Tag: S Rays

The Positives Of Sunning-Lets Talk About The Sunny Side

With all of the talk about the dangers of spending too much time out in the sun I though it might be about time for someone to talk about the positives of sunning for a change.

The entire world is always talking and dwelling in the negative side of things, why do we do that all of the time? Just trying to be careful I guess.

The first and most obvious of the positives of sunning is only cosmetic in nature, in other words, how good you look. Getting a suntan helps people with lighter skin look healthier. (I am not talking about that woman who took a good thing to the extreme and who made the news in the past month or so, she doesn’t look healthy at all.)

There is a substance in the skin, called melanin, that gets activated any time we go out in the sun. The melanin is what makes your skin darker. It is your body’s own, natural protection against the sun’s rays.

The only problem with that is that people tend to not let the melanin do it’s job in the time frame it needs to do it. They want their sun tan all at once. If they would gradually let it build up over time then the dangers of the sun would not be a problem.

Of course, letting the skin do it’s job to protect each of us up here in the northern climates is a problem. The summers just are not long enough to allow this to happen.

You know what happens, right? You work all summer on your tan and in the fall when the sun is not as strong your tan begins to fade. It continues to fade to the point that you have to start all over again in the late spring, early summer when the temperatures allow us to be outside for extended periods of time.

Of course you can elect to go to a tanning salon to maintain your tan year round if you have the budget for it.

The next positive is that the sun helps the body make Vitamin D. Vitamin D is essential for the health of your skin and bones. Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium to keep bones and teeth, heart and other muscles strong and working properly.

The last of the positives of sunning I would like to discuss is the one that can help your newborn baby. Some doctors and nurses will tell you to let your newborn get some sunlight, indirectly of course, so they do not get jaundiced after they are born.

Jaundice occurs in the newborn because the new little body has to rid itself of an overabundance of bilirubin. Bilirubin is the byproduct of red blood cell breakdown. Babies have an overabundance of red blood cells in their bodies after the umbilical cord gets cut and their livers have to take over cleaning their blood.

The new little liver may take ten days to two weeks to become proficient at doing this itself so a little sunlight is needed to help breakdown the bilirubin.

Sun Skin Damage -Sunscreen And Lots Of It

There has long been cautions and warnings about how prolonged exposure to the sun can cause sun skin damage. But who wants to stay inside on a nice, warm , sunny, summer day? Not too many!

So what is the answer? Sunscreen and lots of it.

Did you know, though, that most people don’t use sun screen correctly? They go out and they put it all over their bodies one time and think they will be protected all day.

Some sunscreens may be able to protect you for an extended period of time but you should always reapply it every few hours. Some wash off in the water if you add swimming to your summer day and some are affected by sweat.

Always read the label and follow the directions closely to avoid sun skin damage, especially when children are involved.

Let’s talk about the sun’s rays for a minute. There are two main types that affect your skin: UVA and UVB

UVA rays are the ones that can cause age spots and other skin discolorations. You may not even realize that this is skin damage, but it is, and was caused by the sun shining on unprotected skin when you were younger.

UVB rays are the ones that cause you to get a sunburn. If you notice that your skin is red and painful after a day out in the sun, you have damaged your skin. The redness will fade after a few days but you will notice that after a week or two your skin will begin to “peel”. This is usually not a painful process but you will not like the way it looks.

Always use sunscreen! Even on cloudy days the sun’s rays can affect your skin. They pass right through the clouds so do not be fooled into thinking that you are safe.

Too many sunburns and/or prolonged exposure to the sun without being protected can lead to a more serious condition like skin cancer and premature aging of the skin.

Sunscreen comes in several different levels and you can find them everywhere this time of year. The lowest protection factor is 4 on up to at least 50 maybe even higher. Sun tan oils are different and do not provide any protection from the suns rays.

Tanning booths or beds are no better than lying in the sun. In fact, they can be even more harmful and can cause eye damage, accelerated premature aging, immune system suppression and they can even cause allergic reactions as well as skin damage.

To avoid sun skin damage, you should stay out of the sun from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. These are the hours of the day are when the rays of the sun are most damaging. If you cannot avoid the sun at these times then you should at least try to limit the time that your skin is exposed by finding a nice shady spot to sit in and/or protecting yourself by wearing sunscreen.