about.

[00:29:53] Zaid K. Dahhaj: , so there we go. You have a, a replacement for essentially every skin product that is designed to do those things as well. The spectrum rich and red and infrared also stimulates hyaluronic or stimulates RIN and ucan acid. These are skin proteins that are moisturizing of the skin barrier, protective as well.

[00:30:11] Zaid K. Dahhaj: And mo most importantly, red and infrared also have an SPF factor to them, I think around SPF 15. So the morning time from my perspective, is to awaken the system, especially the skin barrier, and it's supposed to prime your skin for upcoming UV light. So that's really where I, I want to have most people focus their energy on first.

[00:30:31] Zaid K. Dahhaj: So at least 30 minutes of full, full body exposure to that spectrum. This will change depending on the season and and latitude. So for me, it's like, I think Daybreaks around like 5:45 AM that's when first light comes out. Sunrise is officially at like what, 6 35, something like that. And that's where I have most of my skin exposed.

[00:30:52] Zaid K. Dahhaj: No sunglasses, no sunscreen, no contacts, prescription glasses. None of that stuff because we want raw. Full spectrum sunlight onto the body. And then as you head into UVA Rise, which happens typically an hour after sunrise, that also provides unique benefits for mental health and whatnot, hormone production.

[00:31:10] Zaid K. Dahhaj: But you, you essentially wanna get most of your skin exposed to UVA rise as well. That will help with priming the skin for upcoming UVB. So all of these things are designed to be received in in Synchrony, and there's a progression to it now when you head into the midday where you have UVA and UVB available with the rest of the spectrum. That's where I want people to treat it, like exercise. So we have to think in the perspec from the standpoint of progressive overload, meaning you warm up to a stressor or before a stressor, you introduce a given stressor and then you recover from it. And so from my standpoint, morning sunlight is the warmup.

[00:31:49] Zaid K. Dahhaj: Midday sunbathing is the training session, and then the nighttime is the recovery phase. So you really have to go slow and, and start with this progressive mindset, especially if you're lighter skinned, especially if you have any. You know, chronic skin manifestation like vitiligo or hyperpigmentation, and it's, it's more so a game of consistency, not intensity.

[00:32:13] Zaid K. Dahhaj: When we're talking about midday sunbathing for some people might be two minutes for some people, 10 for others who are darker skinned, it could be 30 minutes out the gate. Either way, that's the kind of mindset I want people to have. And then heading into, you know, nighttime, that's where we, we go into dark mode.

[00:32:29] Zaid K. Dahhaj: That's where the, the skin regenerates itself. That's where you actually take advantage of the hormetic stressor. in the same way that when you exercise, you're not actually building muscle during the exercise session. You're building muscle when you're asleep. And so that's kind of how I want people to frame it in their minds

[00:32:45] Iris Josephina: I love that it's such a good comparison because people understand what exercise means and that you have to like, prepare and then work out and then recover and stretch. Thank you. That's a good, good example. And when you mentioned earlier getting exposed to early sunlight, you mentioned. Don't wear glasses.

[00:33:04] Iris Josephina: No contacts at contacts and no sunglasses. Can you speak to how sunglasses can potentially, or, or actually interfere with the brain's ability to register day and night and what ripple effects that could have like on the whole entire system?

[00:33:25] Zaid K. Dahhaj: So let's start with first principle, circadian biology. How the body actually works, especially the eyes. The eyes contain, I mean, first of all, the eyes are. Or circadian organ that are directly tied to the brain. I mean, there's no, there's no disconnect between the eyes, brain, and the skin. That's what people call NeuroDerm.

[00:33:43] Zaid K. Dahhaj: Basically, all three of those things are, are made of the same skin tissue when you are an embryo in your mother's womb. And so following that logic, we have to understand that the, the eyes contain mitochondria. Circadian controlled light sensing organelles that dictate function and repair and whatnot.

[00:34:00] Zaid K. Dahhaj: They contain options or non-visual photoreceptors, light sensing proteins, and then they contain melanin, which is a light sensing electromagnetic biological polymer. That is incredible. And, and, you know, we can dive into the specifics on that as well, but more specifically, you have these intrinsically photo sensitive retinal ganglion cells within the eyes that have melanopsin the blue light sensor.

[00:34:22] Zaid K. Dahhaj: And so when you get full spectrum sunlight into the eyes, you're sending the correct signal to the correct part of the the body, the SCN, the master circadian clock, which then gets relayed to all peripheral clocks, creating circadian alignment. And so if you put sunglasses on, you're blocking that circadian signal.

[00:34:41] Zaid K. Dahhaj: First and foremost, and you're creating many different consequences as a result of blocking that initial signal. And so that can manifest in many different ways. I mean, light sensitivity is something I've seen a lot of people who, you know, regardless of whether they're light, they have light eyes, dark eyes.

[00:34:59] Zaid K. Dahhaj: Ultimately, they, they are very sensitive to full spectrum sunlight and high lux or light intensity. Lo and behold, when I put people on a circadian framework and they start to implement these things, remove the sunglasses, watch sunrise, light sensitivity goes away completely. For some people, it takes a little bit of time.

[00:35:16] Zaid K. Dahhaj: Others, it happens very quickly. But this notion that people with blue eyes are just somehow more inherently prone to damage from peripheral UV is just not true. Not true at all. Glare is a different thing. Staring at the sun is a very different thing, so I'm not talking about those, those aspects. And then, you have other things like, and, and also to tie into the light sensitivity.

[00:35:39] Zaid K. Dahhaj: The reason why people experience that consequence is because Melanopsin is designed to work with the production of dopamine in the retina. Both of those things need full spectrum sunlight and high luxe to actually make, the process of photo adaptation. Photo adaptation is just. Describing your ability for your eyes to adapt to different light levels in the environment.

[00:36:03] Zaid K. Dahhaj: And so it makes sense from a first principle's perspective. Then you have the, the consequence of burning, which I've heard a lot of. I mean, if you block, UV light. From getting into the eyes peripherally by using sunglasses, then you prevent the pro Opio Melanocortin system. Pomc system from producing the very peptide hormones that are needed to make melanin.

[00:36:23] Zaid K. Dahhaj: So alpha beta gamma, MSH Melanocyte stimulating hormones. These are peptide hormones that are, that need UV light as a signal to start the process of melanin production. Lo and behold, melanin is. The ultimate photo protection method. And so if, if you block yourself from producing melanin, you open the door wide open for burns.

[00:36:43] Zaid K. Dahhaj: And I've seen that time and time again, and I've also seen people remove the sunglasses. Lo and behold, they don't burn at all. I think there are other consequences, but that's a, a pretty good rundown of why we want to avoid the use of sunglasses. And there are only limited scenarios where sunglasses use are. Granted. Let's say when there's high glare, if you're at high altitude, if you're skiing, if you're on the water, and there's glare present, I think that's a valuable use of them. And then if it's like sunrise, sunset, and you literally can't see the road when you're driving, obviously use them. I mean, you don't want to kill yourself or other people.

[00:37:16] Zaid K. Dahhaj: So consider those things.

[00:37:19] Iris Josephina: And for people who are always used to wearing sunglasses, would you say that there is, Like a transition period where they could potentially use different types of glasses, like the red glasses, the orange glasses, the yellow glasses to like transition off of their sunglasses? Or is that something that you would say like, nah, just raw dog, your sunrise?

[00:37:44] Zaid K. Dahhaj: Yeah, I would say, it's a very good question actually, 'cause I've never had this asked before, but I think. With the, the blue blockers, you want to use them at night, that will actually help you transition from this experience of light sensitivity because ultimately the nighttime's very important for the, the eyes as well in circadian alignment.

[00:38:02] Zaid K. Dahhaj: So it definitely ties in there. You wanna strictly use the either orange or red, blue blockers after nightfall. But when it comes to, use of sunglasses during the daytime, you don't wanna use any of that. And so you want raw, full spectrum sunlight that provides high luxe. Without contacts, without prescription glasses, anything that.

[00:38:20] Zaid K. Dahhaj: Basically creates a, a distorted spectrum from the sun. And so this is what's great about circadian alignment and the principles is that you knock out many birds with one stone. So when you're out there sunbathing and priming the skin for UV the form of sunbathing, you're also creating the conditions for you to solve light sensitivity by just being out there.

[00:38:41] Zaid K. Dahhaj: And so that's what I really love about this work is that you can, basically create a system where all of these things cease to become a problem and you can focus on the really, the really big levers that give you the most, output. So that's, that's a really cool thing in my mind.

[00:38:58] Iris Josephina: I have another question pop up just because we're talking about it, but I dunno whether you're gonna know the answer, but I'm just curious. People who have been wearing like prescription glasses for their entire life. Are very used to having them on and maybe even need them to just navigate life. When these people just go outside, is their circadian clock more distorted just because they wear their glasses?

[00:39:27] Iris Josephina: Is that something that you've seen or is that something that is known about?

[00:39:33] Zaid K. Dahhaj: I, I would say so. I think if we're looking even at prescription lenses, they will distort the full spectrum and so they will create these second and third order consequences when we're talking about light into the eyes peripherally. Because if you look back at like, let's say the early 19 hundreds.

[00:39:48] Zaid K. Dahhaj: You have the work of, professor Fritz Ho, which who is a German ophthalmologist. He studied this direct endocrine connection between light into the eyes and then changes in melatonin, cortisol, estradiol, so forth. And so you don't want anything filtering that, that full spectrum. He more so studied the effects of light as it relates to cataracts, and so because cataracts block a substantial amount of the spectrum.

[00:40:12] Zaid K. Dahhaj: They block a substantial amount of the endocrine effects that the body experiences. And so when you remove the cataracts and human beings and other species, he noticed these changes, very often and and very precisely. And so with prescription glasses, I think you need to set aside some time, whether it's 20, 30 minutes to do absolutely nothing, because if you can't see, well, then obviously you need sight to do things.

[00:40:34] Zaid K. Dahhaj: So sit down and share sunbathe, take off those prescription glasses and have bare eyes in the game. And then that, that's a actually what will allow you to start the process of circadian eyesight regeneration, which is an entirely different rabbit hole. But I, I think based off the evidence and based off of anecdotal stories that people have told me, you can create.

[00:40:56] Zaid K. Dahhaj: An improvement in your eyesight. And you know, for me, I have 2016 eyesight. my father had macular degeneration. He actually wanted to be a pilot, but that stopped him from being that. And my mom still needs, reading glasses to this day. So it's not a game of genetics outside of the rare circumstances.

[00:41:13] Zaid K. Dahhaj: it's a game of epigenetics and circadian alignment in understanding these things.

[00:41:17] Iris Josephina: This is wild that you're saying that because I used to experience like a mild form of night blindness when I would be driving and I would literally. Have difficulty seeing on the road, and I use glasses for that. But ever since I started, like my circadian protocols, I don't need my glasses anymore to drive at night.

[00:41:36] Iris Josephina: 'cause my eyes just, yeah, my eyes just adjusted to the, the consistent circadian practice.

[00:41:44] Zaid K. Dahhaj: Yeah, it is pretty incredible how many different, like. Examples people will give me and they'll send me a DM about that, for example. Or, and, and I think that's a testament to the power of creating systemic circadian alignment, is that again, you're setting everything right from, from, you know, ocular tissue to car cytes in the skin, to melanocytes.

[00:42:03] Zaid K. Dahhaj: and so there are going to be many benefits that come with just focusing on the, the basic principles involved here.

[00:42:10] Iris Josephina: Yeah. Oh my God, this is all so cool. Like why aren't we learning this all in school? Imagine that we would have like small kids from start of school onwards, like having their circadian, little circadian cues that they have to do. Like how awesome would that be?

[00:42:26] Zaid K. Dahhaj: Oh yeah. And, and there's a lot to discuss on that end too with children. I mean, even from the eyesight perspective, violet light from the sun actually stops myopia progression altogether. By activating a gene in human beings known as the EEG one gene. And so it's no wonder why kids in a classroom have higher rates of myopia compared to kids who spend a couple hours outside.

[00:42:48] Zaid K. Dahhaj: I think that that sort of stuff makes all the difference, and I do think we have to kind of, you know, move the tide or, or change the narrative to where we can implement these things systemically.

[00:42:57] Iris Josephina: Yeah, I agree especially with, you know, what society looks like right now and what people are struggling and also suffering with. Like so many people are suffering and struggling with so many things with their health and. I personally believe it's because we decided we're gonna sit in closed off cubicles and artificial light with blue light in our faces.

[00:43:20] Iris Josephina: I mean, it's not just the blue light of our computer in our eyes, but also entering our skin that disrupts like so many things. People don't think about that. Could you maybe talk about that a little bit before we close off? Like how blue light is not just a blue light in your eyes, but your skin also perceives it.

[00:43:39] Zaid K. Dahhaj: Yeah, sure thing. again, tying back into the whole NeuroDerm discussion, we have to think about the eyes, brain, and skin as one circadian unit. It's one trio that cannot be disconnected, and think about it like three legs to a stool. If you don't have one of the legs outta the three, you don't have a stool anymore.

[00:43:59] Zaid K. Dahhaj: So the, the problem that I have with things like sunscreen or sunglasses or contacts, even tanning beds, which provide isolated uv, is that it, it mixes up the circadian signaling of these three light sensing mechanisms. So for me, I think the skin is a very unique. Organ because not only is it, you know, not only does it absorb various things that you put onto it, not only does it.

[00:44:24] Zaid K. Dahhaj: Perform different functions like make melatonin and cortisol and whatnot because it directly ties into the brain. it also senses light fundamentally. And so if you look at the skin barrier from a scientific standpoint, from the, at the very top, the epidermis, then you go to the dermis, then you go to the very base layer.

[00:44:41] Zaid K. Dahhaj: Base layer, which is the hypodermis. Every aspect of those layers contains these non-visual opsin or light sensing proteins from melanopsin to neuro opsin, which is a UV light sensor to ence, opsin rho opsin. It's incredible how sophisticated the system is, but all that to say. That your skin is also, it's just as important as your eyes when it comes to circadian signaling.

[00:45:05] Zaid K. Dahhaj: So that's why we want skin in the game when you're outside for sunrise or midday sunbathing. That's why we wanna cover our skin with a basic layer of clothing at night to protect our skin from being influenced by isolated blue or green light wavelengths because that will disrupt, melatonin to a certain degree.

[00:45:23] Zaid K. Dahhaj: It will raise cortisol. And so these are all things we wanna think about. Again, the science can get very complex, but the action steps are very simple and straightforward. I mean, to the point where people think you're almost dumb by mentioning these things, but you know, it's, it's sounds stupidly simple, but it's very, very sophisticated how, how it all works.

[00:45:42] Iris Josephina: Yeah. Is there any like specific fabric that you would recommend to wear at night?

[00:45:48] Zaid K. Dahhaj: More natural fabrics. So I mean, cotton wool, you know, I mean there's a whole discussion between, microplastics and all these non-native fabrics, for lack of a better word. I think that's a very big thing, but that can definitely influence body temperature, skin temperature, which is also tying into.

[00:46:05] Zaid K. Dahhaj: Circadian signaling, like for example, if you get too hot during the nighttime, that will impact sleep fundamentally because it's impacting the, the circadian system. and so yeah, definitely go for those more natural alternatives.

[00:46:18] Iris Josephina: Cool. If we are like going to close off our conversation, are there any topics or any tips or is there any wisdom that you would really love for people to know when it comes to circadian biology?

[00:46:34] Zaid K. Dahhaj: I've been very fascinated by, These sort of odd manifestations like hyperpigmentation, melasma, vitiligo. I think these, these are all things that can be very well explained through the circadian perspective. And so if you're somebody who's dealing with anything like that, then my substack definitely does a deep dive on that.

[00:46:52] Zaid K. Dahhaj: My second to last article talks a lot about it, but there's a reason why you experience that sort of manifestation and. More importantly, there's a circadian fix for it. And so the morning sunbathing, the, the midday progressive dose of of UVA and UVB, the nighttime, I've seen people recover from these sort of manifestations.

[00:47:12] Zaid K. Dahhaj: So it is possible, I think it's, you're not, you know, hope is not lost. You just need to be educated in the right manner and, and ultimately put these things into practice. But that's something I see a lot of, and I would like people to solve those problems.

[00:47:25] Iris Josephina: Amazing. Thank you so much for making time to come on here for all your wisdom and your. Passion and your dedication to this field if people want to learn more. You already mentioned you're a substack. Where can people find you? What is the place or the places?

[00:47:40] Zaid K. Dahhaj: Yeah, so I had Zaid K. Dahhaj, Z-A-I-D-K-D-A-H-H-A-J. And then I'm basically on X Instagram, Substack. the circadian classroom is the publication on Substack. And then, What else? The 2:00 AM podcast is also a very interesting deep dive. Sounds kind of contradictory because it's 2:00 AM but we don't actually record at that time.

[00:48:02] Zaid K. Dahhaj: But it's a very eclectic style podcast and so we bring on different people to have good discussions. But either way, that's, that's pretty much where they can find me.

[00:48:11] Iris Josephina: Cool. I'll make sure to paste all of that in the show notes. And yeah, thank you so much for making time coming on and

[00:48:21] Zaid K. Dahhaj: was a fun time.

[00:48:22] Iris Josephina: Okay, this wraps up today's episode. Thank you so much for listening. Want to know more about me? The best way to reach me is via at Cycle Seeds on Instagram, and if you heard something today and you think, oh my God, wow, I learned something new. Feel free to share the podcast on your social media and tag me or leave a review of rating.

[00:48:44] Iris Josephina: In this way, you help me reach more people like you. Thank you so much. I.

About the Host

I’m Iris Josephina:functional hormone specialist, orthomolecular hormone coach, and entrepreneur. Through Cycle Seeds and The Inner Rhythms Podcast, I support people in reconnecting with their cyclical nature, deepening body literacy, and reclaiming hormonal harmony from a place of sovereignty and embodied knowledge. Most people know me from Instagram, where I share stories, tools, and inspiration on cyclical living, menstrual cycles, fertility, hormones and more.

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