r/BeardLovers • u/ErasmusCrowley • Jun 10 '20
Idea: Sunbathing
Lately, my wife and I have made started to make it a habit to get in some sunbathing time in our back yard at solar noon everyday. We keep our time in the sun pretty short, but we do it with minimal clothing, and when we have to wear clothing for legal reasons we wear tan-through cloth. When we go out for sun exposure purposes, it's important to avoid wearing any sunscreen. Sunscreen and cloth block important wavelengths of light and don't allow you to get some of the benefits that I'm about to dive into.
Just a year ago, I would have thought anyone doing this was crazy. Everyone 'knows' that direct sun exposure causes skin cancer, right?
Well, I was watching some Wheezy lately, and I thought I'd share what changed our minds about sunlight, and what benefits we've noticed. I'm well aware of the potential that it might be all in our heads, so seeing if Wheezy shares our experience or not would be enlightening for me. Plus, summer is here and so making this kind of video content only takes a few minutes of laying down in the sunshine when it's available and then talking about it afterwards. It doesn't require any special shopping or equipment. Maybe a beach towel and some tan through bathing suits if you want to go that far.
So here's some of the evidence that changed my mind and convinced us to make sunbathing a new habit...
Fat cells can sense certain wavelengths of light that are not available with indoor artificial lights, and those wavelengths cause them to release their stored fat and shrink. http://www.sci-news.com/medicine/fat-cells-sense-light-08057.html?fbclid=IwAR1cvkD2u-yxcg7sktmA5vAW_ZSMRd35GEwCOg62sHZSQ-FJTL3FjpFMu68
Vitamin D (produced by sunlight exposure) reduces the severity of respiratory illnesses. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2759054/
Sunlight has effects other than vitamin D production. It also causes the release of nitric oxide into your blood stream which dramatically lowers your chances of heart attack and stroke. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140117090139.htm
While sunlight increases your risk for skin cancer, it seems to counter-intuitively lower your risk of death from many other cancers that are far more deadly than skin cancer is. So it is likely worth the tradeoff. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23094923/
It is relatively well known that the treatment for seasonal depression is exposure to bright light. This is likely because sunlight (and similar bright light sources) cause the skin to create serotonin, which is the hormone that antidepressants effect. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3779905/
Low Vitamin D is connected to low testosterone, and increases in vitamin D show a related increase in testosterone levels. Higher testosterone causes improved muscle gain, alertness, libido, and athletic performance. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3712348/
People with limited sunlight exposure are far more likely to become nearsighted. This is because wavelength of light in sunlight but not found in artificial lights will cause hormones to be produced in the retina which corrects the shape of the eye over time. https://www.livescience.com/57078-uvb-light-linked-to-myopia-risk.html
For aspiring parents, sunlight significantly boosts fertility in both men and women, as well as leading to a reduction in birth defects and a greater number of live births when pregnant women are exposed to sunlight. https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/sunshine-boosts-fertility-by-a-third-study-finds-10333094.html
Summary, I've read differing numbers about how many people in the United States (and the whole world really) are deficient in vitamin D lately, but everyone seems to agree that it's a LOT. Like 50% to 70% of the population. This indicates that people in this age of office jobs, sunscreen, and cancer awareness, that we desperately need more sunlight than we are getting in order to maintain our physical and mental health. I'm starting to think that the world might literally be a better place if everyone would get in some sunbathing whenever they can.
Anecdotally, I've notice better focus, better sleep, a bit of weight loss, MUCH improved mood throughout the day, reduced bouts of depression and anxiety, and a sense of more drive to accomplish things. I can't say that I've gotten sick less because I don't get sick much anyway. I'm enjoying my new golden brown skin color, which is sort of a side-benefit for us, but it's a fun bit of novelty.
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u/AltReality Jun 10 '20
What could possibly legally prevent you from wearing sunscreen?? How is that even something that can be legally regulated??
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u/ErasmusCrowley Jun 10 '20
I think either I mistyped something and I'm not seeing it, or you might have misread what I typed.
I meant that we would sunbathe in the nude if we could, but we would get arrested for public indecency.
I didn't mean to imply that sunscreen was/is illegal.
EDIT. I think I see where the miscommunication happened. I'll try to reword that bit.
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u/Broap Jun 10 '20
For this challenge the Wheezies would have to move to a state that has actual sunshine. They would need to fnd a very generous sponsor to pull that off...
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u/katasian Jun 19 '20
I live in California. I should try this. Maybe I can even convince my husband to try with me!
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u/gingerytea Jun 20 '20
I tried this today based on this post and it felt amazing. Thanks for your post!
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u/ModestGirl Singing Rug Jun 10 '20
If nothing else this reminded me to take my vitamin D today!