It’s official – we have had some sun, so surely – please! – we must be heading towards summer?!
I have to be honest, I am a huge sunshine fan. We have been scared to death of the sun over the last 20 years, and I think we are all a bit confused as to what is safe and what isn’t. The truth is, we are a bit like sunflowers – we respond and react to the sun, it causes crucial physiological reactions in our bodies that are essential to our wellbeing – both mental and physical.
But isn’t sun dangerous? Shouldn’t we slather on spf and hide in the shade as soon as Mr Sun peeps out from behind the clouds?
No, I fundamentally believe not – actually pretty much the opposite.
There are huge benefits to sun exposure – the best and most efficient way for us to get vitamin D is from the sun – and do you know what the body makes it from? Cholesterol. The body actively needs and uses cholesterol (an excess of which can indicate inflammation), to make Vitamin D which is actively inflammatory! Win win!
Our eyes also have photosensitive cells in the back, which control a variety of things in our brains and bodies – the sun can help brain function, which can improve the nervous system, hormonal regulation, muscle function, immune health, and carries many other benefits, so putting on thick dark UV blocking sunglasses every time you leave the house is also not a great idea. (I actually recently stopped wearing contact lenses, in part because they are UV blocking, so I never had any sun exposure through my eyes). Sunlight stimulates the production of both serotonin and endorphins (happy hormones!) suggesting an ‘addictive or natural reward mechanism’ – which encourages sunlight exposure, which to me, suggests that we are supposed to do it! I don’t think it is any accident that when the sun comes out we all turn up our faces, and put out our arms to get as much of it as possible – just like sunflowers!
It has been shown that sunlight leads to long life expectancy, improved recovery from illness, improved mental health, reduced inflammation, which in turn can reduce incidence of cancers, reduces blood pressure and increases energy levels. All of these sound pretty important to me!
So do we just throw caution to the wind, and strip off and burn to a crisp as soon as the sun comes out?! Well, no actually!
Morning sun has been shown to be extremely beneficial to mood, energy, circadian rhythms and as we know, the sun is not as aggressive early in the day, so it is a great time to get out and get some quality sun exposure. Roll your sleeves up, walk the dog (walking also being excellent, low impact health-giving exercise!), and soak up some health giving sun.
However – there is obviously a ‘but’ coming here! As a nurse – and given my role in Aesthetics – there are definite caveats to this. We are very bad at running out and burning at the first sign of sun! Burning has been proved without doubt to be a big risk factor for skin cancers particularly melanomas, and long term consistent exposure is a risk factor for other skin cancers including Basal Cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma – it also leads to premature ageing, so lines and wrinkles, and sun damage such as lentigines (sun spots) and keratosis – the hard, warty like skin lesions that start to appear as we age. Continuous bright UV light in the eyes can lead to cataracts and reduced vision.
So – are we stuck between a rock and a hard place? How do we manage this to benefit as much as possible from the amazing thing that is our beautiful sun, but stay looking young and avoid the damage caused by overdoing it?
- Get out in the mornings with short sleeves and shorts on.
- Wear a good quality PHYSICAL (not chemical) sunscreen on your face ALL year round. UVA rays are as strong in the winter as they are in the summer— not wearing SPF all the time leads to advanced ageing and skin damage, because the skin on the face is exposed all day every day, all year round – so if you want to keep your skin looking young, and reduce the risk of keratosis, BCC and SCC’s, keep the SPF on your face, neck and decollete!
- Avoid sunlight that will burn you – it can be deceptive, don’t risk burning, this damages the DNA in the skin cells and leads to Melanoma.
- If you are at risk of burning, make sure you are using a good physical SPF and keep out of the harshest of the rays.
- Keep hydrated – we don’t want to turn into prunes!
- Avoid having damaging chemicals on your skin (highly perfumed skin products, chemical SPFs, toxic preservative in skin products, harsh laundry detergents etc) and avoid ultra processed food – it makes our skins hyper-sensitised to the sun. I burn far less when I am eating high quality, nutrient dense foods rather than processed, high sugar foods.
- Be consistent! Regular, careful sun exposure will help so much to make you feel and look better without health risks!
So make the most of the weather, and follow some simple rules to stay looking young, healthy and glowing! I’m always happy to chat about these kind of issues – and with code CITYSUN24, you can get a free consultation
