Did You Get Enough Sun This Summer?

Many people live in climates where the summer season is all year long.  These are the lucky one’s (some might say).  But for people in the northern or mountainous regions, we have to pack all of our summer fun into 1-3 months.  The warm sun not only give us a great natural energy source, but it also packs our bodies with Vitamin D which is essential for absorbing calcium into our bones. But can we get enough in just a couple of months to last all through the winter without direct sunlight?

It was fun for me to speak with people who reside in the Caribbean. My wife and I went at the end of September, which is well into the fall season where we live.  The dark tans that we had worked on all summer had faded, no more shorts and flip-flops, no more outdoor swimming pools or lakes.  It is usually in the 50’s (F) during the day, if we are lucky. Doti, a San Juan native, born and raised, says, “I love to sit in the middle of town selling my hand made jewelry and watch all the tourist who use to have white skin that now have red skin because they are not use to the hot sun this time of year.  They look like they’ve been jerked.”

The sun gives us so much to survive.  If it wasn’t for the sun plants, animals, and everything alive (except maybe cockroaches) would become extinct.   So what can we do to keep that energy producing, vitamin nourishing ray of light providing it’s natural powers throughout the whole year?

For the lucky few of us we can plan yearly vacations to tropical areas to “re energize” our bodies with that big glowing ball in the sky.  But for the majority of us who do not have that luxury, we go into a zone of “depression”.  Doctors have researched and studied many areas of the sun’s effects on the body and have designed their own rituals or inventions to help the body stay energized during the cloudy, cold, stale winters.  Vitamin D supplements are recommended by most doctors.  It is to your benefit to have blood test run to see your Vitamin D level before starting a Vitamin D regiment.  UV lights have also been known to restore the sun’s energy back into your body.  Check out my blog about UV lighting at “UV Lighting – Good, Bad?”

Still the best way to stay energetic, according to health officials, is to stay active and eat right.  There are still great indoor and outdoor activities to do during the winter.  Do your best to stay out of the proverbial fog winter can bring into your lives.

UV Lighting – Good, Bad?

Feeling a little down and sluggish during the winter season?  If your answer is “No”, then you may be living in an environment with warm, sunny days year round.  If you live in areas that are cold and cloudy during the winter, you yearn for the sunny days of summer.  Why?  You may just enjoy warm over cold, or outdoor activities that require a warmer environment.  What you might not realize is that your body is craving the UV light from the sun.

UV light on your skin produces Vitamin D.  Vitamin D is great for calcium absorption.  Vitamin D promotes health bones, teeth, tendons, and ligaments.  It also helps the brain produce serotonin, a neurotransmitter critical to emotional health.  This is why you feel so good during a sunny day.  People in cold, cloudy climates can feel the difference in UV exposure between the transition from winter to spring.

UV Light Therapy is used in areas where there is little sunshine.  It is also a controversial topic of discussion.  Everyone is aware of UV rays causing melanoma (skin cancer).  Sun screen and covers are recommended if you are going to be exposed to the sun for long periods of time.  Tanning beds have also been known to not only be addictive, but can cause melanoma.  So why would we use a UV light to shine directly on us in the hopes that we will have a better sense of well being?

They UV lights used in Light Therapy are filtered.  “Most light therapy systems shield out (or substantially reduce) the ultraviolet light that causes tanning.” The UV light that causes tanning is the most dangerous to your skin.  Make sure you do your research to find the right light for you.

For complete information on causes and effects of UV Light Therapy, go to http://www.columbia.edu/~mt12/blt.htm.