The Truth About Sun Exposure And Your Health

Is fresh air and sunshine good for you?
Fresh unpolluted air certainly is but I'm not too sure about sunshine.
I'll present the good, the bad and the ugly where sunlight is concerned.

The Good

1. Sunlight stimulates your skin to produce vitamin D which your body needs in order to keep bones strong and healthy. 10 minutes of sun exposure is all you need to get enough vitamin D for the day.

2. Ever wondered how you get the winter blues? Seasonal mood fluctuations you see with the winter blues or Seasonal Affective Disorder is believed to be related to light, or the lack of it. Bright light is one of the treatments used to tackle this disorder.

The Bad

1. Bake in the sun without enough protection and you will probably end up with a nasty sunburn. Skin turns red and painful with blisters everywhere.

2. As if the pain you get with a sunburn is not bad enough, you double your risk of getting skin cancer later on in life when you get sunburnt. The sun's UV rays messes with the DNA of your skin cells and although your body rushes to repair the damage, long-term damage due to sun exposure increases your risk of getting skin cancer.

3. Ever wondered how one gets cataracts? Cataracts are the clouding of the eye, affecting the vision. Although cataracts tend to affect older people, younger people can get cataracts from exposure to the UV rays of the sun.

The Ugly

Exposure to the sun's UV rays ages your skin in the following ways:
1. You get deeper lines and wrinkles sooner.
2. Your skin ages prematurely and sags as it loses its firmness.
3. Liver spots and pigmentation associated with the elderly appears on your skin before its time.

A woman who kept a perpetual tan in her youth will look much older than one who stayed out of the sun when she was young, all else being the same.

You can still enjoy the sun if you wear sunglasses to protect your eyes and use sun protection at all times.