A Little Sunshine Every Day Keeps the Doctor Away

After giving you tips on how to protect your skin from the sun in last week’s post, we wanted to share some of the benefits your skin can get from the sun. But always remember - while your skin truly can benefit from sun exposure, all it needs is small, and always safe amounts!

- The most obvious benefit of the sun for your skin is the glow you will get – tanned skin (but not too tanned!!) will make your skin appear smoother as the darker color helps camouflage imperfections. Glowing skin will immediately make you look healthier!

- Regular and reasonable exposure to the sun will also help your skin build up a natural resistance to the harmful effects of ultraviolet light – the lighter and less exposed to sunlight your skin is, the more sensitive it will be to sunburn and more serious skin damage.

- Sunlight is a great source of Vitamin D, which has innumerable benefits for your health. Many foods contain high levels of Vitamin D, but are foods that most people would not eat on a regular basis (cod liver oil, salmon, mackerel, or 34 oz of milk per day!)– but small doses of ultraviolet (UV) rays can provide you with the Vitamin D levels you need. Just some of the very many benefits of Vitamin D are:

• It helps boost your immune system, which fights toxins and encourage cell growth and renewal. This in turn helps your skin perform better, and as a result, look younger. It will also temporarily help clear up skin problems such as acne.
• Vitamin D helps our bodies absorb calcium, which we need for healthy bones and teeth.
• Here’s a fun fact: If we were to expose at least 20% of our skin to sunlight all year round for up to 10 minutes a day without any SPF, then we would ensure adequate amounts of vitamin D. The fairer your skin, the less direct exposure is needed to activate vitamin D synthesis. For people with very fair skin, just a short burst of sunshine on their skin is also enough.
  

- Getting some sun also keeps spirits high. It’s well known that people tend to be affected by seasonal affective disorder – or the “winter blues” – in countries where sunlight is scarce during certain seasons. This is because sunlight increases the production of endorphins and serotonin in your brain, which improves your mood!

So don’t be afraid to go out in the sun – but don’t forget to wear sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15 if you’re going to be in the sun for an extended period of time!



Sources: ezinearticles.com, www.naturalnews.com, www.natural-health-restored.com