Sunbathe for Health
After last week’s skin cancer scare, I still want to encourage you to go play in the sunshine this summer. Forget about superficial goals like getting tan. Sunlight has profound health effects, like being happy and strong!

Embrace the rays because they will help you combat serious Ds: Depression and Vitamin D Deficiency.

Depression
Poets may get called crazy, but “fun in the sun” rhymes for a very logical reason.

Bright sunlight travels along our optic nerves to trigger the brain’s production of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that boosts our mood. As an enthusiast of all things natural rather than synthetic, I’d rather soak up some rays than swallow a dose of SSRI, a common antidepressant that affects serotonin.

Life in the sun-splashed tropics isn’t all fun and games. Developing countries suffer from crippling poverty, unjust violence, and inept bureaucracy, yet maintain an upbeat attitude. Colombians will throw a party even if their soccer team loses a major match. Why? Because they’re optimistic and had already purchased lots of liquor in anticipation of celebrating a win. No wonder Colombia was the world’s happiest country in 2012 (yep, they threw a party when it was announced!). It’s got to be the sunshine!

I’m convinced that countries straddling the equator are happier than ones near the poles because it’s sunny year round. A major exception is Scandinavian countries like Finland, which has that awesome education thing going for it.

Living up in the north we have a higher cost of living, but not necessarily quality of living. We’re sun-starved, especially in the winter. To combat Seasonal Affective Disorder, or the “winter blues”, you can buy special light bulbs that imitate the cheerful effect of sunlight.

But now that it’s summer and sunny, get out there and get happy!

Vitamin D Deficiency
Natural sunlight is how our body synthesizes vitamin D.

The most common food source of vitamin D is dairy. Fish like salmon and tuna have significant amounts, and many breakfast cereals come fortified with this vitamin. Vegans can eat almonds and dark greens and drink fortified orange juice. Probably no diet is high enough in D, so you need to expose your skin to sunlight.

Rickets is a disease caused by vitamin D deficiency, aptly called because the weakened bones and muscles make you rickety (likely to collapse). If you fall because your muscles are flabby, then you could break your brittle bones. A vitamin D deficiency is a double whammy.

A lack of Vitamin D can also cause a loss of teeth. Since being in the sun will make you so happy you’ll smile, be sure it’s a toothy grin.

So now that it’s summer and sunny, get out there and get strong!

The Healthy Way to Sunbathe
I first learned this from peasants in a very hot, very sunny village in Colombia. They would be up at the crack of dawn to get most of the field work done, then take siestas in the shade in the afternoon. “Morning sun is healthy, afternoon sun is harmful” was their motto.

That goofy white-skinned girls like me should spend half as much time in the sun was their second piece of advice. Time your exposure to your paleness. Just 15 minutes a morning could be enough to get a good dose of the sunshine vitamin.

DO step out into the sunshine first thing in the morning. It will kick-start your day and make you bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Daylight-triggered serotonin is the opposite of sleep-inducing melanonin. To really pound in the message of alertness to my brain, I take my morning cup of coffee out in the early rays.

DON’T wear any sunscreen or excessive clothing during morning sun baths. Early hours of sunlight are healthy for our bare skin. Morning means before 10am. I mean, who sleeps in until noon in the summer?

DO face the sun so that sunlight enters your eyes, its pathway to the brain.

DON’T stare directly into the sun. Eyeball sunburn is permanent damage.

More Sun-Savvy Tips
DON’T expose yourself to the sun between peak intensity hours of 11am-3pm.

If you DO, cover yourself up with clothing, sunscreen, hat, and sunglasses.

DON’T try to make DIY sunscreen.

DO recycle empty plastic and aluminum sunscreen bottles.

 

CarrieCarrie is an environmental educator, anthropologist, and translator. She took her passions for ecological, health, and women’s rights advocacy from the offices of Washington, D.C. to the streets of South America. Now in Colombia, she is slowly opening women’s eyes to the wonders of “la copita de luna” (Moon Cup) and Keepers.

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