Sunshine and cancer

[watervole]

I hope this link works. It's a subscriber link http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg17924074.800.html

IN essence, moderate sun exposure (all year round) is beneficial to a degree that outweighs the risk from skin cancer. It reduces your risk of other forms of cancer including colorectol and prostate cancer, as the vitamin D produced when the skin is exposed to sun is a strong anti-cancer agent.

Note the word *moderate*. You don't need a lot of exposure, but you do need some. Frying on the beach is not moderate. Getting red/burnt skin is not moderate.

However, sunscreening yourself to the extend that you're not getting any real sun on the skin at all may not be ideal either.

There's a reason Europeans evolved with white skin. (Australian aborigines evolved with black skin, which reminds us that a moderate dose for white Australians is a lot lower than a moderate dose for a white person in England)

I'd love to know if the correlation between sunlight and depression (lack of sunlight leads to depression) is caused by sunlight on the skin or sunlight viewed by the eyes. Does anyone know? the latter might make a partial case against sunglasses.

Comments

[raspberryfool.livejournal.com]

The link works fine, Judith.

I've read elsewhere (a article in a photography magazine about alternative printing techniques) that the angle of the sun is an important factor in the amount of UV-B light in sunlight, due to absorption by the atmosphere. I can dig the article out in a couple of weeks if you like, then i can scan and post it somewhere.

[raspberryfool.livejournal.com]

Actually, sorry, i should have scrolled down the page! Only the first three paragraphs appeared, followed by: "To continue reading this article, subscribe to New Scientist. Get 4 issues of New Scientist magazine and instant access to all online content for only £2.95"

[watervole.livejournal.com]

I got to read the full thing as I am a subscriber. It is an interesting article. (Angle of light is indeed important as that affects atompsheric absorbtion. That is why a midday sun is more dangerous.

[mistraltoes.livejournal.com]

FWIW, from my own experience I'm fairly certain it's at least partly the eyes. I've also read that *viewing* the light that occurs around sunset acts on the brain of a bipolar person in a similar manner to the lithium that's often prescribed.

[alex-holden.livejournal.com]

(lack of sunlight leads to depression)

Not for me. I don't mind lack of sunlight, but hot weather makes me irritable and very hot weather prevents me from thinking straight. I can't imagine why people pay to go hot countries and lie in the sun. I'd much rather go to Iceland and play in the snow.

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

Me too. When it heads towards 30, I can barely function - I just lie down in front of an electric fan, swigging water and waiting for the sun to set.

[cobrabay.livejournal.com]

I like being out in sunny weather, but I hate bright sun in my eyes. On nice days like this I'm a basketcase without my sunglasses.

[vicarage.livejournal.com]

I'd always much rather put on sunscreen at lunchtime rather than first thing, to give some exposure without burning. Moderation in all things, and gaining a tan will save you on the days you forget to apply it.

Its a key issue here, with much higher sun angles at 40N, thinner atmosphere in the mountains, and that its always sunny.

[julesjones]

It's viewing bright light for depression, although IIRC there's some evidence that skin exposure also helps, probably linked to vitamin D generation. However, UV isn't needed and standard light therapy boxes include a UV screen. As UV causes cataracts and I'm at high risk for macular degeneration, I'll keep on wearing my contact lenses with the UV filters. You also don't need it all day (30-90 minutes in most cases) and for most people it's better to have it in the early morning, so there is no particular case against sunglasses (other than idiots who wear them as fashion accessories regardless of whether the light is bright enough to need them). Useful summary article here:
http://www.clevelandclinic.org/health/health-info/docs/1400/1484.asp?index=6412
Note that light therapy has side-effects, including the same hypomania that SSRIs can cause in bipolar people.

One of the latest tricks for SAD and light-sensitive bipolar people is a baseball cap with the new high-intensity white LEDs mounted under the brim, so you can walk around with your own portable light therapy. Don't know anyone who's actually tried it.

[izhilzha.livejournal.com]

Well, living in Los Angeles and getting sunshine about 80-some% of the year, I can confirm that while lack of sunshine may link to depression in other areas of the world, for a lot of people here (myself included) it's the exact opposite.

We get so much sunshine that it becomes a depressant. A showery day or a thunder-storm (!) is a huge mood-lifter for some of us.

[watervole.livejournal.com]

THat may be heat rather than sunshine.

Too much heat is horrible.

[kremmen.livejournal.com]

It might be the combination of smog and heat. I find the atmosphere in LA to be among the most unpleasant in the world. I try to avoid the region altogether, but then they go and have a Worldcon there every so often!

[izhilzha.livejournal.com]

That might be part of it (super-heated air plus pollution equals no energy), but I'm curious about what people are saying in the comments here about the visual component of the link--because even visually (while I'm sitting in my always-too-cool office) I prefer the occasional clouds/haze to the sunshine in terms of my mood.

That might be personal though, because I have somewhat sensitive eyes--when I go from dark building to sunlight, I sneeze. :-)