EQUINOX IS A HEALTH & LIGHTING DEVICE THAT BRINGS THE SUN INSIDE
Equinox optimizes human health by creating an electromagnetic energy environment similar to the one humans and their ancestors evolved within for millions of years.
If we don’t live our lives outside anymore, we must bring the sun inside to create the energy environment we need to maintain our health.
The EQUINOX Solar Spectrum Radiation Device is unique since no other device currently exist that provides the entire solar spectrum as the sun throws it upon Earth (AM1-AM3.8) in-sync with your location and the time of the day/year.
The EQUINOX is foremost a health device to create an energy environment to optimize our lives but it can also be used as a lighting device to replace regular lamps in your living space.
LIGHT IS THE ANIMATING FORCE OF LIFE
YOUR ENERGY ENVIROMENT IS THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT TO LIVING A HEALTHY LIFE
NOT SLEEP, NOT NUTRITION, NOT EXERCISE, NOTHING ELSE IS AS IMPORTANT THAN THE ELECTROMAGNETIC ENERGY PROVIDED BY THE SUN*
* Sleep, nutrition, exercise and other variables are an important part of a healthy lifestyle but the most important variable that influences your health is the electromagnetic energy environment you are exposed to.
HUMAN PERFORMANCE OPTIMATIZATION STARTS WITH LIGHT
Solar energy is essential for human well-being, and it is well-documented that sun avoidance increases all-cause mortality rates. With the introduction of Artificial Light At Night (ALAN), and the resulting avoidance of sunlight, our overall health has declined.
Humans and our primal ancestors have evolved living outdoors under the sun for millions of years. Although humans moved inside for some periods during the day within the last few thousand years, it was the introduction of the light bulb in 1879 that marked a decline in human health due to exposure to artificial light, both during the day and especially at night.
All living things need the sun’s energy to function at their fullest potential. New discoveries published in peer reviewed studies, within the last decades, have shown that different wavelengths produce different effects on our psychology and physiology. Our bodies have many “light sensors” in our eyes, skin, gut, etc., that are excited by light. For instance, aromatic amino acids like histidine, phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan, are excited by a specific wavelength with absorption peaks in the UV range that start the entrainment processes to produce neurotransmitters, hormones and regulate our circadian clocks.
It can be assumed that we will discover more light-sensitive molecules which are currently unknown to mankind, but what we already do know is that the absence of sunlight prevents humans from living healthy lives to their fullest potential and the lack of a balanced solar spectrum, in sync with our circadian rhythm, will wreak havoc on our health. Conditions are made worse by exposing ourselves to artificial light since it starts the wrong entrainment process at the wrong time and leads to health issues.
OUR EYES AND SKIN ARE SOLAR PANELS
IF THEY GET CHARGED CORRECTLY, THEY WILL POWER YOUR BODY AND OPTIMIZE YOUR HEALTH
The eye is not only a camera providing vision, it lets in light to “feed” two pathways: Visual and non-visual. 75% of the light entering your eye is not for seeing but for regulating life sustaining functions.
Photosensitive molecules
Photosensitive molecules in the skin include biomolecules, endogenous chromophores, pigments and opsins
Opsins are proteins that are light-sensitive and convert a photon of light into an electrochemical signal. Opsins bind to light-reactive chemicals to underlie vision, phototaxis, circadian rhythms, and other light-mediated responses of organisms.
Many of theses photosensitive molecules , such as the aromatic amino acids. are exited (activated) by wavelengths in the UV range! others, like melanopsin in the eye and skin, are exited by the Blue light wavelengths to regulate the internal clocks.
Cytochrome C Oxidase in the respiratory chain absorbs red (620 and 630nm) and NIR (760 and 850nm) light to optimize ATP production.
Health effects of sunlight on the body
Sunlight starts the entrainment process of many neurotransmitters and hormones (Vitamin D, Serotonin, Dopamine, Endorphins, Adrenaline, Melatonin, etc.) by exiting light-sensitive molecules (Opsins) in our body.
This will lead to many health benefits such as:
- Sunlight regulates Circadian Rhythms
- Sunlight bolsters the immune system
- Sunlight produces a drop in blood sugar equal to insulin
- Sunlight improves blood flow and lowers blood pressure
- Sunlight improves sleep
- Sunlight relaxes the nervous system
- Sunlight lowers inflammation
- Sunlight can treat skin conditions
- Sunlight reduces getting all types of cancer by 40%
- Sunlight increases energy levels
- Sunlight improves brain function
- Sunlight is a natural painkiller
- Sunlight charges the EZ water in the cell as a battery
- Sunlight makes you happy, improves your mood
- Many more ……..
VITAMIN D
Off all the hormones we hear a lot about lately, Vitamin D has been in the news constantly since it supports the immune and endocrine function. It provides many other benefits and is essential to the nervous and cardiovascular system.
When skin is exposed to sunlight, cholesterol absorbs UVB, it is photolyzed by UVB to pre-vitamin D3 which is then converted to vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol), then hydroxylated to form 25(OH)D in the liver, then transported to the kidneys where it is converted to the active form of Vitamin D, 1,25(OH)2D (calcitriol).
It is also known that any benefits of sun exposure could not be obtained through dietary vitamin D supplementation alone (Fleury, N. et al, 2016). Orally administered cholecalciferol rapidly accumulates in adipose tissue and it is very slowly released preventing unregulated production of 25(OH)D and it only releases vitamin D during fasting conditions (Razzaque, M, 2016). This means oral vitamin D is not easily utilized by the body. Storage of vitamin D3 in adipose tissue can actually reduce serum bioavailability (Razzaque, M, 2016). Another problem with Vitamin D supplements is that the essential “feed-back” loops are not present and this can cause more issues than the supplementation tries to solve. Most often, vitamin D level testing in the blood only test for the in-active form of D, 25(OH)D and not the active form 1,25 (OH) D which is providing the health benefits.
Vitamin D production from sunlight is well regulated, there are feedback mechanisms to prevent unregulated production in the body. Prolonged exposure of sunlight, unlike excessive consumption of vitamin D supplements, does not induce vitamin D toxicity because the skin has the ability to photo-degrade pre-vitamin D3 and vitamin D3 as it is formed (Razzaque, M, 2016). Sunlight and foods that naturally contain vitamin D (e.g., salmon, mushrooms, etc.) have no side effects unlike supplements. With the exception of food fortified with vitamin D (this is lab-made, synthetic Vitamin D), excessive consumption of dietary vitamin D from natural sources in food is very unlikely to induce vitamin D toxicity (Razzaque, M, 2016).
Therefore, we must create Vitamin D from the sun first, then consume it from foods that naturally contain Vitamin D and only as a last option should we use Vitamin D supplements.
THE SUN REGULATES OUR
CIRCADIAN RHYTHM
The 2017 Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded jointly to Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash and Michael W. Young “for their discoveries of molecular mechanisms controlling the circadian rhythm.”
Light signals received throughout the eyes signal to the master timekeeper in the brain, the suprachiasmic nucleus (SCN), that it is daytime and this regulates time in all the peripheral clocks in the body in order for them to function properly. All cells express genes that are able to keep cellular time, these clock genes regulate gene expression and activity which emphasizes the importance of cells receiving the proper light cues to tell time in order to function optimally.
Decreased sunlight exposure during the daytime can negatively affect circadian rhythms and nocturnal melatonin peak production. Melatonin, the hormone responsible for sleep and many other important functions, is optimally produced from adequate sunlight (peak sensitivity around 480nm, blue light) in the morning and is released in the evening, about 3 hours after the absence of Blue light. This melatonin is created in the pineal gland but it now has been shown that the mitochondria produce melatonin in many cells in quantities which are orders of magnitude higher than that produced in the pineal gland. This subcellular melatonin is consumed locally in response to the free radical density within each cell, in particular in response to Near Infrared (NIR) exposure.
The wrong light at the wrong time will deregulate our circadian rhythm and your body will not function as it was designed to do. Decease, both physically and psychologically, will occur and the only way to fix the problem is not with drugs but by optimizing your energy environment as mother nature intended it to be.
SOLAR SPECTRUM AT AIR MASS 1 (AM 1)
AS THE SUN PROJECTS HER ENERGY AT EARTH”S SEA LEVEL
Electromagnetic (EM) energy traveling from the Sun to Earth encounters Zero Mass. (AM0). Then, some of the EM energy traveling from the top of Earth’s atmosphere to sea-level is absorbed/scattered by the atmosphere. (AM1). When sunlight needs to travel a longer path to reach Earth, more it is absorbed/scattered. (>AM1.5)
The solar spectrum the sun projects upon Earth’s sea-level ranges somewhere from 250 – 3000nm. This covers the UltraViolet (UV), Visible (VIS) and InfraRed (IR) light.
As the image to the left illustrates, the wavelengths within this spectrum do not have the same irradiance (power levels) across the entire spectrum. Different wavelengths have different irradiance levels and it changes throughout the time of the day, the time of the year and the location. These changes are important since they tell the body’s internal clocks what time of the day/season it is and this regulates many processes to sustain life.
The EQUINOX device will simulate the sun’s electromagnetic energy (EM) representing the full solar spectrum measured at earth’s sea level. The device will provide the correct wavelengths (nm), irradiance (W/m2), and illuminance (LUX). The solar spectrum projection of the device is fully automated in accordance with the time of the day, time of the year and location.
SIMULATING THE SUN'S EXACT ENERGY SPECCTRUM IS IMPOSSIBLE
The sun is a G-class II star with a surface temperature of about 5,800 kelvins (K). G stars can experience several different stages, our sun is at her mid-life and the energy she projects constantly changes. These changes occur over billions of years, but some happen within minutes since she “breaths” based upon the fusion inside the core and the flares on the surface.
Therefore, any “artificial” sun created by technology can not mimic the real one because of its complexity. This does not mean that we should not try to come as close as possible.
We at Carturo like to adhere to the “CULT OF THE IMPERFECT”, which stands for: Always strive to give them the third best because the best is impossible, and second best is always too late. Robert Alexander Watson-Watt, a pioneer in the development of radar, was instrumental in creating a system to detect airplanes that many say contributed to the Royal Air Force’s 1940 victory at the Battle of Britain. Explaining the decision to employ the far-from-perfect radar to protect the British shores, Watson-Watt made the above statement and it has since been dubbed: ‘the cult of the imperfect.’ Or as Voltaire stated, “The best is the enemy of the good.”
Our invention to bring the sun inside, albeit not exactly the real thing, will provide great health benefits to humans living indoors. Every device currently on the market, even the circadian lights under the Human Centric Lighting (HCL) movement fall far short of the light (electromagnetic energy) that is needed to provide humans with the correct energy environment we evolved within for millions of years.
BOTTOM-LINE:
WE NEED THE SUN TO LIVE A HEALTHY LIFE
Living indoors under artificial, unbalanced, light is detrimental for our health. There are more than thousands of peer-reviewed studies confirming that “Light Shapes Life”. The right light at the right time will not only prevent diseases but will cure most of them if they persist.
Avoiding sun exposure is a risk factor
for all-cause mortality
HUMAN PERFORMANCE OPTIMATIZATION FOR ATHLETES
According to many peer-reviewed studies, Photobiomodulation (PBM), aka Red-Light Therapy, enhances human performance and speeds-up recovery. The positive effect that red and near-infrared (NIR) light has on the body is well known to athletes and has been called the “legal wonder drug” without side-effects. PBM devices like red-light panels and whole-body red-light therapy beds are in use by numerous professional sport teams, NASA, the department of Defense and many others.
How does light enhance performance? Mitochondria are membrane-bound cell organelles that generate most of the chemical energy needed to power the cell’s biochemical reactions. Certain wavelengths within the red and NIR spectrum target an enzyme, Cytochrome C Oxidase (CCO) in the electron transport chain (ETC), to optimize energy production. Chemical energy produced by the mitochondria is stored in a small molecule called adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Simply stated, the more ATP that is produced, the more energy the muscles have to optimize performance and speed-up recovery. However, the CCO is not the only thing that benefits from red and NIR light, we now know that mitochondrial bound water is also an acceptor of NIR light and the ETC creates, besides ATP, Deuterium Depleted Water (DDW) stored in our cells that act as a battery (energy storage).
But it is not just the red and NIR spectrum of light that regulates how well our body functions and therefore optimizes performance. Other wavelengths within the solar spectrum have benefits to human health and we are learning, within the field of Quantum Biology, that certain wavelengths work in harmony to produce the greatest results and sometimes, they act as an antidote to the potential damaging effect of a singular wavelength on its own. For instance, blue light with a peak around 480nm will excite a photoreceptor (melanopsin) in the retina to regulate the circadian rhythm and also produces melatonin, an extremely important hormone to our health. Therefore, blue light in the eye is essential for our wellbeing but it must happen in the early morning to excite life sustaining processes, mostly related to our circadian rhythm. The full solar spectrum in the morning includes this blue light but it also includes wavelengths within the red and NIR spectrum. Blue light on its own is a “stressor” and causes damage to our health, especially in the evening since it suppresses the release of melatonin needed to fall asleep and for mitochondrial homeostasis. Red and NIR light is a “healer” and offsets the negative effects of the blue light by itself. Humans need full spectrum sunlight to take advantage of all the benefits and to avoid the detrimental effects a singular wavelength could have.
EXERCISING UNDER BLUE LIGHT INHIBITS PERFORMANCE GAINS
LED lights have become de facto standard lighting source everywhere and while they offer many benefits, they are, in most cases, detrimental to our health. The white light they produce, includes a lot of blue light and this stimulates the production of [chronic] cortisol. Cortisol is known as a stress hormone (catabolic) and causes protein in muscle to break down. Therefore, exercising indoors under blue light has a negative effect on your performance, especially when the red and NIR wavelengths are not present which is the case with LED lights. Exercising outdoors, under natural sunlight (within reason to avoid sunburns!) enhances performance. Think Venice beach, these body builders were onto something but so were the ancient Greeks training outdoors for the Olympics.
Taking a step back, we evolved under the sun, and she is the reason we are here. We need her full spectrum light every day to thrive and optimize our health and performance.
For most of us, training outdoors is impractical under most circumstances but bringing “the sun inside” is the next best thing as an option. Installing the EQUINOX Solar Spectrum Radiation Device in gyms will improve your ability to optimize performance and stay healthy overall.
BRING THE SUN INSIDE
HUMAN PERFORMANCE OPTIMATIZATION FOR THE MILITARY
For centuries, our warfighters trained to become better, stronger, faster, smarter, etc. but all these disciplines have missed one important aspect, you need to optimize the engine first before putting high-octane fuel in the tank and installing performance tires.
Although, physical and cognitive training are essential, one must first focus on physical health by ensuring that the body works as mother nature intended. This can be achieved by creating the optimal energy environment in our indoor living spaces.
Installing the EQUINOX device in sleeping quarters, messhalls, offices, class rooms, etc., is an unobtrusive way of optimizing our warfighters performance and get them ready for all their other training and duties.
More importantly, the EQUINOX should be installed in the offices of government leadership and analyst since many important decisions are made off the battlefield by DoD civilians and military personnel in SCIFs and HQs. Ensuring that these individuals have the cognitive capacity within their optimum circadian rhythm is essential for success and our National security
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