10 Amazing Reasons To Get More Sunlight For Better Health

As per doctors and medical experts, exposure to the early morning sunlight for at least 15 minutes a day is essential for the body to get its daily dosage of vitamin D. Sunlight is the largest source of vitamin D and it is very essential for proper absorption of calcium in the bones. Most people perceive that exposing yourself to sunlight can mean exposing yourself to the harmful UV (ultraviolet) rays. But recent studies have concluded that exposure to UV radiation can be both useful and harmful for the body. While UV rays of the sun causes some skin diseases, it actually treats some skin disorders too.

We have recently heard many things in the tabloids regarding how the Ozone layer has been breached by the harmful UV rays and how these rays can create havoc on our skin’s health. But despite coating loads of sunscreens on our skin, we can hardly protect ourselves from the UV rays. Since now it is known that UV rays provide some benefits for our health too, then reading these 10 amazing reasons to get more sunlight for better health will compel you to welcome more sunlight:

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   Helps In Treating Psoriasis

Psoriasis is one such disease that medical science has termed as incurable. It is a chronic autoimmune disease that affects the skin to make it look red, itchy with scaly patches. It is non-contagious and causes thickening of skin. The treatment of psoriasis involves usage of light therapy called phototherapy. Since sunlight is the natural and best source of light, people suffering from psoriasis must expose themselves to sunlight more often. It can help in reducing the symptoms.

2. Lowers Cortisol Levels

With increasing work load and responsibilities in work and personal life, you are bound to suffer from stress issues. The stress hormone called cortisol triggers when your mind is overworked. It adversely affects your appetite and makes you feel more hungry. This causes uncontrolled weight gain. Our mind needs fresh air and light to stimulate feel-good hormones and exposure to sunlight can make us feel good, which in turn lowers the cortisol levels.

3. Great Source Of Vitamin D

Vitamin D is a nutrient that is hardly found in the food we eat and we need to get the daily dosage of this essential vitamin from the sunlight. This sunlight vitamin plays a key role in metabolism of calcium, neuromuscular functions and the immune system. People who have less outdoor activities tend to suffer from lack of vitamin D, which may be detected due to weakening of bones. Medical experts recommend to massage babies in the early morning sunlight so that their bone development regularises and the calcium they get from milk can be easily absorbed for strengthening the bones.

4. Inadequate Sunlight Increases Risk Of High Blood Pressure

Many medical studies have found that sunlight is capable of reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases. In 2008, Harvard Medical School found that lack of sunlight can trigger the risk of high blood pressure. Sunlight can improve the body’s blood circulation and it is specifically vitamin D that plays a crucial role in keeping your blood pressure under control.

5. Helps You Prevent Prostate Cancer

It may astonish you that sunlight can actually reduce the risk of prostate cancer. So lesser the amount of sunlight you get, higher is the risk of dying from prostate cancer. Occurring in a man’s prostate, this cancer has many causes and one of them is lack of adequate sun exposure. As per a research, around 2,09,292 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year in US. A study published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research states that vitamin D deficiency may predict aggressive prostate cancer.

6. Helps In Treating Vitiligo

Vitiligo, popularly known as leucoderma is a skin disorder that is characterised by whitish patches where pigment is lost from certain areas of the skin. It may be caused by an auto-immune process and is treated by exposing the patient to ultraviolet light and is given certain kind of drug too. It is a condition arising from loss of pigment from melanocytes cells that produce melanin in the skin giving it the normal skin colour. Vitamin D from sun plays a huge role in regulating production of melanin and therefore people suffering from this disease are advised to bask in the early morning sun for longer duration everyday.

7. Helps In Retrieving From Depression

Since sunlight is effective for people suffering from stress, it is also effective in retrieving people from a rare depression called seasonal affective disorder (SAD). This kind of disorder mainly affects people during winters or to those people who live in areas where the sunlight is minimum throughout the year. Many medical researches have found that people suffering from bipolar disorder can shorten the length of hospitalisation by exposing themselves to the early morning sun that has a refreshing effect on the mind, which in turn triggers good mood hormones.

8. Reduces Risk Of Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis is an abnormal hardening of body tissue and is a chronic disease that damages the sheaths of the nerve cells in the brain, optic nerves of eyes and spinal cord. Studies done by Australian National University have found that people living in higher altitudes where it snows all round the year are more susceptible to suffer from multiple sclerosis. High number of such patients are found in North America, Iceland and European nations as they don’t get adequate sunlight.

9. Aids In Preventing Asthma

In a recent study conducted in the year 2013, it was found that adults and children who suffer from asthma had very low levels of vitamin D in comparison to healthy people. Asthma patients who consume corticosteriods or sputum eosinophilia are found to be at a higher risk of suffering from vitamin D deficiency.

10. Lowers Risk Of Diabetes

Who knew that sunlight can probably reduce the risk of diabetes? Medical experts have revealed that vitamin D is a wonder nutrient that has preventive effect on diabetes. It has been found that people who are getting the recommended dosage of vitamin D since early life are at a lower risk of suffering from Type 1 diabetes.

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