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Chinese medicine has the saying of "harvesting sun essence", as the name suggests, that is, collecting sunlight to generate qingyang qi and dispel the turbid qi in the body. From the perspective of modern medicine, the benefits of sunbathing are really many. Let's take a look!
Get more sun to strengthen your bones
To supplement calcium, it is inseparable from vitamin D. Vitamin D affects the absorption and balance of calcium and phosphorus in the human body, helps maintain bone health, and is of great benefit to the prevention and treatment of pediatric rickets and osteoporosis in middle-aged and elderly people.
The main source of vitamin D in the human body is the 7-dehydrogen cholesterol in the skin produced by ultraviolet radiation in the sun. There are few types of foods rich in vitamin D, such as fatty wild marine fish and sun-exposed mushrooms, and other foods are low or deficient. Therefore, sun exposure is the main way to increase vitamin D intake, and if there is insufficient sun exposure, it is easy to develop vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency.
Sun exposure increases muscle strength
Vitamin D reduction is associated with decreased muscle function, sunbathing vitamin D supplementation can improve muscle strength and gait in the elderly, regulate calcium metabolism, promote calcium to play a role in muscle contraction and nerve impulse transmission, and enhance muscle strength.
More sun exposure improves immunity
Vitamin D supplementation was found to reduce the risk of autoimmune diseases by 22 percent. This also confirms that ensuring adequate vitamin D intake is conducive to human immune regulation, and even reduces the incidence of autoimmune thyroid disease, rheumatoid arthritis, respiratory infectious diseases, etc.
Get plenty of sun to support cardiovascular health
Excessive sun exposure increases insulin sensitivity and lowers triglyceride levels, helping to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Spend more time in the sun away from depression
Staying in a cold environment for a long time is easy to be depressed, and I believe that everyone feels this way. Sunlight can stimulate the "biological clock" in the brain, promote the synthesis and secretion of neurotransmitters, and make people feel pleasant. If the light is insufficient and the biological clock is disturbed, the neurotransmitters will be unbalanced, which will easily cause depression. Therefore, there is nothing to bask in, and the mood will naturally become better.
Precautions for sun exposure
01 Do not bask in the sun through the glass
Many people like to sit on the balcony and bask in the sun through the glass, but the penetration of ultraviolet rays is relatively poor, a thin piece of paper, a layer of sunscreen with a sunscreen index of more than 30, and even smog can isolate ultraviolet rays, let alone glass. Therefore, the sun in the glass can not play a role in supplementing vitamin D.
So we have to go outside and take in the sun, exposing as much of our skin to the sun as possible. In the cooler season, you can expose your hands to the sun when you are basking, and if the temperature permits, you can also remove the hat bib and neck to expose the head and neck.
In warm weather, try to expose your limbs, do not use sunscreen, do not wear umbrellas, but remember to wear sunglasses to prevent burns to the eyes.
02 The time to bask in the sun is well grasped
The time of sun exposure is ideal between 10:00 and 14:00, the irradiation time is 5 to 10 minutes, the frequency is 2 to 3 times a week, the elderly and individuals with darker skin color need longer sun exposure, with physical comfort as the principle, can not be forced.
In summer, ultraviolet rays are strong, and you must avoid the noon of sun exposure to the sun to avoid skin and eyes being burned.
Children's skin is delicate and should not be exposed to the sun for a long time. Sun exposure while taking care to protect the eyes.
bibliography
1. Bone Nutrition and Health Branch of Chinese Nutrition Society, Osteoporosis and Bone Mineral Salt Disease Branch of Chinese Medical Association. Expert consensus on nutrition and exercise management in patients with primary osteoporosis[J]. Chinese Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism,2020,36(8):643-653.
2.https://www.bmj.com/content/376/bmj-2021-066452
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- The article is for reference and learning sharing only, and everything depends on the patient's own situation and the diagnosis and treatment of professional doctors