Do Solar Flares Affect Our Health?

This is a bit more ‘science’ than my usual stories, but I felt it really was applicable to us as a new scientific study shows solar activity affects our physical and mental state

The study was published in the science journal ‘Nature’ and indicates a direct connection between the Sun’s generating of charged particles. These include events such as solar flares, coronal mass ejections (cmes), and coronal holes which on occasion open wide gaps into which highly charged sun particles are pumped out into space and which
often reach the Earth.

The Earth’s magnetic field is the conduit which facilitates charged particles from the Sun to us and it is this very same conduit which steers the natural earth changing events such as climate, weather, earthquakes, volcanoes, tornadoes, and hurricanes. The dormant gene residing within all of us just ready to be tapped is ‘cryptochromes’ and they are a class of blue light-sensitive flavoproteins found in plants and animals.

Cryptochromes are involved in the ‘circadian’ (24 hour cycle) rhythms of daily life on our planet for all creatures and this new study shows consistent evidence of an influence of geomagnetic fields on the light sensitivity of the human visual system. It has been proposed recently that light-sensitive magnetic responses are not only used for directional information, but may also aid as a ‘visual’ barometer by providing a spherical coordinate system for integrating spacial awareness which means having a cognitive orientation of space and in this case, the study is referring to the Earth’s atmosphere.

Lead researcher Robert J. Gegear, from the Department of Neurobiology, University of Massachusetts Medical School said: “Our study suggests humans may be genetically pre-disposed to the influence by geomagnetic flux as it relates to the Earth’s magnetic field and charged particles such as solar flares, coronal mass ejections, gamma rays, and galactic cosmic rays.” The pineal gland, which regulates circadian (24-hour) rhythm and melatonin production, is sensitive to magnetic fields. “The circadian regulatory system depends upon repeated environmental cues to [synchronize] internal clocks,” says Kelly Posner, a psychiatrist at Columbia University. In vertebrates, such as migratory birds and sea turtles, the ability to sense the Earth’s magnetic field is clearly important for positional and directional information during their long-distance migrations. In many animals, magneto-reception is thought to depend on light-sensitive chemical reactions involving the flavoprotein cryptochrome (CRY).

There is consistent evidence of an influence of geomagnetic fields on the light sensitivity of the human visual system. Moreover, it has been proposed recently that light-sensitive magnetic responses are not only used for directional information, but may also aid visual spatial perception in mammals, by providing a spherical coordinate system for integrating a sense-of-direction. (I think in research speak that means it helps us find out where we are heading). What they were evaluating was the light-dependent magneto-sensing potential in humans and it seems we have the molecular capability to function as a light-sensitive magneto-sensor,.

This could give you a previously unlooked for affinity with dolphins but in practical terms, we know how important getting our circadian rhythms right is for our health, particularly for sleep/wake patterns so if these solar activities are indeed affecting that then it seems to make sense that they would indeed have an influence on us.

I have no advice to offer on protecting yourself from the effects, other than the usual ones of staying as healthy as you can to withstand any onslaught – whether solar or virus!

Article by AnnA