Morning brings the beauty and benefits of the sun

This article may seem a little strange coming from a blog that is advising you to be aware of the dangers of too much sun and to protect yourself and your family with well made quality shade sails, but the fact is that, in moderation, the sun has many health benefits.

Of course, it is important to be cautious when out in the sun but this does not mean that we should shy away from it all together. Sunshine is vital to planet Earth and to everything that lives upon it. So what are some of the benefits of sunlight? Here are just a few examples of why we should enjoy the sun in a sensible and natural way:Morning brings the beauty and benefits of the sun

  • Getting a dose of sunshine every day enhances your immune system as it increases the number of white blood cells in our bodies. These white blood cells destroy germs and the more of them there are, the better.
  • Sunshine tends to clear up some skin diseases like acne, psoriasis, athletes foot and eczema.
  • Red blood cells are also produced more often when taking a little sunshine and this increases the efficiency of our circulation and the amount of oxygen in our blood.
  • The ultra-violet rays in sunshine act as a natural anti-sceptic as these rays can kill viruses and bacteria and the mites that live on your skin.
  • Sunlight has the tendency to balance out your hormones and this is very a helpful way to relieve some symptoms of PMS.
  • Sunlight also helps your body convert a certain type of cholesterol that is in our skin to vitamin D. There are many benefits of vitamin D some of which are detailed below.
  • Maybe you are feeling low – sunlight increases the production of endorphins and serotonin in our bodies which gives us a boost both mentally and physically.

The benefits of vitamin D

Vitamin D is an essential vitamin that our body requires to keep healthy. Our bodies produce this soluble fat vitamin naturally by exposure to the ultraviolet rays in sunlight. This essential vitamin regulates the calcium and phosphorus levels in our blood and promotes better calcium absorption in the small intestine. As you are probably aware calcium produces stronger and denser bones, helps prevent tooth decay and lowers the risk of rickets, osteoporosis and osteomalacia. You may not know but vitamin D improves the way our immune systems work this in turn helps prevent many types of cancer.

How much sunlight do I need?

Sunlight in sensible doses is beneficial and necessaryNow I have given you some examples of what benefits sunlight can give you we need to determine how much sunshine our bodies actually need. This depends of course on our skin type. If you have dark skin you will need more sunlight to activate the synthesis of vitamin D in your skin. This is vital so that you don’t lack in this important vitamin. If however you are fair skinned you will require much less sunlight to keep your vitamin D levels up.

An average of ten minutes a day of sunlight on our skin all year around is a good figure to aim for to keep our bodies healthy and topped up with vitamin D. Artificial light cannot substitute real sunlight so forget about running down to the tanning booth!

In the height of summer it is important to avoid being in direct sunlight between the hours of 10am and 4pm. The strength of the sunshine at these times is far too intense. In these moments try to spend time in the shade, you will get more than enough sunlight whilst walking between shaded areas to keep your body healthy. If you plan on spending more than 10 minutes out of the shade then use a quality high factor sunscreen of SPF 30 or higher.

Although it may sound obvious do not allow your skin to burn. When your skin burns it destroys healthy living tissue. Repeated burning causes irreversible damage and increases the risk of skin cancer. If you really want a deep golden brown suntan then be aware that constant tanning without protection causes the skin to loose elasticity and as you age your skin wrinkles and you will always look older than you actually are. It’s not a pretty sight!

There are many places online to read about how to protect yourself from the dangers of over-exposure to the sun and its harmful UV rays so take care to read the information available before you spend hours in the sunshine.

Shade Sails

[singlepic id=142 w=320 h=240 float=left]Here at Shade Sails Spain we feel that being sensible in the sun is of the highest importance. We know how vital it is that we get sunlight on our skin for all of the reasons mentioned above, but we also understand that protection from the sun is an area where we have the expertise and knowledge to assist you. Shade Sails are a perfect way to offer protection when our skin has had the daily amount of sunlight needed for a healthy body. The beauty of a shade sail is that whilst giving protection it also allows the movement of air underneath so you are always kept cool with a gentle breeze, therefore you can stay outside in your garden or patio whilst the sun is shining – no more hiding indoors!

Coolashade Shade Sails come in a variety of sizes and colours and are of the highest quality. We can install them for you or you can purchase them for self-installation. View the rest of our Coolashade Shade Sails Costa Blanca website for more details and further information.

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