Students today do not spend enough time outside and need to understand the power that the sun has over their bodies and minds.
Why is it that after you turn 14-years-old, you suddenly spend far less time outside?
If you were lucky, you were in an outdoor sport that kept you outside for a few extra hours, but the vast majority of people spend much less time out of doors after they enter high school. You stop biking, playing pretend or drawing with chalk.
As a generation, we stopped going outside for a number of reasons. We have no desire to go out when we have our phones to keep us occupied. Although it is a universal joke that we love to “bed-rot” there is nothing funny about spending seven hours on your phone every day. It is undeniable that we have a serious addiction and that the side effects include a loss of vitamin D.
It seems that our generation’s nail in the coffin was COVID-19. It forced us all into the safety of our homes. The only way to learn or connect with others was via technology. It became our lifeline to society.
Since this transition, we haven’t been able to adjust back into our lives prior to the pandemic. We’ve grown accustomed to living our lives within the safety of our own homes. We’ve forgotten about the benefits of the sun.
There is a reason that seasonal depression exists. The sun offers a multitude of health benefits that we don’t even consider before choosing to lay in our beds with the curtains drawn.
Vitamin D is the most obvious reason for standing in the sunshine. The vitamin helps to regulate the amount of calcium within your body. This can assist in strengthening bone health, muscle movement and nerve connections in the brain.
Sunlight does an excellent job in combating viruses or bacteria and supporting your immune system. That includes protecting us against COVID-19, diabetes, cancer and dementia.
After being in contact with sunlight, there is a 1 in 16 chance that dust bacteria will survive, as opposed to a 1 in 8 chance in a dark room environment. What’s the Deal with Vitamin D? | Columbia University Irvine Medical Center.
Standing in the sunshine can significantly alter your mood. Without natural light, you are more likely to experience symptoms of depression, such as despair or exhaustion. An increase in serotonin levels can be achieved from the sun, which directly combat many symptoms of depression.
Like most things, there are aspects of sunlight that people should be wary of before stepping outside for their daily dose of serotonin. Too much exposure to the sun can lead to skin damage or skin cancer. It is vital that you apply sunscreen and listen to your body. Sunscreen will not deter your body from absorbing the sun’s rays and creating vitamin D.
This sunshine break can be as long or as short as you’d like. Maybe it could serve as a study break, taken in between reviewing for an important exam. While at lunch, choose to sit outside instead. Take your dog for a walk around the neighborhood.
Taking the opportunity to spend some time outside, whether it be an hour or 10 minutes, will yield positive results. In a generation and society that prioritizes technology above all else, it is important that we take the time to utilize the world’s cheapest medicine: the sun.
