People love sunbathing not only for the exotic tans but for the amazing benefits of sunshine for health. During the pandemic, it is advisable for people, especially those with COVID-19 to have the right balance of sun exposure. What is in the sunlight? Why is it so important?
The number one reason people search for sunlight is for its vitamin D. According to a study in 2008, vitamin D deficiency can double the death risk of cardiac disease in men and women, worsen the condition of women with breast cancer, is also associated with rickets in children. The tendency for depression in people ages 65 to 95 is also higher.
Besides food and supplement, sunshine is a source of vitamin D that you can easily find and get for free in nature. Today, Puri Medical Clinic in Bali will cover everything in this post.
The Basic Component in Vitamin D Production
Have you ever wondered how the sun can provide you vitamin D? How it works? What are other benefits of sunshine for your health?
Similar to photosynthesis, our body uses sunshine as an essential element in dermal vitamin synthesis. Your skin has an important role in the natural production of vitamin D. When UVB radiation (coming from direct sunlight) first hits your skin, the sun’s photon converts 7-dehydrocholesterol (located deep in your skin) into cholecalciferol or what we know as vitamin D3. Afterward, the liver and kidneys will process vitamin D3 to achieve its final form, calcitriol. Then, a vitamin D binding protein called DBP transports calcitriol to the organs so it can function as it is supposed to.
Vitamin D helps us prevent diabetes, promote healthy bones, support calcium absorption, immune system, and glucose metabolism. This alone has contributed a lot to our overall health.
Benefits of Sunshine – Regulates Better Sleep
A study published in Sleep Health claims that for our circadian rhythm or body’s internal clock to properly function, we need to expose our body more to daylight exposure. One of the benefits of sunshine is it controls our body’s production of melatonin which happens when our surrounding is dark. Melatonin is a hormone our body produces that triggers us to sleep. The more melatonin you have at night, the more quality sleep you can get.
Wards Off Depression
There is a kind of chemical in your brain that is responsible for your mood, it is called serotonin. When your body lacks serotonin, you might be prone to types of depression. Doctors often use sunlight as part of treatment for seasonal affective disorder (SAD) that often befalls in the fall and winter seasons. Months you have lesser hours of sunlight. Sunshine helps increase your serotonin level, thus, improving your focus and helping you stay calm.
Helps Your Weight Loss Journey
A breakthrough study about sunlight is revealed in the Scientific Reports. Peter Light, a researcher from Alberta Diabetes Institute with his team examined the phenomenon of winter weight gain. They came up with the root of the issue; it is the scarcity of sunlight. Further, they worked on a type of fat, known as subcutaneous white adipose tissue (scWAT), that stores calories to burn for energy. If it is not burned, it will result in cardiometabolic disorders. What they did afterward is they shrank the scWAT cells by the sun’s blue light, and it worked! The cells reduced in size because of the release of lipid. It will do wonder, however, if you combine a few minutes of sunbathing with exercises as well.
Benefits of Sunshine – Prevents Jaundice
Have you encountered newborns’ skin appearing slightly yellow? This condition is called jaundice. This skin issue affects many babies due to the high amount of bilirubin in the blood. To reduce bilirubin, mothers should put their babies in sunlight but not directly to prevent harmful rays from hitting their delicate skin.
How to Best Enjoy the Benefits of Sunshine
The perk of living in tropical countries, like in South East Asia, is how easy it is to find sunlight. However, other factors matter too when it comes to your body’s capability to produce vitamin D such as the height of your location, skin color, and whether your body is thoroughly exposed to sun exposure. To gain the incredible benefits of sunlight without the fear of catching skin cancer, you can perform Puri Medical Clinic in Bali’s tips below.
The perfect tips to soak the benefits of sunshine
The peak of UVB exposure is around 10 A.M. to 12 at noon. You can meet your skin’s need for UVB to produce vitamin D faster during these hours. Keep in mind that basking in the sun’s UV rays for too long is harmful to your skin’s health. Therefore, you might want to limit the duration to about 10 minutes only.
Applying your sunscreen is a must. To shield your skin against UVB light, your skin naturally activates melanin cells but as a result, it makes your skin darker. The SPF in sunscreen helps reduce your skin’s absorption of UVB light. For instance, SPF 15 in sunscreen can filter 93% of UVB light, so our body only receives 7%.
Read another tips from Puri Medical Clinic in Bali: 10 Ways to Keep Healthy Habits Despite Your Busy Schedule
