1- The sun improves mood
Most people will agree that it’s hard to feel unhappy in the sun. This is due to the link between sunlight and serotonin levels, the hormone that makes you feel happy. That’s also why people are more likely to develop seasonal affective disorder (SAD) when autumn’s days get shorter, and winter approaches with fewer hours of daylight, according to The Telegraph.
Lots of research supports this idea, and a recent study out of Australia found that people had higher levels of serotonin on sunny days than cloudy days. Elevated levels of this hormone generally lead to a greater sense of contentment and calm, and lower levels of depression and anxiety.
Although the connection is not yet fully established, the researchers speculate that this could be due to the way ultraviolet light forces melanocytes, the cells that produce dark pigment in the skin, to release endorphins.
2- The sun improves sleep
Regular exposure to sunlight stimulates the production of melatonin, the hormone that helps regulate the body’s sleep-wake cycle. This encourages feelings of drowsiness, allowing people to fall asleep more easily at night, and therefore feel happier during the day. Melatonin also helps regulate your circadian rhythm—the body’s internal clock that signals when to be alert and when to rest, which can be thrown out of sync by exposure to blue light from technology, disrupted work patterns, and light pollution.
Research also shows that the amygdala, the emotional part of the brain, is significantly more reactive after a poor night’s sleep, meaning someone who hasn’t slept well is more likely to be moody during the day . So it could be inferred that the time someone spends in the sun can help them sleep soundly.
3- Improves sexuality
Although it seems unrelated, even the sex drive is affected by the time people spend in the sun, which could explain – in addition to the high levels of stress suffered during the pandemic – why many couples noticed that their libido was reduced during the lockdown.
Researchers at the Medical University of Graz in Austria found that spending just one hour in the sun can increase a man’s testosterone levels by 69%, which, in turn, will help balance his mood, sex drive and cognitive function. Experts attribute this to the role of vitamin D, which is produced after exposure to sunlight.
And the same goes for women: Researchers in China conducted a study in postmenopausal women and identified a link between low levels of vitamin D and low levels of estrogen, the female sex hormone.
4- The health of the bones, grateful
Vitamin D is also crucial in helping the body absorb calcium, which is responsible for strong bones. A lack of vitamin D, on the other hand, is associated with osteoporosis, rickets, and autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
A Cochrane Library review found that rates of falls in older people, which are due in part to the effects of brittle bones, could be reduced by more than a quarter if older people were given vitamin D supplements.
However, whatever can be supplemented, sunlight can help: over 90% of a person’s vitamin D requirement tends to come from casual exposure to sunlight, making it the best nutrient source. On average, experts believe that people should spend 10 to 30 minutes in midday sunlight, several times a week.
5- Improves brain health in middle age
While most of the research on sunlight and the brain has focused on serotonin levels, a dose of vitamin D may also be good for your intellect, according to research.
Scientists at the University of Manchester found that higher levels of vitamin D are linked to better mental capacity in middle-aged and older men. The men in the study were tested for memory and retrieval speed, as well as mood and physical activity levels, before blood samples were taken. The researchers found that men with higher vitamin D levels performed consistently better than those with lower levels.
6- Sunlight and its benefits for sight
Dr Rangan Chatterjee is a GP and author of Feel Great, Lose Weight, and explained that light is measured in a unit called lux. So if a person spends 20 minutes outdoors, even on a cloudy day, they will be exposed to around 10,000 lux, compared to 500 lux if they spend more time indoors.
This is particularly important for children, according to researchers at King’s College London, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who found that regular exposure to sunlight reduced the risk of myopia in children and young adults. The cause? Helps the eye produce dopamine, which supports healthy eye development.
Likewise, exposure to natural light can also help reduce eye strain in adults, which has been on the rise since the start of the pandemic due to increased screen time and fewer natural breaks in the workday.
7- It can lower blood pressure
Research conducted by the University of Southampton in 2018 exposed participants with a normal range of blood pressure to ultraviolet light. And after several observations they found that, after exposure, the participants saw a modest decrease in their blood pressure levels, which could be due to the role of nitric oxide stored in the upper layers of the skin.
It’s that when the skin reacts to sunlight, it causes the blood vessels to widen, moving the rust into the bloodstream.
