If the covid19 pandemic has though us one thing, it is that most people have substandard immune systems. One of main causes behind that are deficiencies or insufficiency in Vitamin D. Although not truly a vitamin, it functions more as a hormone and is responsible for a whole host of immune functions and other critical aspects of your body.

One of the critical functions that need sun exposure and Vitamin D is sleep. On the podcast episode with Joe Rogan and Why We Sleep author Matthew Walker, Vitamin D deficiency was a key cause of circadian issues.

Almost 70% of the population of the United States had levels below 30ng/ml. To put that in perspective, we need to maintain levels between 40 to 60 ng/ml for optimal function. The rest of the world is no better, coming in at an average of 20 ng/ml.

To understand why people don’t have enough, or even critically low levels of Vitamin D, you need to look at what a typical modern lifestyle looks like. The 9 to 5 day job keeps people seated indoors the entire day, with almost no exposure to the sun, our primary source of Vitamin D. Then, when people do venture out, for a day at the beach, or even to the park, they lather on the sunscreen, killing almost any benefit of the sun exposure.

Supplementation is the only way to keep levels high in the absence of sunlight. Look at Dr Rhonda Patrick’s supplement list and you will see Vitamin D as a key component of her supplementation strategy.