How Sunlight Deficiency Destroys Your Health - With Dr. Alexis Cowan

The Model Health Show

Shawn Stevenson

Fitness, Health & Fitness, Motivation, Wellness, Nutrition, Health, Sex, Selfhelp

4.8 • 7.2K Ratings

🗓️ 12 November 2025

⏱️ 91 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

We all know that essential inputs like diet and movement can make a huge difference in how you feel on a day-to-day basis. But have you ever thought about how light can impact your health? Today, you’re going to learn the fascinating science of different light spectrums—including the ones present in sunlight and artificial light—and how they can improve or degrade your health. On this episode of The Model Health Show, you’re going to learn about light and circadian biology from Princeton-trained PhD, Dr. Alexis Cowan. Dr. Cowan is passionate about helping folks harness the powerful science of light, biophysics, and mitochondrial biology to optimize their health and performance. You’re going to learn about why sunlight is essential for human health, what non-native EMFs are and how they impact your biology, and the relationship between light and mitochondria. This episode is packed with mind-blowing science that you can use to uplevel your health immediately. I hope you enjoy this interview with Dr. Alexis Cowan! In this episode you’ll discover: What circadian biology is. (5:04) The primary timekeepers for circadian biology. (5:40) How blue light from your devices affects your health. (6:52) The relationship between sunlight, melatonin, and cortisol. (7:17) What to consider about how your windows filter sunlight. (9:12) Why total brightness matter for human biology. (12:06) The fascinating connection between light and hunger. (18:57) What melanin does in your body. (27:18) How red light therapy impacts mitochondria. (34:50) The surprising science of how darkness regulates your biology. (40:48) A conversation on radiofrequencies. (42:13) Realistic ways to reduce your exposure to EMFs. (47:18) The shocking truth about EMFs in electric cars. (50:48) Why grounding is a powerful way to improve your health. (1:03:13) How to maximize the benefits of exercising outdoors. (1:20:23) Items mentioned in this episode include: WildPastures.com/model - Get 20% off every box plus an additional $15 off! Piquelife.com/model - Get exclusive savings on bundles & subscriptions! QuantumU - Save $100 on Dr. Cowan’s course using code SHAWN! Quantum Health by Dr. Alexis Cowan - Get your copy of the eBook! The Mitochondriac’s Travel Companion - Get your copy of the travel eBook! The Incubator - Subscribe to Dr. Cowan’s book club! Connect with Dr. Alexis Cowan Email / Podcast / Instagram / X This episode of The Model Health Show is brought to you by Wild Pastures and Pique. Get 100% grassfed and finished beef, pasture raised chicken, and other nutrient dense, regenerative meats. Sign up with my link to get 20% of for life, plus an additional $15 off your first box at wildpastures.com/model. Go to Piquelife.com/model for exclusive savings on bundles & subscriptions on cutting-edge solutions for your head-to-toe health and beauty transformation.

Transcript

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0:00.0	You are now listening to The Model Health Show with Sean Stevenson. For more, visit themodelhealthshow.com.
0:09.9	Prepare to have your mind blown. My mind was, I didn't even know you can have your mind blown
0:15.7	multiple times. So I have my mind blown. I grabbed it back, put it, and it got blown again.
0:21.8	This guest today, our expert, is going to detail the impact of something that is hidden in
0:27.9	plain sight that can radically improve your health or radically degrade and even destroy your
0:34.5	health if you are unaware. She's a Princeton trained PhD with a specialty in metabolism and mitochondrial biology
0:43.5	and the intersection with that and physics and light.
0:50.8	Now listen, this episode is where we have to really tune in, get our thinking caps on,
0:56.5	and follow along in these details. She's going to go deep, all right, and really unpack how
1:02.7	a lot of this stuff works with our biology and circadian biology in particular. And she's going to be
1:09.1	talking about the impact of light on our physiology,
1:12.4	but not only that, forms of light that we don't think about. When we hear terms like electromagnetic
1:19.9	fields or EMFs, radio waves, we don't think in terms of light, but she's going to detail
1:27.4	how and why those are some of the most
1:32.1	concerning spectrums of light for us to be aware of.
1:36.7	And so we're going to be talking about how light impacts our hunger and satiety, how light impacts
1:44.0	our melatonin production, like light triggering or
1:50.1	increasing melatonin production, which we generally attribute melatonin to all things sleep-related.
1:57.0	So how can light, and there's a very specific form of light that can increase our
2:03.6	melatonin production. And with that being said, we're going to be looking at a potential deficiency
2:08.2	that you might have in light in a very specific form of light yet again and how it can absolutely
2:15.3	transform your health by utilizing it. And as mentioned, we're going to be
	...

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