With the accelerated pace of modern life, people go out early and come back late every day for study and work, eat takeaways, and stay indoors for a whole day. As people less outdoor activities, they naturally spend less time in the sun.
But in fact, Sun exposure is very beneficial to people’s health. Instead of taking medicine and nutritional supplements to maintain health, it is better to keep yourself away by sun exposure Disease.
The sun has these benefits
Studies have shown that sunning can make people feel better
strong>. There is a neurotransmitter called serotonin in the brain, which can bring happiness and pleasure, and sun exposure can increase the turnover rate of serotonin in the brain, making people feel happy. Adequate sunshine can also promote the secretion of adrenaline and thyroid hormones in the human body, helping to improve bad mood. Therefore, psychiatrists often recommend that patients with depression go out in the sun more, which can help the recovery of depression.
Emotions can affect people’s physical health, often having a happy mood can delay aging, while negative emotions can cause the occurrence of certain diseases. The digestive system is a good emotional expressor. Many people feel anger in the stomach and can’t eat after being angry, because anger can stimulate the sympathetic nerve, promote the secretion of gastric acid, and damage the gastric mucosa.
In addition to gastrointestinal diseases, bad mood can also cause many other systemic diseases. Therefore, the good mood brought by the sun can avoid the occurrence of many diseases and keep the body healthy.
Sunbathing can also enhance the body’s immunity, making the body less sick. Regular sun exposure can increase the proliferation of monocytes, promote the transformation of monocytes into macrophages, and enhance the functions of immune cells such as macrophages in vivo. When viruses and harmful bacteria invade the body, the activity of immune cells can engulf and kill these bacteria and viruses to prevent immune diseases such as viral colds.
Also, regular sun exposure can protect against cardiovascular disease. Regular sun exposure can help maintain high levels of vitamin D in the body, which protects blood vessels by reducing inflammation in the body. Most cardiovascular diseases are initially caused by damage to the blood vessel wall, and the next step in the damage to the blood vessel wall is inflammation, which in turn leads to problems with blood circulation.
Vitamin D can activate the body’s immune cells to function, reverse the damage to the cardiovascular system, better prevent cardiovascular hardening and blockage, and maintain the elasticity of blood vessels And the smooth flow of blood, play a role in preventing high blood pressure, coronary heart disease and other diseases. [1]
Cardiovascular disease is the most common chronic disease in middle-aged and elderly people, and regular sun exposure can reduce heart disease and myocardial infarction risk of occurrence. With a healthy body, your life expectancy will naturally extend.
In addition to diseases of the cardiovascular system, osteoporosis is also a problem faced by middle-aged and elderly people, and sun exposure can play a role in preventing osteoporosis.
Sunbathing can supplement calcium
It has been reported that more than 70 million people in my country suffer from severe osteoporosis, which causes osteoporosis One of the reasons is the lack of sunlight.
First of all, we need to know how osteoporosis occurs. The human bone is “alive”, it is constantly absorbing and breaking down. With the increase of age, the body’s metabolic capacity declines, the formation of new bones decreases, and excessive calcium loss leads to bone density reduction, and the brittleness of bones increases, eventually leading to the occurrence of osteoporosis. The metabolism of bone requires the participation of calcium. When the calcium content in the body is insufficient, it will affect the synthesis of bone. In addition, in order to maintain the blood calcium concentration, the bone will release a part of it. Calcium into the blood, accelerates the occurrence of osteoporosis.
The main way for the human body to obtain calcium is through food. Passage into the bloodliquid. Vitamin D can increase calcium ion channels on the small intestinal mucosa, increase calcium absorption, increase blood calcium levels, and help calcium salt deposition in bones.
In the sun’s rays, it is mainly divided into infrared rays and ultraviolet rays, and ultraviolet rays can increase the conversion of active vitamin D in the body, thus having the effect of calcium supplementation.
In addition, osteocytes are mainly divided into osteoblasts and osteoclasts.As the name suggests, the main function of osteoblasts is to Promote the formation of bones; and osteoclasts are mainly responsible for the destruction and decomposition of bones. Vitamin D can promote the generation of osteoblasts, increase the rigidity of bones, and play a role in improving osteoporosis.
Also, women who are menopausal are more likely to develop osteoporosis, because estrogen levels in the body drop significantly before and after menopause, making it less effective. Inhibition of osteoclasts leads to accelerated bone destruction and dissolution, accelerating the formation of osteoporosis.
Bone mass continues to decline after reaching its peak at 30 years, lack of outdoor activities and an unbalanced diet and other bad living habits can promote the formation of osteoporosis.
Some people will think, “Since vitamin D can promote calcium absorption, why don’t I eat more foods supplemented with vitamin D?”. However, for vitamin D supplementation to promote calcium absorption, relying on dietary supplements alone is far from enough. Because of the active vitamin D in the human body, only 10% comes from food, and most of the rest are converted from sunlight exposure, so dietary supplements cannot replace sun exposure.
Infants and young children get more sun exposure can also prevent rickets, rickets, and teenagers get more sun exposure can promote bone growth In older people, more sun exposure can prevent osteoporosis and reduce the probability of fractures. [2]
Sun exposure can not only improve bone condition, but also promote brain development and exercise brain ability.
Sunbathing can prevent Alzheimer’s
Regular sunbathing helps promote the intellectual development of children’s brains and delay the mental decline of the elderly. This is also inseparable from the role of vitamin D. Ultraviolet rays in sunlight can convert 7-dehydrocholesterol in human skin into vitamin D3, which is an active vitamin.
Vitamin D can promote the growth and development of nerve cells, promote the division of nerve synapses, so that nerves and muscles can respond to external stimuli. Studies have shown that vitamin D is related to the synthesis of various brain proteins and plays a role in protecting nerves. If the body lacks vitamin D, it will aggravate the damage of nerve cells, leading to the occurrence of neurological diseases.
Vitamin D can increase the level of glutamate in the brain, and glutamate can maintain brain function, provide energy for the brain, and protect the nerve center and cerebral cortex. The cerebral cortex can maintain the normal conduction function between nerves, improve people’s cognition of things, and support the human body’s functions such as language, movement and mental activities.
Vitamin D can also promote the excitement of the hippocampus, which often occurs in the elderly with dementia, which is the hippocampus in the brain result of body degeneration. The hippocampus is mainly responsible for memory formation and storage. When the hippocampus degenerates, it will lead to memory loss and cognitive impairment. Studies have shown that lack of vitamin D can reduce the network of neurons around the hippocampus, making the neurons in the hippocampus lose connections, and ultimately lead to the decline of cognitive function.
For children in the growth and development period, this period is the golden stage of brain development. Sun exposure and vitamin D supplementation can not only prevent the occurrence of rickets, but also promote the development of brain neurons, improving children’s intelligence and learning ability. More outdoor activities can also cultivate children’s lively and cheerful personality and improve their ability to perceive nature.
For the elderly, the brain nerves will age with age, and more sun exposure can slow down the decline of brain nerves, delay memory decline, and prevent Alzheimer’s Effect.
In addition, sun exposure can stimulate the secretion of dopamine, and dopamine can prevent the lengthening of the eye axis.< strong>Reduce the risk of myopia.
Sun exposure is also learned, how can I maximize its benefits?
How should the sun be exposed
Sunbathing is also a “technical job”. People of different ages have different sunbathing methods. Only by mastering the sunbathing skills can you better maintain your health.
Attention Time to bask in the sun
The best times of the day to bask in the sun are before 10 am and after 4 pm. Relatively mild, it can not only supplement vitamin D, promote metabolism, but also prevent the skin from being sunburned by too strong ultraviolet rays.
Babies and toddlers should be exposed to 15- About 30 minutes is enough. Adolescents can be appropriately extended to 1-2 hours per day to promote the growth and development of the body. The daily sun exposure time for middle-aged and elderly people can be controlled within 30-60 minutes. In summer, the sun exposure time can be shortened appropriately. In autumn and winter, pay attention to keeping warm and avoid cold wind.
Focus on these few
Excessive exposure to the back can enhance immunity. There are many immune cells under the skin on the back of the human body, and exposure to the sun can activate them and help strengthen immunity It also helps calcium absorption.
Sunning your palms can help you sleep. People’s palms are rarely exposed to the sun, and more palm exposure can help relieve fatigue, improve insomnia, and improve sleep quality.
Extend your legs to prevent cramps. Many people have “old cold legs”. Exposing the legs to the sun can promote blood circulation and help to expel the cold in the legs. Expose the legs more to speed up the absorption of calcium by the bones of the lower limbs, effectively prevent leg cramps, and also eliminate the fatigue of the legs.
Don’t bask in the sun through glass
Research shows that glass can block sunlight The ultraviolet rays in the sun, and basking in the sun through the glass will affect the effect of ultraviolet rays to promote the formation of vitamin D, which greatly reduces the effect of sun exposure.
Try not to wear white clothes when basking in the sun, because white clothes can reflect the more damaging short-wave ultraviolet rays to the face and damage the skin.
Doctors recommend
Sunbathing is the easiest and cheapest way to stay healthy. While it’s good for your body, everything is too much, and too much sun exposure can damage your skin and increase your risk of skin cancer. If you spend too much time outdoors, you can apply sunscreen appropriately and take sun protection measures. Remember to drink plenty of water after sun exposure to replenish the water evaporated from the body. You can also eat more fruits and vegetables to inhibit the production of melanin and prevent the skin from darkening to a certain extent.
References:
[1] Sun Yongle, Wang Lihong, Che Hui. Research progress on the important role of vitamin D in cardiovascular disease[1] J]. Journal of Cardiovascular Rehabilitation Medicine, 2021, 30(06)
[2] Liao Xiangpeng, Zhang Zengli, Zhang Honghong, Zhu Hanmin, Zhou Jianlie, Huang Qiren, Wang Zhixu, Wang Liang, Liu Zhonghou.Guidelines for the application of vitamin D and bone health in adults (2014 standard edition)[J].Chinese Journal of Osteoporosis,2014,20(09)