PORTLAND, Ore. ( KOIN ) — The sun’s angle is changing around Portland and that will impact the body’s response in the months to come.
Days are getting shorter and night are getting longer as Portland dives deeper into the fall season. The biggest visible change is Portland’s sunrise and sunset time times. Over the course of October, Portland will lose around 91 minutes of light. This lack of of daylight can jumpstart some individual’s Seasonal Affective Disorder .
In addition to mental health, the sun’s angle can also impact one’s physical health. According to the Science Learning Hub Organization , the body’s ability to absorb vitamin D is impacted by the changing sun angle. “Vitamin D is made when UV (more precisely, UVB rays) react with a compound (7-dehydrocholesterol) in the skin,” explained the Science Learning Hub.
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They went on to explain that sun “angles greater than 45° above the horizon (at sea level), vitamin D production will be occurring, although some recent research suggests that vitamin D production may occur at angles as low as 30°.”