The Health Benefits of Sunlight
Researchers have started recognizing the importance of sunlight for a healthy lifestyle, recent studies reveal that sunlight renders many health benefits. Apart from Sunlight maintaining temperature and humidity, sunlight plays a significant role in nourishing and energizing the human body. It is also vital in order to get the full nutritional value from food that you consume and it has been proven that getting sufficient sunlight aids in preventing chronic ailments such as seasonal affective disorder (SAD), osteoporosis, mental depression, type 2 diabetes, and cancers affecting the bladder, breasts, cervix, colon, ovaries, prostrate, and the stomach. To put it more succinctly, sunlight serves as the perfect medicinal pill in promoting a healthy lifestyle.
One of the prime benefits of sunlight is that it supplies the body with Vitamin D, which not only promotes the absorption of calcium in the gut but also transfers calcium across the cell membranes. This in turn provides strength to the bones as well as contributes for a healthy nervous system by increasing the production of endorphins in the brain. Usually, deposits of cholesterol-like substances known as ergosterol can be found beneath the skin, which gets converted into Vitamin D hormones when the sunlight penetrates the skin.
Vitamin D also helps to lower the level of cholesterol in blood, and sunlight can even prevent the growth of cancerous tumors. Studies show that exposing your face to sunlight for 10 minutes every day can provide your body with the Vitamin D that is required for the day. A lack of Vitamin D is associated with a host of autoimmune ailments such as Crohn’s disease, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and thyroditis.
Another significant benefit of sunlight is that it helps in the prevention of infections resulting from bacteria, molds, and viruses. The health benefits of sunlight include the enhancement of the immune system by increasing the count of white blood cells as well as gamma globulin, which is beneficial in warding off viruses and germs and it enhances the capacity of red blood cells in carrying oxygen.
According to certain studies, getting adequate sunlight serves as the perfect exercise for the heart, as it enables the body to lower the resting pulse rate and decreasing hypertension, thereby making the heart healthier. Sunlight also provides resistance power to the skin, by avoiding skin diseases such as psoriasis, eczema, and acne problems. Further, getting sunlight is also correlated with the stimulation of the pineal gland, which produces such vital chemicals as tryptamines.
Other health benefits derived through the exposure of sunlight are:
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Strengthening of cardiovascular system
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Normalizing blood pressure as well as blood sugar
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Increased metabolism
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Aiding in weight loss
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Ensuring proper functioning of kidneys by eliminating wastes
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Enhanced liver function
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Improved digestion
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Above all, sunshine has that magical power to alter your moods and cheer you up, thereby preventing anxiety and depression
Despite its advantages, excess exposure to sunlight may be sometimes destructive, as it can lead to ailments such as eye damage, melanomas, and skin cancer. Likewise, over exposure to sunlight may sometimes result in a change in the color as well as the size of the skin, appearance of irregular spots on the face, and itchiness or tenderness to the skin.
In other words, benefits derived from the sunlight depend upon its usage. Methods such as sunbathing and sun tanning are considered effective for getting adequate sunshine, but make sure that you are using a quality after-sun lotion in order to moisturize your skin after sun tanning. Likewise, put on such clothes that cover your arms as well as legs after sunbathing, which in turn safeguard you from further exposure. However the most important thing to remember that an excess of anything, including sunlight, can be damaging to your health.