Book review by Grace Filby, Designs For Wellbeing
www.relax-well.co.uk

'The Light Revolution, Health, Architecture and the Sun' by Richard Hobday PhD (Findhorn Press Ltd. Price:£9.99) ISBN: 1844090876



In this new book Richard Hobday, also author of ‘The Healing Sun’, admirably introduces us to his expert knowledge of how ancient Egyptians and Roman city planners made full use of their understanding of sunlight to promote good public health and specifically to prevent ill-health. He takes us step by step, in layman’s language but with thoroughness and a gentle sense of humour, through the more recent historical evidence from the nineteenth century. At that time amidst the new industrial squalor and polluted Victorian cities, scientists, writers, nurses, doctors, philanthropists, architects and all were announcing to the world that sunlight is vital as a disinfectant, restoring very sick patients to good health as well as strengthening the immune system and significantly controlling our physical and emotional wellbeing. It was common knowledge that sunlight is the best disinfectant. In those days the great public health challenges for which sunlight provided a ready answer were infected wounds, pain management and melancholia. Rickets and TB were soon to be identified as preventable and treatable with solar therapy.

The real punch to this book is what has gone badly wrong in the last hundred years or so. Whilst building technology and modern medicine have advanced immeasurably, the necessary skills and art of harnessing the sun’s power for health have been overlooked. Much of the painstaking research and pioneering achievements have been “airbrushed out” of the medical books and courses in architecture - all but forgotten. The human basic biological need for sunlight is not only being ignored and neglected. We can ask ourselves – is it even being denied – cavalier-style - by the government agencies and medical experts whose job it is to protect the nation’s health?

The author advises us that there is now enough evidence of a link between vitamin D deficiency and the modern ills of cancer, coronary heart disease, diabetes, obesity, depression and numerous others. He calls for health campaigns to actively promote sunbathing, and inform the public of the best ways of doing this safely. 

It is emphasised, loud and clear, that a consequence of 20th century antibiotics has been a complacent, over-relaxed attitude to infections. Thankfully, we are given a simple example of some research dating back to 1944 showing that dust on or near the windows was consistently germ-free. Yes, in sunlight, the bacteria are destroyed and the principle is simple enough for a child to understand.

An excellent book for the new year.

3 page review: