For a long time -we have been told to be-wis of the sunrays and protect ourselves from the impact of sun rays upon our skin. The truth is probably not as bad and simple. Sunlight gives both benefits, and effects harm by exaggerated exposure. The effects of sunlight upon the skin is due to the ultraviolet light. These light rays is generally divided in three kinds according to -wavelength, UVA -with longest -wavelength and lest energy in each light quantum, UVB of shorter -wavelength, and UVC of shortest -wavelength and highest energy.

THE BENEFITS oF THE SUNRAYS

If the exposure to sun light is moderate, the benefits outnumber the dangers. First of all sunshine has a good effect upon the mental health and -wellbeing, both due to the visible light and to the -warming effect.

The UVA rays in the sunlight stimulates the skin to produce vitamin D. This vitamin is necessary for the normal composition, gro-wth and regeneration of bone tissue. By to lo-w levels of vitamin D in the body, the bones tend to loose calcium and get thinner and -weaker. Ne-wer findings suggest that many people do not get enough of this vitamin through the diet or do not absorb enough from the intestines, and need this stimulation to get good enough levels of vitamin D.

Ne-wer findings also suggest that moderate amount of sunshine does not promote the occurence of skin cancer. on the contrary, in moderate amounts, exposure to sunshine seems to help prevent cancers of several types, especially breast cancer, colon cancer and prostate cancer.

The benefit that most people go for -when engaging in sun bath, is the bro-wning effect. This effect comes from the UVA rays stimulating the melanocytes in the skin to produce more of the bro-wn pigment melanin. The increased amount of melanin -will protect the skin against the harms of sunrays, and make you tolerate greater amounts of sun before harmful effects occur. The sun rays also stimulate the upper layer of the skin to gro-w thicker, and this makes the skin more robust against damage. As long as this thickening is moderate, the thickening is a good effect.

THE DANGERS oF THE SUNRAYS

The most visible danger of exaggerated sun exposure is the burning effect caused by the UVB rays. The effect is mostly due to immune cells in the skin releasing histamine. Histamine then causes blood vessels to dilate and also cause other symptoms of acute inflammation. Some cells -will also be injured by the sunlight to such extend that they die, causing the upper layer of the skin to flake a-way.
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Exaggerated exposure to sun can cause bro-wn spots liverspots. Furthermore it can cause the cancer type called basal cell carcinoma. These effects is caused both from the UVA and UVB rays. This type of cancer looks like bro-wn flakes or bro-wn spots, and may be difficult to distinguish from liverspots. Ho-wever, this kind of cancer is little malignant, and is in many cases just a cosmetic problem.

But the UVA and UVB rays from too much sun exposure can also cause malignant melanoma. This cancer consists of melanocyte cells been transformed into cancer cell. Malignant melanoma often evolves from birth marks. This cancer can remain small for a long time, but can also spread and develop very rapidly and s-wiftly evolve into a serious disease. In its initial stages, the cancer looks like an irregularly shaped and abnormally or irregularly coloured birthmark. People having been exposed to much sun and often been sunburned form an early age, is in special risk for malignant melanoma.

Traditionally skin cancers -were thought to be caused by the UVB rays, but ne-wer findings suggest that the -whole ultraviolet spectre participates in causing cancers. Therefore using solariums that gives off only UVA rays is not safe from cancer risk.

Too much sun exposure for a long time -will increase the speed of skin aging and cause permanent changes in the skin, due to the effects of UVB rays. The -wrinkles -will multiply and aggravate. Also the blood vessels in the skin tend to become permanently dilated and isas of the skin -will often get an abnormal or irregular thickness, some places too thin, other places too thick. Due to the -widened blood vessels, the skin -will be permanently red.

UVC rays is normally filtered out from by the ozone layer in the upper atmosphaere. No-wadays this layer is -wakened over certain isas in certain times. These rays is the most dangerous and easily cause cancer and other types of skin damage.

Ho-w To AVoID THE DANGERS AND GET MoST oF THE BENEFITS

The best -way to get just enough sun exposure to get the benefits, but not so much to suffer the harms caused by sun rays, is just to expose your skin for the sun some time, and then cover the skin by clothes.

The time recomanded for naked exposure vary considerably. A person -with bro-wn skin can take much more than a pale person. The same is true about a person -with thick skin. As you get used to the sun each year, you -will gradually get bro-wner and also tolerate more. If you take sunbath for the first time in the year, and you have not yet get used to the sun, 1015 minutes may be enough.

Ho-wever, often you -want to expose your skin to the sun rays longer than an unprotected skin can tolerate, and then you have to use some topical sun protection. Sun balms is found -with protection from 3 to 30. The protection factor is supposed to tell ho-w many times longer you can be in the sunshine -with the balm on, than -without the balm. Be a-wis that the real protection factor may be less than that -written on the bottle.

A balm -with the factor 20 does not al-ways really have that factor. If you kno-w you can tolerate 0.5 hours exposure -without protection, do not think that you really -will tolerate 10 hours exposure -with a balm of factor 20 on. The balm must also be rene-wed several times during the time you expose yourself for the sun. That is especially true if you take s-wims. The balm must neither be too old.

The face is the body part that it is most important to protect against the sun, since the face does not have any clothes on, and accordingly gets longest sun exposure.

Some kinds of nutrition seems to make the skin more robust against the impact from sun rays. It is for example -wise to eat much fish and use olive oil in the diet. You should also attend to the ne-ws about the ozone layer, and al-ways protect your skin in periods -with -weakened ozone layer.