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The Benefits and Risks of Beach Tanning |
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It does appear that beach tanning has become a thing of the past. Although people still love to go to the beach, they have become worried about what beach tanning will do to their skin. They often avoid beach tanning by bringing large umbrellas, tons of high SPF suntan lotion, and plenty of cover-ups to avoid the sun.
There is nothing wrong with this. In fact, with all that we have heard about the downfalls of beach tanning no one can be blamed by their sudden fear of the sun. Beach tanning does darken the skin in a natural response stimulated by exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun. If you excessively go beach tanning then you can also develop a sunburn to their skin.
Sunburns are a symptom of skin damage and can be associated later with skin cancer. They have also been linked to melanoma when excessive beach tanning has taken place, especially in the adolescent years. Studies have shown that with the damage to the Ozone layer people are more prone to sunburns when they are beach tanning even for a short period of time. The dangerous levels of UV radiation have given a rise to the risk of skin cancer, especially in the Southern Hemisphere. It has also been shown that too much beach tanning can lead to eye problems if UV protected sunglasses are worn when beach tanning, as well as damage to your immune system. Beach tanning can be addictive for some people who may take something that can actually be beneficial to you, to the extreme.
There are some health benefits of beach tanning, if done in moderation. UV exposures can help with adding to your Vitamin D levels which help your body function well. It was shown that just in one year almost 24,000 people died from Vitamin D deficiency which means they were probably not getting any sun whatsoever. This is just as unhealthy as getting too much sun beach tanning. Another effect of Vitamin D deficiency is Osteomalacia which is a bone disease that causes severe pain and fractures.
UV radiation that you can get from beach tanning also aids in the treatment of skin conditions such as Psoriasis. Beach tanning used in moderation is a short term way to treat and hide acne as well, but some studies are trying to disprove this by saying acne worsens with long term sun exposure that addicted beach tanners expose themselves too.
There are ways to get the best of both worlds when beach tanning. You can go to the beach but stay under a large umbrella, or do your best to cover up the skin if one is not available. Using suntan lotions with high SPF’s will also help, as will staying out of the direct sunlight or wearing a sun hat to cover your face. That way you can walk out into the sun for a few minutes here or there and get all the benefits of beach tanning with laying out opening your skin up to many of the harmful risks. About 15 minutes of direct beach tanning will give you enough Vitamin D to keep you healthy but anything over that may lead to sunburn or skin damage. So, again, best to keep beach tanning to a moderate level, but don’t feel like you have to give it up completely.
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