Amazing Health Benefits of Sun Exposure – Get your Ass on Sun now

As long-term exposure to sunlight can lead to sunburn, skin aging and even skin cancer, many people may prefer staying indoors and avoiding sunlight. But do not completely shun the sun. Limited sun exposure has numerous health benefits.

Sunlight is the easiest and healthiest way to get vitamin D– the “sunshine vitamin” – which is almost as vital to life as oxygen. When exposed to sunlight, the body makes vitamin D.

Dr. Cedric Garland, DrPh, of UC San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center and co-author of the study, said, “This could be best achieved with a combination of diet, supplements and short intervals – 10 or 15 minutes a day – in the sun.” The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) recommended levels of daily vitamin D is 1,000 IUs, the equivalent of 10 to 15 minutes of sun exposure.

1. Sun exposure improves brain function.

Aside from promoting bone health and regulating vital calcium levels, scientists have now linked vitamin D with a number of functions throughout the body, including the functioning of the brain. One study led by neuroscientist David Llewellyn of the University of Cambridge, assessed vitamin D levels in more than 1,700 men and women from England, aged 65 or older and found that cognitive function reduced the lower the subjects’ vitamin D levels were. However, more studies have found sunlight could help spur nerve cell growth in the hippocampus, which is the part of the brain responsible for forming, organizing and storing of memories.

2. Supports Healthy Bones

For healthy and strong bones, sunlight is necessary. It helps the body produce vitamin D that stimulates the absorption of bone-strengthening calcium. This leads to reduced risk of bone diseases, fractures and osteoporosis.

According to a 2004 study published in the journal American Society for Clinical Nutrition, vitamin D deficiency causes rickets among children, exacerbates osteoporosis among adults and causes the painful bone disease osteomalacia.

3. Sun exposure improves sleep quality.

When sunlight hits our eyes, a message is sent to the pineal gland in the brain and production of melatonin (a hormone that makes us drowsy and helps us sleep) is shut down until the sun goes down again. Your body gets a clear signal that it’s no longer night and this helps to maintain a normal circadian rhythm. When it gets dark outside, your body gets the signal again and you feel tired and drowsy at bedtime. Low levels of melatonin production at night due to overproduction during the day has been linked to poor sleep quality, especially in older adults. Ditch the sunglasses early in the morning when you wake up if possible so your body gets the message that it is day and triggers the pineal gland to stop releasing melatonin.

4. Enhances Your Mood

Regular sunlight exposure can naturally increase the serotonin levels in your body, making you more active and alert. In an article published by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), exposure to bright light is seen as an approach to increase serotonin without the use of drugs. The positive correlation between the development of serotonin and the hours of sunlight during the day was seen in healthy volunteers. In a sample size of 101 healthy men,researchers found that turnover of serotonin in the brain was lowest during the winter whereas the production rate of serotonin was highest when the subjects stayed in the sunlight longer.

5. Eases Mild Depression

Regular sunlight exposure can naturally increase the serotonin levels in your body to help lessen stress and fight off mild depression.Serotonin is neurotransmitter that regulates appetite, sleep, memory and mood. In addition, serotonin plays a role in susceptibility to depression and suicide.

6. Sun exposure heals some skin disorders.

Sunlight promotes healing of skin disorders, such as acne, psoriasis, eczema, jaundice and other fungal skin infections. In one study, for example, a four-week outdoor sunbathing therapy was successfully used to significantly clear symptoms of psoriasis in 84% of subjects. While sun exposure has a therapeutic effect on the skin and sunlight has been successfully used to treat skin disorders, this alternative treatment method should be done under medical supervision to prevent negative side-effects of UV radiation and to ensure the benefits outweigh the risks.

7. Boosts Height

Sunlight also helps increase your height. In 2009, a 18–year study by researchers at University of Bristol in UK found that women who are pregnant during the summer tend to have taller, stronger-boned babies.

According to the United Kingdom’s National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, it is important to get adequate vitamin D during pregnancy and breastfeeding for the baby’s overall healthy development.

8. Sun exposure reduces risk of certain cancers.

Vitamin D deficiency increases your risk of many cancers, especially breast and colon cancer. However, eating whole foods and getting some sun can send breast cancer into remission. This connection was first made by Drs. Frank and Cedric Garland from the University of California who observed that the incidence of colon cancer was nearly three times higher in New York than in New Mexico. Subsequent studies have since shown vitamin D supplementation produce a dramatic 60% drop in risk of developing any form of cancer. This confirms the benefits of vitamin D and sun exposure in reducing risk of cancer.

9. Lowers Risk for Multiple Sclerosis

According to a 2010 study published in the journal Lancet Neurology, adequate vitamin D nutrition in the body can contribute to preventing multiple sclerosis (MS), an autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord)

10. Sun exposure lowers blood pressure.

In a landmark study, a group of researchers at the University of Edinburgh found that a compound called nitric oxide that helps lower blood pressure is released into the blood vessels as soon as sunlight touches the skin. This finding was important because until then it was thought that sunlight’s only health benefits to humans was to stimulate production of vitamin D. Richard Weller, Senior Lecturer in Dermatology, and colleagues, however, found that sun exposure can not only improve health, but also prolong life. That’s because the benefits of lower blood pressure include cutting risk of heart attacks and strokes. These benefits, says, Weller “far outweigh the risk of getting skin cancer.