How Many Hours of Unfiltered Sunlight Do You Get a Day?

[Guest]

I'm reading and researching into the health benefits of the sun. Supposedly Americans spend 4% of their time OUTSIDE...which I found amazing.

I noticed that my entire life seemed to get better, when I was working a job where I was outside for at least a few hours a day, or when I was doing alot of gardening. Lightness, combined with proper darkness at night, has amazing beneficial effects.

I just designed an outdoor living space in my patio with plants and places to sit. So now I'm using my laptop outside, hoping to get the benefits of the full spectrum sun all around me.

How many hours of light do you get a day?

Edit: What I mean by unfiltered, is not getting sunlight through a window. Windows block UV light, which is beneficial to the body. Also unfiltered means without sunglasses, contacts, or glasses, as these can also block the light going into your eyes..

 

[Guest]

i walk to and from work, i walk the dog, and sometimes i just sit on the porch

 

[GOT_BUD?]

Unfiltered? Not very much. I have sensitive eyes and very sensitive skin, so I always wear sunglasses and sunblock, and never take my shirt off outside. (I've gotten blister on my shoulders from being outside unprotected in 20 minutes when I was a kid.)

I do go outside though. Quite a bit. I just take precautions so I don't fry.

 

[Kirby]

Usually 1 1/2 hour. More on the weekends and probably around 2-3 in the summer.

 

[Guest]

in the summer, 6+ every day, little less on the weekends, get suntan lotion that blocks uv a and b rays, along with dermatex 'technology' which doesn't breakdown after exposure to the sun like most suntan lotions do

 

[Yummybud]

lol I stay bone white in the summer also as I don't go in the sun that much. I get like 2-3 hours of sunlight a week.

yeah skin has a healthy glow from the flourescent lights.

 

[Neuronaut]

4% of their time inside? It has to be WAY more than that. Shit, we sleep 33% of the day inside alone.

 

[Guest]

Correction:

I meant 4% OUTSIDE.

Yummy I think some of your problems might be related to not getting enough sunlight. Try one hour a day, and see how you feel in a week.

Neways, supposedly we are supposed to get at least 30 minutes, preferably 2 hours, a day. And without glasses/contacts, or through glass... UV is supposedly actually healthy and a requirement for full health, in the right amounts.

 

[Farmer P4t]

Does the exposure have to be direct to be beneficial??

I spend a lot of time outside but "enclosed" and thus don't get much of a tan. Too much direct sunlight leaves me looking brown, but feeling quite tired and drained/dehydrated.

 

[bounty29]

I know being outside makes me feel tired, but that's when I sleep best. Hang out outside in the sun for the day, and you'll get a great night's sleep. Wake up feeling refreshed and ready to go the next day.

 

[Boxy Brown]

um last time I checked UV's are VERY bad for your skin and eyes.


"Ultraviolet (UV) irradiation present in sunlight is an environmental human carcinogen. The toxic effects of UV from natural sunlight and therapeutic artificial lamps are a major concern for human health. The major acute effects of UV irradiation on normal human skin comprise sunburn inflammation (erythema), tanning, and local or systemic immunosuppression."

— Matsumura, Y. & Ananthaswamy H. N. , Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology (2004)

 

[Kirby]

http://www.accessexcellence.org/HHQ/qow/qow03/qow040614.html

 

[Boxy Brown]

http://www.accessexcellence.org/HHQ/qow/qow03/qow040614.html

if you want vitamin-D just take a multi vitamin.

 

[marx2k]

UV light for the eyes also causes early onset of macular degeneration, from what I understand.

* Using sunscreen has been shown to prevent squamous cell skin cancer. The evidence for the effect of sunscreen use in preventing melanoma, however, is mixed. Sunscreens that block both ultraviolet A (UV-A) and ultraviolet B (UV-B) light may be more effective in preventing squamous cell cancer and its precursors than those that block only UV-B light. However, people who use sunscreen alone could increase their risk for melanoma if they increase the time they spend in the sun.

* UV exposure increases the risk for skin cancer among people with all skin types, but especially fair-skinned people. Those who sunburn readily and tan poorly, namely those with red or blond hair and fair skin that freckles or burns easily, are at highest risk for developing skin cancer and would benefit most from sun protection behaviors. The incidence of melanoma among whites is 20 times higher than it is among blacks; the incidence of melanoma among whites is about 4 times higher than it is among Hispanics.
* Observational studies indicate that intermittent or intense sun exposure is a greater risk factor for melanoma than chronic exposure. These studies support the hypothesis that preventing sunburn, especially in childhood, may reduce the lifetime risk for melanoma.
* Other measures for preventing skin cancer include avoiding direct exposure to midday sun (between the hours of 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM) to reduce exposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays and covering skin exposed to the sun (by wearing protective clothing such as broad-brimmed hats, long-sleeved shirts, long pants, and sunglasses).

Melanoma is a leading cause of cancer death in the United States.

Daily sunscreen use on the hands and face reduced the total incidence of squamous cell cancer in a randomized trial of 1,621 residents in Australia (rate ratio [RR], 0.61; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.46 to 0.81).9 Sunscreen had no effect on basal cell cancer. Based on this trial, 140 people would need to use sunscreen daily for 4 ½ years to prevent 1 case of squamous cell cancer. An earlier randomized trial demonstrated that sunscreen use reduced solar keratoses, precursors of squamous cell cancers.10 There are no direct data about the effect of sunscreen on melanoma incidence. An unblinded randomized trial showed children at high risk for skin cancers who used sunscreen developed fewer nevi than those who did not. Several epidemiologic studies have found higher risk for melanoma among users of sunscreens than among non-users.11-13 A recent meta-analysis of population-based case-control studies found no effect of sunscreen use on risk for melanoma.14 The conflicting results may reflect the fact that sunscreen use is more common among fair-skinned people, who are at higher risk for melanoma, than it is among darker-skinned people; or, this finding may reflect the fact that sunscreen use could be harmful if it encourages longer stays in the sun without protecting completely against cancer-causing radiation.

http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/3rduspstf/skcacoun/skcarr.htm

[EDIT: BTW, if you need proof of sun damage to the skin, check out pictures of frequent tanners under a UV light. Scary shit]

 

[Boxy Brown]

I don't think that even sun screen would help when you average UV index is 14 (for me that is).

 

[marx2k]

WTF dude, do you live ON the sun?

 

[Boxy Brown]

WTF dude, do you live ON the sun?

LOL, no I live below 30º lat

 

[Irishslappop]

when ever i work i get 7+ hours of being outside, on school days i probably get around 3 hours, and off days probably around 4 hours.

 

[marx2k]

Irish... I would be checking your skin more often than most people.

Do you look like a lizard?

 

[Boxy Brown]

when ever i work i get 7+ hours of being outside, on school days i probably get around 3 hours, and off days probably around 4 hours.

be prepared to have melanoma later in life