Why I Don't Wear Sunglasses - A Controversial Take on the Potentially Hormone Disrupting Effects of UV Protection

Have you ever wondered why virtually all men wore hats in the past, but they’re much less commonly worn today?  I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s noticed the change in fashion over the years, so one day I decided to dig a little deeper. 

I at least found a partial answer to this question, which is that men wore hats because hats were functional, particularly for that time in history.   Prior to the 1960s and the proliferation of automobile culture (especially in the United States, people still spent much of their time outdoors in the elements, walking to and from their destinations. 

The hat was not only a functional accessory that protected the hair from dirt, dust, and rain, but also helped to cast a natural shade which protected the eyes from direct sunlight.   However, the relatively recent transition to driving rather than walking being the primary mode of transportation made it such that hats were no longer as necessary to protect from the elements. Furthermore, the availability of inexpensive shampoos made it practical to wash one’s hair more frequently than before, thus reducing the importance for protection against dirt and dust.

Another interesting reason that I found was that the rise of modern UV-blocking sunglasses began to replace the need for hats which served as a natural means of shading the eyes from sunlight.  Just look at photos of people from pre-1950’s and compare them with today.  In the earlier photos you will see many hats, and virtually no sunglasses.  Today you will find plenty of sunglasses, and not many hats.  It is what it is.

What’s also notable about today vs past times in our history is that today we spend so much more of our time indoors shielded from the sun.  If you transport yourself back in time 10,000 years ago you wouldn’t be spending most of your day inside the comfort of your home moving PowerPoint slides around and building spreadsheets.  You would likely be outdoors, hunting, fishing, searching for food, building tools, surveying the land, etc.

I’ve done some research to see exactly how much of an issue damage to the eyes from UV exposure was for people in prehistoric times… people who got far more sunlight than we do today, and I could not find anything of significance.

What I do know is that with something as ubiquitous as sunlight, humans have developed adaptations to survive and even thrive in its presence. For example, people in regions that received less intense sunlight adapted by having lower levels of melanin in their skin so that they can absorb more sunlight. On the other hand, people in regions that received intense sunlight retained higher levels of melanin as a natural defense against sunlight.  Is it a far stretch to assume that the human eye also adapted to function best under natural sunlight exposure?

The only example I can find of hunter-gatherer people needing to shield their eyes from sunlight involves people who lived in arctic regions and developed sun-blocking glasses a couple of thousand years ago to protect from snow-blindness.  However, this example represents an extreme, and very specific circumstance.  For the average human in pre-agrarian society, vision problems from excessive UV exposure just didn’t seem to be a thing, to the best of my knowledge.

So my question is this… if humans lived for hundreds of thousands of years getting exposed to all the elements, including intense sunlight, then why do we need to “protect” our eyes from the sun today when we get far less sunlight exposure than our prehistoric ancestors?

Part of me thinks this might be the product of capitalism and effective marketing.  Sunglasses as we know them were invented in the 1920s but really gained prominence when the military began issuing “aviators” to their pilots to shield their eyes from sun glare.  Following WW2, just like with many other industries that made products for the war effort, marketing shifted to target civilians, and for sunglasses, they turned to Hollywood and the rising film industry that would come to influence the latest fashion trends of the day.

Additionally, sunglasses were marketed as protection from UV light.

But what’s missing from this conversation is how a lifestyle primarily spent indoors and under artificial light means that the cues that we receive from light are all mixed up.  During the day, when we should be receiving the FULL spectrum of light ranging from UV to infrared, we are either indoors receiving less than we need, or we are outside wearing UV blocking glasses.  Then at night, we turn on artificial light and stare at digital screens.  These incongruencies apparently are a major contributor to many hormonal imbalances and health problems that are common in the modern world.

What’s also missing is discussion about how UV blocking shades may be preventing the pineal gland from receiving the necessary cues that it needs to regulate the very important bodily functions.

The primary purpose of the eyes is to sense light cues from the natural environment. The eyes detect different wavelengths of the light spectrum which not only enables us to see but also cues various processes in our brains and bodies that affect our circadian clock, our sleep and wakefulness cycles, our hormones, our mood, our digestion, our immune systems, and many other processes that are vital to health.

Yet, when we where sunshades, we’re effectively putting a physical barrier between the natural environment (the full spectrum of light) and the part of our body that is responsible for using sunlight to regulate important physiological processes.  It may not seem like it, but light has a uniquely dual nature of being both a wave and a particle, and sun-blocking lenses physically block photons of certain wavelengths in the light spectrum as if they were running into a solid wall and bouncing off of it.  So, it is in fact a barrier that creates a physical disconnect between the natural environment and the eyes.

In other words, it is quite possible that sunglasses are a hormone disruptor.

Throughout my health and wellness journey one theme that constantly resurfaces is our relationship with the sun and how utterly necessary it is that we receive adequate amounts of sunlight to keep our bodies functioning properly.  The other theme that constantly resurfaces is how so many of our diseases, hormonal imbalances, and inability to drop unwanted body fat are directly tied to us adopting products, behaviors, and lifestyles that separate us from our natural environment. 

I believe wearing sunglasses may be one of the sources of disconnect.

So, in recent years I’ve taken care to ensure that I go for periods of time without wearing sunglasses.  I’ll only wear them during days of intense sunlight, if I’m doing something that’s causing me to involuntarily look in the direction of the sun, or if I expect to be outside.  Also, there are the occasional times I do it for fashion purposes, however I no longer just were them as a default option just because it’s sunny outside.

I prefer to give my eyes the opportunity to absorb the FULL spectrum of natural light.

However, I do want to be up front and say that I don’t have a clue what the truth is regarding this issue. There is no consensus, and an ungodly number of claims out there about sunlight and how humans interact with it. I will say, though, that I believe the human body is complex, and the way it interacts with the natural environment is even more convoluted.  We conduct all kinds of studies in laboratories, but those are controlled environments which often gives partial and very specific evidence while missing the holistic view on things.

Furthermore, studies and the articles that promote the results of said studies are often financed by industries that have their own interests.  If you do a google search on “do sunglasses disrupt hormones?” you will find a litany of articles and sources that either support or debunk the claims. 

So my default when it comes to anything health related is to take a more philosophical approach where I ask questions, and search for gaps in logic.  For me, the notion that 99% of human history saw humans survive with, and adapt to, the sun only for us to now say that it is beneficial to disrupt the natural process of the full spectrum of light reaching the eyes doesn’t add up for me.

So I err on the side of keeping things natural.

While the issue of sunlight and sunglasses is heavily debated, the idea of humans normalizing behaviors and using everyday products that disrupt hormones is a much less controversial concept. From the cosmetic products we use, to the plastics that have touched every facet of modern living, to the plethora of highly addictive stimuli that we must contend with, the modern world is a minefield of elements that drive us to experiencing suboptimal health in the best case and debilitating chronic diseases among the worst of cases.

So I’ve been keen on exploring the many facets of modern society which may be unknowingly leading to undesirable health effects.  For many people who want to “get into shape” or focus on their fitness, the standard narrative out there tends to focus on unnatural diet practices as well as very formulaic exercise routines, all while completely overlooking the aspects of modernity that disconnect us from nature in potentially harmful ways.

This is why I’ve created a 60-day primal fitness program that takes a more connected approach to health and wellness.  I’ll spare you the specifics, but if the idea of questioning elements of modern living, and tapping into ancient wisdom to live more in accordance with nature sounds interesting to you, then feel free to check out my Primal60 challenge which will guide you through a process of using bodyweight resistance, ancestral eating, and lifestyle alterations to recalibrate your mind and body with nature.