With the myriad warnings in the media about the dangers of sun exposure, it can easy to forget just how much we can benefit from working up a little tan. All one has to do to look at the rates of Vitamin D deficiency - over 40 percent in Americans according to a 2011 study - to see that our fear of the sun may have serious implications for our health and well being. Sun exposure has benefits beyond those of production of the “sunshine vitamin.” As reported in a recent article in the Star Telegram, exposure has the power to brighten our moods, improve our sleep and lower our blood pressure. While over-exposure to anything can be detrimental, maintaining a healthy relationship with the sun and its rays can improve wellness dramatically.

1.
Increase Wellness By Catching
Some Rays
With the myriad warnings in the media
about the dangers of sun exposure, it
can easy to forget just how much we
can benefit from working up a little tan.
All one has to do to look at the rates of
Vitamin D deficiency - over 40 percent in
Americans according to a 2011 study -
to see that our fear of the sun may have
serious implications for our health and
well being.

2.
Sun exposure has benefits beyond
those of production of the “sunshine
vitamin.” As reported in a recent article
in the Star Telegram, exposure has the
power to brighten our moods, improve
our sleep and lower our blood pressure.
While over-exposure to anything can be
detrimental, maintaining a healthy
relationship with the sun and its rays
can improve wellness dramatically.

3.
A Brighter You
Researchers at the National Institutes of
Health (NIH) have made the positive
relation between sunlight exposure and
the brain’s production of
serotonin. Serotonin is a compound in
the blood that works as a
neurotransmitter that is typically
associated with thoughts of happiness
and well-being. Researchers have found
that serotonin levels are generally
lowest in winter months and highest
during summer months in a relationship
that corresponds to the amount of hours
of visible sunlight. Seasonal affective
disorder (SAD) is an example of a type
of depression directly linked to limited
exposure to the sun’s rays. Making the

4.
step to increase sun exposure can
greatly increase a person’s serotonin
levels and help create a greater feelings
of wellness.
Catch Some Rays to Catch some Z’s
Sun exposure is vital for maintaining a
natural circadian rhythm that increases
daytime alertness, and aids with
recuperative sleep at night. The article
points to a study published in the
scientific journal Sleep that shows how
subjects working in an office with
windows slept longer - 46 minutes per
night, on average - than subjects
working in a windowless office. Also, a
neuroscience study conducted in 2012
found that people who had at least six
hours of sun exposure per day were
generally more alert in the evenings
than people with limited exposure.

5.
UV Rays May Lower Your Blood
Pressure
Much of the fear-mongering over sun
exposure is due to the much maligned
ultraviolet (UV) rays. But a recent study
from Edinburgh University found that
people exposed to UV radiation had a
drop in blood pressure not shared by
those exposed only to heat lamps.
Researchers were able to surmise that
when UV rays interact with skin, nitrus
oxide is released, a compound known to
lower blood pressure.
To learn more about the health benefits
of sun and UV exposure, read the
original article at the Star Telegram.