At nearly 63, Liz Earle is making the rest of us quietly reconsider our life choices, in the best possible way. Well known as the co-founder of the hugely successful natural skincare brand Liz Earle Beauty Co., as well as a respected author and wellbeing advocate, she’s built a career on championing healthy, holistic living. Glowing, energetic, and brimming with common sense, she’s long been a friend of Woman Alive (along with her daughter Lily).
I recently heard her on the Happy Place podcast with Ferne Cotton talking about her latest book How to Age Well. One comment really stuck with me, Liz said she could have written an entire book just on sunlight. Not supplements, not serums, but sunlight as it has such a momentus impact on our health.
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Apparently, sunlight does far more than just give us a healthy glow or a vitamin D boost.
She explained sunlight does far more than just give us a healthy glow or a vitamin D boost. It helps regulate our circadian rhythm, basically telling our bodies when to wake up, wind down, and everything in between. And then there are our mitochondria (stay with me), the tiny powerhouses inside our cells that turn food into energy. They respond to natural light in ways that help our bodies function better, fight inflammation, and keep our energy levels steady. In short, we were designed to live in the light.
And here’s a small case study from my own life: I have two ten month old dachshund puppies who consider dawn a perfectly reasonable time to begin the day. The upside? Early morning sunlight is particularly rich in red and near-infrared wavelengths, which gently signal to our bodies that it’s time to wake up, helping to reset our internal clocks, lift mood, and support cellular energy production. I may not always appreciate the enthusiasm of my four-legged alarm clocks, but it turns out those bleary-eyed walks are doing me far more good than I realised.
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Which makes it slightly ironic that so many of us spend our days bathed in the faintly depressing flicker of fluorescent lighting, only to scroll our evenings away indoors. Liz gently points out that this lack of real daylight could be quietly undermining our health, affecting everything from our sleep to our mood. It’s not exactly a guilt trip, but it is a bit of a nudge: maybe step outside before reaching for another coffee?
And here’s where I couldn’t help but see a deeper thread. Because the Bible has quite a lot to say about light too. “The Lord is my light and my salvation” (Psalm 27:1) feels suddenly less abstract when you’ve been thinking about how much you actually need light to function. Or “Your word is a lamp for my feet” (Psalm 119:105), guidance, clarity, direction. And then there’s Jesus’ beautiful statement: “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12).
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It does make you wonder: if our bodies physically need light to thrive, might our souls need it just as much?
It does make you wonder: if our bodies physically need light to thrive, might our souls need it just as much? Not in a vague, poetic sense, but in a very real, daily way. Just as missing sunlight can leave us sluggish and out of sync, neglecting time with God can leave us feeling a bit… dimmed.
Liz Earle may have been talking about health, but there’s something holistic about her message. Get outside. Notice the light. Let it do its work in your body. And while you’re at it, turn your face, however tentatively, towards the Light of the world too.
So here’s a challenge (for me as much as you): tomorrow morning, before emails or errands or the general rush of life, step outside. Breathe. Look up. And maybe whisper a quick prayer while you’re there. It turns out that ageing well, and living well, might start with something as simple, and as profound, as stepping into the light.
