“Awareness is like the sun. When it shines on things, they are transformed.”
Thich Nhat Hanh
As it starts getting warmer and there are more sunny days ahead, it’s time we debunk a few myths about the sun. There is such a thing as healthy sun exposure and those who have regular sunshine actually tend to be healthier.
To better understand healthy sun exposure, we must first understand the sun itself. As many of us know, the sun is a star that our solar system revolves around and without it, life would cease to exist as we know it. If we had no sun, the temperatures would drop below a livable level for most organisms and plant life would go extinct within a few weeks without the ability to photosynthesize. Then toxic levels of CO2 would wreak havoc on our atmosphere, essentially poisoning our air and omnivores (like humans) would have a rapid decrease in the food sources we rely on. This sounds almost apocalyptic, right? So let me ask you this; how can something so vital for our existence be so demonized by society? Why have we been told all our life to avoid the sun because it will cause premature aging, deadly dehydration, and even cancer?
Before we discuss the dangers of EXTREME sun exposure, let’s talk about the many benefits it provides. Think of the sun as a battery for life. It literally charges the very air we breathe with a life force so powerful we could not exist without it. In science, a relationship like this is called commensalism. One organism (Earth) is benefitted by something else (the sun) while that second thing (Earth) provides no benefit to the first thing (the sun). One very important thing the sun does for humans is allow our bodies to synthesize vitamin D which is absorbed differently than a vitamin D supplement. When we are outside with our skin exposed to the sun, our skin uses the sun’s energy to create vitamin D. This vitamin is then transported in our blood and leads to longer lasting and more stable vitamin D levels than a supplement alone can do. When we take a supplement of vitamin D, our bodies absorb it through the digestive tract which then leads to faster usage of the vitamin, but also faster depletion. The most effective way to keep vitamin D levels high all year is through supplementation AND healthy sun exposure. Vitamin D is essential for many reasons including hormone health, immune system boosting, mood, and bone health.
One of the scariest associations we make with the sun is how it is said to increase your chance of developing skin cancer, specifically the most deadly: malignant melanoma. Did you know that there is a higher chance of indoor workers developing melanoma than those who work primarily outside? This is because of the fluorescent lighting! This would explain why melanoma pops up on parts of the body that don’t see much sun exposure. We’ve all heard that tanning beds increase our risk of developing skin cancer, but why exactly? This is also due to the artificial and unnatural LED frequencies emitted directly onto our skin. In general, the very high voltage emitted from LED lights are able to increase the amperage in the human body which can cause DNA damage and can increase your risk of developing cancerous cells. This is why tanning beds are not an adequate swap for the sun and why OUTDOOR sun exposure is so vital for our health. Fluorescent lighting has literally been categorized as a carcinogen, or a cancer causing agent in humans.¹
Have you ever had a really bad sunburn? That is the type of sun exposure we would want to avoid. When we exceed the amount of safe time we spend in the sun, our skin gets burnt which can lead to discomfort, fever, difficulty regulating our internal body temperature, and even blistering and peeling in extreme cases. So how can we ensure we get the right amount of sun exposure for all the health benefits while lowering our chance of the negative side effects? On most weather apps on your phone, there is a chart that shows you the UV radiation from the sun at any point in time during the day at your exact location. UV tends to be highest when the sun is the highest in the sky, so roughly from 10-2 each day. It is impacted by some outside factors such as rain and cloud coverage. This frequency of light is the one most are afraid of, but is also what allows our body to synthesize the vitamin D it needs. A great way to monitor your sun exposure is to check the UV on weather apps and use it to make a sun exposure game plan. A good rule of thumb for each side of your body exposed to the sun is:
UV 0-2 ⇒ 60 minutes to burn
UV 3-5 ⇒ 45 minutes to burn
UV 6-7 ⇒ 30 minutes to burn
UV 8-10 ⇒ 15-25 minutes to burn
UV 10+ ⇒ 10 minutes to burn²
Of course this will be impacted by your natural skin tone and as with many things, we are able to build up a tolerance to the sun the more we are exposed to it. This is why people who go outside every day or very often are able to not get burnt every day even if they started in the spring with an initial sunburn. If you do not want to always be checking and worrying about the UV at every point in the day, there is a great app called D-minder that is able to see your location for the UV levels and allow you to input what percentage of your body is covered by clothing and how much cloud coverage there is. This app then tells you how long you can safely be outside to synthesize vitamin D without getting burnt!
As with everything, too much of a good thing can become a bad thing for our bodies. It is important to be safe in the sun, but remember that it isn’t as dangerous as we’ve been taught. If you are out in the sun for longer periods of time, you can cover your skin with light clothing or use a mineral based sunblock. Maybe it’s time we start appreciating the sun for all it does for our health!
- Milham S, Stetzer D. The electronics in fluorescent bulbs and light emitting diodes (LED), rather than ultraviolet radiation, cause increased malignant melanoma incidence in indoor office workers and tanning bed users. Med Hypotheses. 2018 Jul;116:33-39. doi: 10.1016/j.mehy.2018.04.013. Epub 2018 Apr 17. PMID: 29857905.
- https://www.almanac.com/uv-index-scale
Related Posts:
Sunblock and Sunscreen: https://awakeningchiropractic.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/2011-6-sun-block.pdf
Sun Exposure Calculator: https://awakeningchiropractic.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/2011-6-sun-exposure-calculator.pdf