It’s mid-June, but I already got my first sunburn of the season, even though I was wearing sunscreen. It was a beautiful day, and after hours of riding in direct sunlight at noon, I was enjoying my bike ride without thinking about reapplying sunscreen.
Throughout the year, our relationship with sunlight is a delicate balance, and either too much or too little can have serious health consequences. Excessive exposure to intense sunlight can cause skin cancer. Insufficient sunlight can lead to serious health conditions such as depression, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, non-skin cancers, and increased susceptibility to respiratory viruses such as influenza and novel coronavirus. There is a nature.
Since time immemorial, the sun has showered our planet with radiation, or photons, and life has had to adapt to its challenges. Earth’s magnetic field and ozone layer protect us from the most harmful cosmic radiation. Radiation that passes through the atmosphere plays an important role in sustaining life on Earth. Infrared provides warmth. Visible light allows us to see the colors of the rainbow and provides plants with the energy to photosynthesize carbon dioxide molecules to make sugar, which is the beginning of the entire food chain.
Ultraviolet (UV) light passes through an animal’s skin and causes photosynthesis of a type of cholesterol (ergosterol) to produce vitamin D. Vitamin D is a hormone that has receptors in almost every organ system of the body, and its effects on health continue today. understood.
People living above 37 degrees north latitude (47.9 degrees in Teton County) are even more likely to have low levels of circulating “sunshine vitamins” in their blood. Regular sun exposure a few days a week while gardening or walking will increase your vitamin D levels. In early spring, exposing your skin to the sun in small doses will allow your skin to adapt to the sun without burning and benefit from vitamin D.
Our main source of vitamin D is produced in the skin when exposed to sunlight. Sources of vitamin D in foods include light-grown mushrooms, egg yolks, fish such as tuna and salmon, and cod liver oil. In the early 1930s, dairy products were fortified with vitamin D to combat rickets, which causes deformities in the growing bones of children. Plant-based milks and orange juice are now fortified with vitamin D to help you get through the dark winters.
What can you do?
First, you need to know your skin type and how the sun reacts to sunlight. The more likely you are to get a sunburn, the sooner you should use sunscreen.
The “Law of Shadows” is an easy way to determine if you need sunscreen. If you’re shorter than your shadow, you’re less likely to be exposed to UV rays and need less sunscreen. If you’re taller than your shadow, you’ll be exposed to more UV rays and need more sunscreen.
Another strategy is to check the UV index as part of your daily weather forecast. This is a scale that gives an indication of how much sunscreen you need to protect yourself from the sun, on a scale of 1 to 11 plus. And even when it’s cloudy, the UV index varies throughout the day, increasing in intensity between 11am and 2pm.
Physical sun protection is a brimmed hat, sunglasses, and tightly woven fabric. Chemical sunscreens are broad-spectrum SPF 30 sunscreen lotions, not sprays, that are stored in a cool place within the expiration date.
Use plenty of sunscreen! Use 1 teaspoon of lotion on your face. For adults in bathing suits, we recommend using enough lotion to fill a shot glass to completely cover your body.
Sunscreen should be liberally reapplied every two hours while in direct sunlight. Sunscreen should be reapplied after swimming or sweating, even if it is water resistant.
Spending time outdoors regularly and protecting your skin when the UV index is high is a great way to improve your overall health and well-being. Just in case you need one more reason to go outside.
Shelby Jones-Dozier is an extended agent for Teton County/MSU working on family and consumer sciences and 4-H programs. You can contact her at her office at 406-466-2491 or her email. [email protected].
