Staring at the sun health benefits how to#
Staring at the sun health benefits skin#

Staring at the sun health benefits skin#

Reduces risk of cancersĪLTHOUGH over exposure to the sun increases your risk of skin cancer, vitamin D provided by sunlight can actually help to significantly reduce your risk of other types of cancer.Ī study carried out by the US National Cancer Institute found that people exposed to high levels of sunlight were significantly less likely to die from breast and colon cancer. Relieves aches and painsīeing out in the sun helps to warm the body's muscles and eases stiffness, reducing the pain caused by inflammatory conditions such as arthritis. The proportion of 12-year-olds with untreated cavities was three times greater in Scotland than in the South West Thames region. A dental study found the prevalence of cavities was greater in children from Scotland, the North-West, Wales and Merseyside - areas with less than average sunshine. THE sun could even help to keep your teeth strong. Scientists have also noted that the incidence of MS is lower in sunnier countries. The cause is not known but scientists have noted that exposure to sunlight in childhood appears to dramatically reduce the risk of developing this disease in later life. MULTIPLE sclerosis (MS) is a disease of the central nervous system, leading to tremors and even paralysis.

Staring at the sun health benefits how to#

How to keep your skin looking younger and boost collagen production 5. Blackpool has 27 per cent more hours of sunshine a year than Burnley - and 9 per cent fewer deaths from coronary heart disease.Ĭholesterol levels also rise in winter, according to reports in medical magazine The Lancet, and this is because our vitamin D levels fall.Īnd Dr Holick found that exposing people with high blood pressure to UVB rays in a tanning salon lowers blood pressure by similar amounts as prescribed drugs. Reduces heart diseaseĪ STUDY in the British Medical Journal showed that people in the UK are more likely to die of heart disease in winter than in summer, which is believed to be because of low levels of vitamin D. It's also been shown that exercising outdoors creates more endorphins in the body than exercising indoors. Regular sun can stave off moderate depression, particularly if combined with exercise, such as a walk in the park. That's why we tend to feel happier and more energetic when the sun shines. SUNSHINE boosts levels of serotonin - the body's natural happy hormone. Here are the top 15 ways in which the sun can improve your health.

But most of us simply don't eat healthily enough to get adequate amounts, leaving the sun as the primary source of this important vitamin. You can also get vitamin D from your diet - oily fish, such as salmon and tuna, is a good source - as is margarine, milk, eggs and fortified breakfast cereals. He advises that we should go out in the sun without sunblock for between five and 15 minutes a day, at least three times a week in spring and summer, to boost our vitamin D levels. 'It is essential for absorbing calcium, keeping our bones healthy, and for protecting against serious chronic diseases later in life such as osteoporosis, Type II diabetes, multiple sclerosis and many common cancers.' Professor Michael Holick, of Boston University School of Medicine and author of The UV Advantage (I-Books, #6.99), says: 'We get about 90 to 95 per cent of our vitamin D from the sun. Studies have shown that a sensible amount of sun reduces your risk of several cancers and other serious health conditions.Īnd it's all thanks to vitamin D, which is made by our bodies through the action of the sun's UVB rays on our skin. But now it seems that a little bit of sunshine on your body is actually good for you. FOR years we have been told to cover up in the sun to cut the risk of getting skin cancer.