Fashion in the sun changes as quickly as fluffy dresses or pipe trousers. The tanning craze began to gradually give way to wide-brimmed hats, umbrellas and aristocratic pallor of the skin returning from ancient times.
Rushing from one extreme to another, we first expose our body to the scorching sun, and then, smearing ourselves from head to toe with a protective cream with a high protection factor, we hide from the sun’s rays even in cloudy weather.
Where is the golden mean? Only wise people know how to properly use the sun: an omnipresent stellar dwarf capable of giving life and incinerating it in the blink of an eye.
“No one should stay too long in the sun, otherwise his body will become dry, hard and rough, because the sun burns the pores of the skin and prevents the outflow of imperceptible evaporation …” – even the sage Avicenna thought about summer problems.
How to “tame” the sun to modern man?
sunburn
Sunlight has an excellent bactericidal effect, dries and cleanses the skin. It is for this reason that in the summer months the condition of those suffering from various dermatological diseases improves significantly.
Ultraviolet light is especially effective against acne rash. However, owners of “teenage” oily skin – do not rejoice ahead of time! Sunbathing too zealously, you risk getting deep wrinkles, getting rid of blackheads.
It’s about ultraviolet A (UVA). These rays gently affect the skin, without causing redness and burns, they imperceptibly bring old age closer, as they destroy the connective tissue “skeleton” of the skin – the fibers that give it elasticity.
UVA rays are like a time bomb, their effect does not appear immediately. It all depends on how many “sun-hours” the skin has accumulated.
Hair breakage
Sunburn is a consequence of the action of ultraviolet B (UVB). These rays are able to give a healthy velvety tan to the body for those of us who know when to stop. An exception to the rule are people with skin color type 1-2 and albinos, for whom sunlight in all its manifestations is dangerous and causes burns.
A long-term consequence of sunburn is melanoma skin – a malignant tumor that most often develops at the site of a normal mole.
A less dangerous result of sitting on the beach at the wrong time is senile lentigo, which develops in especially zealous lovers of chocolate skin tone long before old age.
The initial signs of the disease may appear as early as 25-30 years old: these are hyperpigmented spots on exposed parts of the body (face, décolleté, arms, shoulders, neck), reaching several centimeters in diameter.
Can you sunbathe topless?
Sun exposure affects not only the skin, but also the hair.
Ultraviolet A and B, as well as the thermal radiation of the sun, destroy the protective pigments of the hair.
In addition, exposure to these factors dries the scalp and, penetrating into the hair follicles, destroys them.
As a result, the hair fades, breaks, loses its shine and thins out.
Vision in danger!
Scientists and doctors unanimously declare that it is forbidden to expose the chest under the rays of the sun. The skin of the nipples is completely devoid of melanin, which protects cells from ultraviolet radiation.
Why do men from year to year “take on the chest” a fair dose of solar radiation and do not suffer from it? It’s about hormones. Tumors of the mammary glands develop against the background of an increased amount of estrogen – the female sex hormone, which men have very little.
But in women, under the rays of the sun, the production of this hormone doubles.
Solar and heat stroke
The darker the iris, the higher the natural protection of the retina from sunlight. But even the owners of brown eyes should not tempt fate. The ultraviolet of the sun, penetrating to the photoreceptors of the retina – rods and cones – destroys them, leading to deterioration of vision.
The process can become irreversible if the action of ultraviolet is potentiated smoking, long work at the computer, reading in transport and other attributes of an unhealthy lifestyle.
Problems with the heart and blood vessels
This is not uncommon at all. Each of us has encountered the initial signs of solar “kisses”: headache, heaviness in the chest, flies before the eyes, dry mouth – all these are signs that you need to quickly hide from the sun.
In more severe cases, nausea occurs, sometimes to the point of vomiting, the temperature may rise, palpitations, dizziness, weakness in the body appear. If solar procedures are not stopped in time, a violation of consciousness is possible.
The reason is the direct effect of sunlight on the open head, as well as the general overheating of the body. By the way, heatstroke can overtake in cloudy weather at high temperature and humidity.
Heat transfer in such weather conditions is very difficult. Synthetic clothing, dehydration, sports or hard physical labor in the summer cottage can interfere with the cooling of the body.
Thyroid
On days of maximum solar activity, health troubles can begin for those who suffer from vegetative-vascular dystonia or arterial hypertension, as well as heart disease.
Menstrual cycle
Thyroid – one of those organs that “rule” health. The function of the thyroid gland affects cardiac activity, bowel function, mood, and even clothing size, which we wear.
The ability to tolerate heat is also largely dependent on the level of thyroid hormones.
As a rule, people with reduced thyroid function (hypothyroidism) in hot sunny weather feel more energetic, lighter and more comfortable. Quite the opposite happens when the level of hormones in the blood is too high.
Those suffering from increased thyroid function (hyperthyroidism) should beware of prolonged exposure to the sun.
holiday mood
The sun actively affects the production of sex hormones. During the three summer months, the amount of estrogen increases, recede PMS symptoms. Scientists have noticed that ovulation occurs more often in summer, which increases the likelihood of getting pregnant.
At the same time, those women who do not plan pregnancy should be more careful: in the heat, the menstrual cycle often “fails” and the usual “safe days” become ideal. for conception. Especially often this happens against the background of acclimatization on a trip to the south, which can change plans not only for rest, but also for later life.
It is almost impossible to get rid of this problem in the summer months. It becomes more and more difficult to force yourself to sit in a stuffy office, focus on work, or shockly exceed the tasks set for the month every summer day.
Wind in the head, romantic mood and thirst for new experiences – these are typical summer, sunny problems.
There is no need to blame yourself: here, too, it was not without hormones and physiology. Summer is made for relaxation and positive! Therefore, we wish you good weather and a speedy holidays!
Photo shutterstock.com
