Researchers say that sunlight is addictive

Good news for all you pasty introverts, it turns out that going outside in the sun for too long can be addictive.

Check this out:

Sunshine acts like an addictive drug and has a similar effect on the body as heroin, scientists claim.

Ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun stimulate the production of endorphins, ''feel good'' hormones that act on the same biological pathway as opioid drugs, research shows.

But it's not all bad news- as Harvard boffin Dr Fisher describes:

''This information might serve as a valuable means of educating people to curb excessive sun exposure in order to limit skin cancer risk as well as accelerated skin ageing that occurs with repeated sun exposure.

And you know that the results are solid, because it was performed on lab mice. That's right, lab mice who never see outside their cages let alone sunlight are the are the basis for this research, Not to mention that the mice were bombarded with UV rays for six weeks, and then they were administered

an opioid-blocking drug, naloxone. Abruptly denied the drug-like effects of UV, they suffered an array of withdrawal symptoms, including shaking, tremors and teeth chattering.

Telegraph UK

From my personal experience, this research can't be validated by mice alone. Some previous jobs I've had required me to be in sunlight for at least six hours a day, and I've never awoken shaking in a cold sweat with my teeth chattering.

I'm getting confused, because I have also read that

Vitamin D is produced by your skin in response to exposure to ultraviolet radiation from natural sunlight.

Web MD

Thank you Dr internet. So what do you think? Have you ever had withdrawal symptoms when going cold turkey from sun exposure?

a reply to: Thecakeisalie

It makes sense that evolution has us wired to love the Sun. Vitamin D is one of the top cancer fighters we know of.

I experienced this myself after returning from holiday in a tropical locale. I found myself just going outside to stand in the sun. I conciously felt the craving.

It was similar to heroin or strong crack. Kidding about that last part.

I spend most of my time outside in the sun. I'm sure if these people spent just half as much time as I did in the sun and heat, I'm pretty sure they wouldn't say it's addictive.

If this is what passes for science these days, then I don't know what to tell you.

a reply to: Thecakeisalie

Have you ever had withdrawal symptoms when going cold turkey from sun exposure?

Yep. Every winter and rainy day. Brain in a fog, depressed, lethargic, cranky. Going outside for at LEAST a few minutes every day is extremely healthy. We NEED fresh air and sunshine. If it's just too cold, I sit in a sunny window for a few hours (reading).

It's a real thing. Why would that surprise anyone? I don't mean that to be a smarty-pants, but it's like saying we're addicted to air and water and food and sleep. Of course we are!

a reply to: Thecakeisalie

First one's free.

I have relatives who just go and sit in the sun for hours. I don't know if I want to tell them this news or not, but maybe. Too much of a good thing and all, harmful when taken in excess.

So now they are saying that the good feeling that we get from the sunlight is addicting. They want us to take D3 and stay out of the sun or use sunscreen. This way they can sell us antidepressants. Wow, they are smarter than the average person.

I'm not afraid of the sun, I know when to get out of it, you learn that after you get burnt a few times. Proper body chemistry helps to keep the sun from bothering you. If you avoid all fats and shower with soap everyday, the skin can become damaged by the sun. If you saturate your body with D3, the levels can be too high to stay in the sun. These supplements are medicines to help with deficiencies and lifestyle choices, we need to be aware of that. One mans poison is another man's medicine.

The policy of thinking that nice plump and smooth skin is healthy if flawed, it does not need to be that way for us to be healthy. Moderation in diet is crucial. The healthiest old people I know, the ones with all their marbles, have some wrinkles and they look old. They do not go to the doctors much either. Our skin needs to breath properly and needs proper nutrition either through the body or topically applied. People have been adding oils to skin and also some natural ointments for thousands of years. Some of these are good, But some of these are not good. I have barely touched on these in my studies to verify them.

I think we are supposed to be a little wrinkly when we get old, sort of like a turtle. I think it is a natural part of the aging process myself, our immune system changes as we age, we compensate for this. Now there is healthy and unhealthy in this subject and we can reboot our system, but the antigens we accumulate through our life necessitate a diet change.

a reply to: BuzzyWigs

Yep. Every winter and rainy day. Brain in a fog, depressed, lethargic, cranky.

You are not the only person who feels that way, In fact this affliction has earned it's own title:

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that tends to occur (and recur) as the days grow shorter in the fall and winter. It is believed that affected people react adversely to the decreasing amounts of sunlight and the colder temperatures as the fall and winter progress

medicine net

But that is only relative to certain situations , drought stricken farmers in certain parts of the world won't get the blues when the monsoon arrives, in fact that's the happiest time of the year for most of them. But who knows? maybe the rise and fall of the temperature can play a roll as well.

Until you fall asleep and burn burn burn. Then the addiction quickly fades.

Sun makes me sleepy.

It also heals my eczema when I have a break out.

Just let effected area sit in sun for few hours and poof it's gone the next few days.

a reply to: Thecakeisalie
I never heard about this "addiction" and "withdrawal" before, but what I have heard when I used to live in Ohio is that lack of sunlight especially over the winter months might be a contributor to depression and perhaps related symptoms related to mood. You can literally go months without seeing the sun in the winter, especially if you work during the day when it might peek out but you're inside a windowless building so you don't see it, then it's dark by the time you leave work.

Some doctors were actually prescribing "light box" therapy for their patients, which is a brightly lit box that is supposed to be a sun substitute to lift your spirits, which would at least be consistent with the "endorphins" part of this topic research. I never got any light box but I did move to a sunnier climate and the sun does have an uplifting effect versus not getting any sun at all. Too much sun is obviously not good for us though, with the possibility of skin cancer, premature skin aging, etc.

a reply to: rickymouse

Some of these are good, But some of these are not good. I have barely touched on these in my studies to verify them.

I think the sun block is bad for you, and consider all the things we put on ourselves daily.

a reply to: Thecakeisalie

Addictive is a misnomer and is misleading. One could say water is addictive because of the violent spasms , teeth chattering, and shaking when it is taken away.

This has pseudo-science written all over it.

It's been known for a long time that sunlight makes people feel better and that in the Winter, many people can become depressed.

Seasonal Affective Disorder - Wikipedia

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), also known as winter depression, winter blues, summer depression, summer blues, or seasonal depression, was considered a mood disorder in which people who have normal mental health throughout most of the year experience depressive symptoms in the winter or summer.[1]

a reply to: Arbitrageur

Too much sun is obviously not good for us though, with the possibility of skin cancer, premature skin aging, etc.

Very true. Both of my parents have had skin cancer and even one of my friends, who is 34, just had a cancerous lesion removed.

a reply to: Thecakeisalie

What lends credence to this are things like "Seasonal Affective Disorder", which is basically the body becoming depressed from a lack of sunlight.

Otherwise, i agree....the methodology of the experiment seems to leave something to be desired.

I'm sat out my garden now with the sun beating on me with a cool breeze and I can see why that could be addictive because it feels beautiful

But take that breeze away and it would be horrible

Does it note anywhere that they had to shave some of the fur off the mice before putting them out in the sun?

And that shaved mice might feel cold after acclimating to increased sun exposure?

Wow.... just wow. This is the level of research that gets you a Master's or PhD or research grant these days?

Sunlight exposure isn't 'addictive' just because it feels good, it's necessary for human health, since Vitamin D (and probably a lot of things we don't yet understand) is related to sun exposure. Obviously, some is good, too much not good, and it varies greatly depending on your melanin production. And worries about accelerated skin aging is a recent problem related more to vanity than to any other issues. Far more people suffer from insufficient Vitamin D levels (actually a hormone) than from skin cancer.

Ed Leedskalnin made many claims. One of them was that he used the sun to cure his tuberculosis.

The sun is the primary god of just about every civilization that has ever existed.

a reply to: Thecakeisalie

Being over, or under exposed to sunlight is very bad for ones health. The levels which an individual requires, the amount of sunlight exposure an individual can benefit from, are just that, individual. The combination of ones skin tone, genetic heritage and a whole host of other factors play in to how well one deals with high exposure to the sun.

For example, I have very light skin, and a family history on my fathers side, of propensity toward melanoma. Therefore, I go out in the sun very little compared with most folk, and when I do, I wear a high factor sunblock, and reapply it every half hour at least.

There are people out there who have even greater weakness to the negative effects of sunlight. Sufferers of a condition called xeroderma pigmentosum, have a genetic mutation which affects the pigments in their skin. It prevents damage caused by ultraviolet light from being repaired. In the most serious cases, sufferers can never allow themselves to be exposed to ultraviolet light, since all UV absorbed by the skin has a cumulative effect, as opposed to in normal circumstances, where the skin repairs itself. Sufferers of this condition therefore, are extremely prone to a whole heap of cancer risks, after infinitesimal exposure to the sun.

There are also people who require more sunlight than others, people who have vitamin D deficiencies, people who do not have good circulation (who need to be warm more than anything else) and a whole plethora of other things that can cause a person to require more light than normal.

The idea that one ought to take heed of any study which fails to take that into account, is frankly idiotic, but I would also say that some people might be well advised to reduce their exposure to sun light, especially those who like to sunbathe.

I love sun, particularly the early morning and late afternoon varieties.

a reply to: Thecakeisalie

Strong, direct sunlight is a migraine trigger for me. That's right, it makes me sick.