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The health benefits of sunlight may outweigh the risk of skin cancer

economist.com

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Re: The health benefits of sunlight may outweigh the risk of skin cancer

#71

Post by jerlam »

usef- wrote: post #47
pinkmuffinere wrote: post #33

It’s tempting to see things like this and think “well of course it does, because that’s how we evolved”. But I think that might just be post-rationalization? At the very least, I think the argument _doesn’t_ hold for periodic famine, extreme temperatures, most disease, etc even though we also evolved with those things. Is there any guiding principle that separates the things-we-evolved-with-that-are-good vs the -that…

The things you mention are sudden extremes: famine (extreme hunger), extreme temperature, being hit by a disease. The highest skin cancer group seems to be those that get sporadic extremes of sun (eg. the indoor office worker that burns on the weekend). That kind of rapid change in sunshine quantity was tough to ever do naturally. Even if you could hide from the sun in (rare) caves in the middle of summer it would be…

> Why those stories never broke through to the mainstream is an interesting question.

The mainstream media in the US has never been great at communicating any story with nuance or depth. In the 80s and 90s, foods that we've eaten forever were being demonized, like eggs. In 2020, people were being told they shouldn't go outside lest they come within 100 feet of another person.

To their credit, the general population has never had a shorter attention span and so easily hoodwinked into believing misleading claims.

Australia's sun recommendations for people of differing skin types is not bad: https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/tailored-protection-aust...

Re: The health benefits of sunlight may outweigh the risk of skin cancer

#72

Post by datadrivenangel »

adrianN wrote: post #67
brightball wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Since I was a little kid I was always skeptical of slathering something all over my body just to go outside. Just thought…how did people survive before this stuff if we really need it so bad.

If you ask „how did people survive“ the answer is more often than not: „with great difficulty“. Take for example simple hygiene measures like using soap or brushing your teeth or disinfecting wounds.

Teeth brushing is not as important if you're not eating modern food. Processed sugars really are terrible (but delicious)

Re: The health benefits of sunlight may outweigh the risk of skin cancer

#73

Post by Arainach »

calebm wrote: post #65
calebm wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On a related note: I also think looking at the sun is healthy for our eyes. I've been getting more sun-in-my-eyes exposure, and at the last optometrist I had, he was surprised to find that my vision improved since my last checkup.

So just to clarify - yes, I do think looking at the sun directly for very short periods is good (especially if it's lower on the horizon). But overall, what I as trying to get at is that being outside and getting the bright light of the sun on your eyes is helpful. The best way to do this is on the water. When you look at the sun reflecting off the water, you are getting the bright light, but because the water is ref…

>why is it not considered bad to look at the sun's reflection on the water?

Who said it's not? It may hurt you as fast but it's still bad for you.

https://www.aao.org/eye-health/diseases/photokeratitis-snow-...

Re: The health benefits of sunlight may outweigh the risk of skin cancer

#74

Post by Arainach »

esseph wrote: post #42
quaintdev wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anyone thinking of doing this, don't. There's a reason we don't directly look at solar eclipse. Here's a excerpt from [1] > Usually we close our eyes in reflex due to intense light from the Sun, but on day of an eclipse, the intensity of sunlight is decreased and we can view the Sun through naked eyes. While we watch a solar eclipse without any protection to our eyes, the ultraviolet rays penetrate our eyes and cause…

Where the fuck are these people coming from???

We are truly in the dumbest timeline.

Re: The health benefits of sunlight may outweigh the risk of skin cancer

#76

Post by pitpatagain »

brightball wrote: post #66
pinkmuffinere wrote: post #33

It’s tempting to see things like this and think “well of course it does, because that’s how we evolved”. But I think that might just be post-rationalization? At the very least, I think the argument _doesn’t_ hold for periodic famine, extreme temperatures, most disease, etc even though we also evolved with those things. Is there any guiding principle that separates the things-we-evolved-with-that-are-good vs the -that…

Since I was a little kid I was always skeptical of slathering something all over my body just to go outside. Just thought…how did people survive before this stuff if we really need it so bad.

People didn't used to expose themselves to as much direct sun and covered themselves with a lot more clothes. Traditional clothing in arid sunny areas typically covers everything, look at people in the middle east today.

I live in a very sunny desert area and it's kind of funny when people assume people from here would be "more tanned". We stay in the shade, the sun will kill you! Anyone working outside is wearing wide brimmed hats and typically has all of their skin covered with clothing even in the heat, people typically have their faces covered with cloth as well.

Spending time outside with minimal clothing in direct midday sun is a modern weird behavior.

Re: The health benefits of sunlight may outweigh the risk of skin cancer

#77

Post by lstodd »

TinkersW wrote: post #68
brightball wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Since I was a little kid I was always skeptical of slathering something all over my body just to go outside. Just thought…how did people survive before this stuff if we really need it so bad.

Often living in a different climate zone, US is well south of Europe.

56th latitude person can be literally baked by northern mediterannean (~42 lat) March sun in a couple of days. But a couple months later.. no problems climbing mountains all day. We are very adaptable.

Re: The health benefits of sunlight may outweigh the risk of skin cancer

#78

Post by amanaplanacanal »

harperlee wrote: post #28
bob1029 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've found the same with direct sunlight exposure. My distance vision is much sharper if I've been outside a lot recently. It seems similar to how exercise works elsewhere in the body. You can definitely get a neuromuscular reaction if the incident angle of the sunlight is direct enough. The trick (as with all forms of exercise) is moderation.

Might it be that when outside you tend to look farther than when inside? So distance vision gets used more and body adapts. Similar to how kids that spend time outside are less shortsighted.

I'm fairly certain I saw an article recently on HN that claimed it was not the distance focusing which helped but just the exposure to brighter light.

Edit: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31722876/

Re: The health benefits of sunlight may outweigh the risk of skin cancer

#79

Post by heyheyhey »

uncircle wrote: post #5
ponchel wrote: post #4

Who actually thought that getting sunlight was bad ?

There is a lot of weird discussion on English-speaking forums that you should always always wear sunscreen, even if the day is grey, because skin cancer is a constant risk. I do not get if it’s a massive and long-running marketing campaign that has brainwashed the entire population, if it’s because many living in US and UK have a very white skin tone thus burn easily, or what else. Skin cancer is a fact of life, but…

> I wish someone would explain the Anglo obsession with daily sunscreen routine.

Because it's more about skincare for physical attraction and less about the cancer. Sun ages your skin with wrinkles, sagging, hyperpigmentation, etc.

This isn't specific to Anglo nations too. Any country where being "fair skinned" is more desirable will have lots of demand for sunscreen.

Re: The health benefits of sunlight may outweigh the risk of skin cancer

#80

Post by amanaplanacanal »

spacechild1 wrote: post #48
bloak wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bates_method#Sunning Aldous Huxley was taken in, unfortunately: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Art_of_Seeing I would guess it's dangerous nonsense, though there are plausible claims that shortsightedness is associated with not spending much time outside as a child so perhaps there's a slight link with something that isn't nonsense.

> there are plausible claims that shortsightedness is associated with not spending much time outside as a child AFAIK that has nothing to do with the sun but rather with looking at things at a larger distance than at home.

Maybe not: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31722876/
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