In the 1980s and 90s people become really concerned over the skin cancer. It resulted from all the cheap package holidays to Mediterranean destinations that were so popular in the 1970s.
The sun’s energy travels to the Earth via ultraviolet radiation. It comes in three types: UVA, the longest rays, which penetrate deeper into your skin; UVB, the shorter rays that cause sunburns and UVC, the most dangerous rays that are fortunately completely absorbed by the Earth’s upper atmosphere.
The sun is responsible for the skin cancer. Yet the recent studies have found that sunlight may reduce risks of some forms of cancer, such as stomach, breast and prostate.
The sun is our main source of vitamin D which strengthens our bones and muscles, and enhances the immune system. But we only need ten minutes to get the necessary Vitamin D benefits from sunlight, which we receive even if we are wearing SPF. Salmon is also a source of vitamin D.
Sunlight also stimulates the pineal gland, also known as "the third eye". The pineal gland produces certain types of chemicals called "tryptamines", including melatonin that keeps our body clock aware of night and day and the changing seasons.
Sunbeds are even more dangerous than the sun because they produce mainly UVA radiation which penetrates deeper into your skin and damages the skin cells and DNA. It’s estimated that 20 minutes in a sunbed can be equivalent to approximately four hours in the sun.
Source: BBC Science and Nature
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