How often does your skin get kissed by the sun? With work, taking care of the family, tending to your home, and doing hobbies that interest you, you may find that you are indoors most of your day. Being exposed to sunlight for long periods can be harmful, but the right amount of sunlight can prove to be beneficial.
How Long Do You Need To Be In The Sun?
You might be thinking about how there is no way you have time to sunbathe or even have a place to do it. Worry not! In the summer and springtime, you only need about ten to twenty minutes of sun exposure to get the full effects! However, when winter time comes around, you need about two hours a day.
Why You Sun Exposure Is Good For Your Health
Sunlight Gives You Vitamin D
Vitamin D is essential to our survival. By soaking up the rays, you are also soaking in Vitamin D which helps with a myriad of health problems. If you are low on Vitamin D, this can cause heart disease, prostate cancer, and dementia. Having an adequate amount of Vitamin D can help with the following:
- Protection against inflammation
- Lowering high blood pressure
- Helping muscles
- Improving brain function
- May protect against cancer
- Boost Immune System
Sunlight Is Good For Your Heart
Because sunlight elevates Vitamin D, it helps to lower blood pressure which can be good for your heart. Your skin also contains stores of nitric oxide, which is exported into circulation by UV radiation. This has shown to help dilate blood vessels.
Sunlight Promotes Weight Loss
Do you gain weight in the winter time? It probably doesn’t help that we shove a bunch of holidays full of food in a few months, but scientists believe the lack of UV rays could also play a role in weight gain. Scientists believe that sunlight exposure can cause activation in subcutaneous white adipose tissue, a major fat depot in humans. This activation may be able to help with weight loss.
Better Sleep
If you expose yourself to morning sunlight, it can help you fall asleep better at night. This is because when your body soaks up those morning rays, nocturnal melatonin production occurs sooner. Using the morning sunlight has been helpful for people with insomnia, premenstrual syndrome, and seasonal affective disorder as well.
Don’t Forget Your Sunblock!
When you go out into the sun, don’t forget to use sunscreen even if you aren’t going to be out there for a long time. The sunscreen doesn’t block you from absorbing the Vitamin D or the change in melatonin; it just helps protect your skin from being damaged. If you do get a sunburn, using a CBD topical can help relieve you of pain and may even help you heal more quickly!
