Why is sunshine healthy

Increased exposure to natural light may help ease the symptoms of seasonal affective disorder--a change in mood that typically occurs in the fall and winter months when there are fewer hours of daylight. A study that followed 30, Swedish women revealed that those who spent more time in the sun lived six months to two years longer than those with less sun exposure.

Of course, a little sunshine can go a long way and too much is harmful for our skin. Depending on the shade of your skin, scientists estimate your body can produce vitamin D in about 5 to 30 minutes in the sun. If you're wearing sunscreen, you may not produce as much vitamin D. If you're outside for some much-needed vitamin D, don't expose bare skin longer than 5 to 30 minutes.

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The content presented here is for your information only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, and it should not be used to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease. Please consult your healthcare provider if you have any questions or concerns. This benefit may not be covered by your plan. The information that is contained here does not guarantee benefits. To find out if this is covered by your plan, call Member Services at However, contrary to what sunscreen companies and vampires have led you to believe, getting some sun every day is actually quite good for you.

The sun loads your body with beneficial vitamins and hormones. Sunlight releases serotonin the happiness hormone in your brain, boosts your bone health, and actually might help treat several skin conditions.

Have you ever wondered why you feel more irritable and moody in the colder months? Well, it might not only be because your favorite ice cream stand is closed and baseball season has ended.

When the sun hits your skin, your brain is triggered to release a hormone called serotonin. Serotonin is associated with boosting your mood and helping you feel calm and focused.

Without sun exposure, your serotonin levels dip, which can be associated with a higher risk of major depression and generally feeling down in the dumps. So, before you start journaling about your feelings, and putting on that old Leonard Cohen album, try getting out in the sun and see how that makes you feel. Vitamin D is another health benefit given to us by our oldest pal in the sky.

Vitamin D plays a big role in bone health and low Vitamin D levels have been linked to rickets in children and bone diseases like osteoporosis. So how much sun do you need to get enough Vitamin D? It only takes minutes of sunlight exposure on your arms, hands and face to get your daily value.

The darker your complexion, the more time in the sun. Forget choking down a chalky vitamin every morning, just get outside for a bit and let the sun do its thing. Another benefit of the sun is that it can actually treat skin conditions. The marketing of ultrablocking sunscreens and special sun-protective clothing plays into these fears. There's no getting around the fact that sunlight is hard on your skin. Age gets blamed for wrinkles and rough, dry skin.

But the real culprit is a combination of age and sun that dermatologists call photoaging. The longer, more penetrating UVA wavelengths may create highly reactive oxygen molecules capable of damaging skin cell membranes and the DNA inside. The relationship between sun exposure and skin cancer risk isn't as straightforward as you might think. Genes are a factor, of course: Some protect, some promote. So is skin type: People with pale skin who sunburn easily and don't tan are more likely to get sun-related skin cancer.

As for exposure, the "dose" and its timing are crucial. Several studies have suggested that suddenly getting a lot of sun is more dangerous then steady exposure over time.

There's also evidence that exposure when you're young — perhaps before your 20th birthday — matters most. A large Scandinavian study of melanoma risk published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute in found that adolescence is the most dangerous time to get a sunburn. Recent sun exposure doesn't seem to be associated with basal cell carcinoma, the mildest form of skin cancer.

Squamous cell carcinoma appears to be different. Cumulative and recent exposure to sunlight at any age is strongly associated with actinic keratoses, scaly growths on the skin that are a risk factor for that type of skin cancer. The same DNA-damaging, sunburn-causing UVB wavelengths that sunscreens are designed to block also do some good: They kick off the chemical and metabolic chain reaction that produces vitamin D.

Research shows that many people have low vitamin D levels. There is a well-documented relationship between low vitamin D levels and poor bone health.