A new book argues that treating sunlight as an enemy has gone too far: a 20-year study of nearly 30,000 Swedish women found that avoiding the sun carried a mortality risk roughly on par with smoking.
Sunscreen, parasols and sun sleeves have been sold as basic health sense for years. But in his new book In Defense of Sunlight, the journalist Rowan Jacobsen argues that the fear of the sun has gone too far.
A study that is hard to sit with
Researchers followed almost 30,000 Swedish women for 20 years. The finding: people who avoided sunlight faced a risk of death in the same league as smokers.
Sunlight helps the body in more than one way. It drives the production of vitamin D, and it triggers the release of nitric oxide, which can lower blood pressure. Sun on the skin also prompts the body to release endorphins, its own opioids, which may help protect against depression.
Light by day is what lets you sleep at night
Light and darkness have another quiet job: keeping the body clock on schedule. Bright days and dark nights are what make sleep quality hold up.
Moderation still applies. Too much sun and UV are still worth guarding against, so keep the sunscreen. The goal is balance, not a side to pick.
The writer's own method is to listen to the body: step into the shade when the summer sun feels too hot or too much. The book's bottom line works as a rule: get sun, not too much, go outside.
Why it matters
Health advice tends to swing from one extreme to the other: for decades the sun was cast as poison, and now there are warnings that overdoing sun protection has its own cost. The hard part is not picking a side but knowing what 'moderate' actually looks like — which is exactly what public advice explains least.
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