Endorphin release from sunlight
When sunlight hits skin it triggers a release of endorphins — natural opiates — in the brain, which is why people feel addicted to sun exposure.
Snapshot · Matt and Shane's Secret Podcast
Ep 620 - In Defense of Sunlight (feat. Rowan Jacobsen)
Explore episode
Jun 18, 2026
Where this was said
The Science Case for Sunlight: Endorphins, Nitric Oxide & Immune Modulation
At 11:00 · chapter starts 10:20
Rowan Jacobsen describes a writing career that began in book publishing, shifted to ghostwriting — which he found ego-free and useful as a craft exercise — and then landed in food writing after editing a 'persnickety' gourmet magazine in Vermont in the early 2000s. His oyster book accidentally made him the go-to expert on the topic, and he accepts the food writer label with good humor ('better than being the proctology writer'). The throughline, he explains, was always folding science into food writing — curiosity about where things come from and what makes them taste the way they do.
Why Your Body Is Designed to Crave Sunlight
Sunlight hitting skin triggers a release of natural opiates in the brain. Dermatologists saw this as proof of a dangerous addiction; Rowan Jacobsen saw it as evolutionary proof that sun-seeking behavior was rewarded because it was good for us.
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