Solar training

Solar training, what is it, and why it may be a great solution for your endless sun burns.

Everywhere you go you will find advertising, shops or mail that claims that we cannot live without sunscreen. That when you step out into the sun, you will immediately get wrinkles and most importantly: skin cancer. But is this really true? And how did our ancestors always survive without any?

How could skin cancer rates have increased so much in the last 20 years? And why don’t we look directly at the root of the problem, instead of brushing it off and look for a tropical treatment?

We humans are increasingly spending time indoors, we work behind computers or renovate houses from inside. Only to spend our summer break baking in the sun for hours on end.

The result of this is getting mayor sunburns or even an itchy rash called sun allergy. Which may eventually lead up to: the development of malignant melanoma and nonmelanoma skin cancer

So let’s look into at this endless cycle from a distance, the cause and the solution are simple:

Our skin has become alienated from the sun (our best friend), and when we are in the sun we put on large sunglasses, and bake until we are hot and red. Now taking off these sunglasses, especially in the earlier sunny days can make an enormous difference in letting our bodies get used to the sun and increasing your melatonin production.

So how can we (naturally) avoid these endless cycles this summer? I will share with you an easy and practical way called: Solar training.

Solar training is letting your body get used to the sun, and gradually building your sun exposure up. Now this may sound difficult, but in reality it is really just: taking a walk 3-4 times a week, without any sunglasses while facing the sun. Now the ideal time to start sun training is in spring time, the sun is getting closer and closer to your place on earth. And this makes the UV rays get stronger by day, until we enter into summer time.

When we get into the sun, we want to protect our cells from damage. And you can temporarily do this with sunscreen, or you can protect your cells from the inside out with melatonin. Now melatonin is a hormone that is naturally occurring inside a human body, and is produced in the skin. The hormone works as a strong antioxidant that cleans up the free radicals, and stimulates antioxidative enzyme gene expression.

Now there are not enough studies done to effectively place a claim on solar training and skin cancer. And studies on the effect of melatonin on different skin colors are made public even less..

And so I will not lay a claim on this matter. But when we look into this issue from a higher point of view, we can see that sitting inside for 99% the time, and then all of the sudden overloading ourselves, is not a very smart way to look after our skin.

So what has worked for me is this.

Starting in spring time, going on a 20-30 minute walk whenever the sun shines, for 3-4 times a week. Bring a friend or family member and make it fun! Doing this until summer may increase your melatonin production, and it may protect your skin from the inside out !

This way you can sit in the sun more safely this summer. But always protect your skin when you stay in the sun for longer than an hour during the high season.