It’s no secret that being outside can positively affect your health. Between the mental aspects like reducing stress and improving mood to the physical attributes like soaking up vitamin D and the inevitable incentivisation to be active whether that be by walking or some other physical activity we can all agree that the nice weather is good for our health. However, one has to be careful especially as the sun begins to shine brighter and longer. Long exposure to ultraviolet light or UV can cause skin cancer. While protecting your skin from UV rays is important all year long it is essential in the warmer months.
The CDC recommends utilizing any opportunity for shade, whether that be with an umbrella, hat or tree. The CDC also advocates for daily sunscreen application and reapplication if you are in the sun for more than 2 hours.
If you don’t want to take my word for it you may heed actor Hugh Jackman’s warnings. Jackman recently took to instagram to share his experience with having two biopsies done for skin cancer on his nose following a checkup. While luckily his was basal cell carcinoma what he described as “the least dangerous of them all” and Skin Cancer Foundation backs up his claims as basal cell carcinoma is the most common type of skin cancer he followed by saying “ it is just not worth it. No matter how much you want a tan, trust me trust me trust me”. This was not the actors first run in with skin cancer, as with the disease lesions can be recurring and must be removed. At the end of the day he said he recommends everyone “put some sunscreen on. You will still have an incredible time out.” In Jackmans case his recent biopsies are for damage that occurred many years prior.
The moral of the story is young, old and everyone in between needs to wear broad spectrum sunscreen with SPF of 15 or (preferably) higher.
Sources:
https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/skin/basic_info/sun-safety.htmhttps://www.healthline.com/health-news/hugh-jackman-skin-cancer-scarehttps://www.nfcr.org/blog/5-ways-spending-more-time-outside-benefits-our-health/?gclid=CjwKCAjw8-OhBhB5EiwADyoY1Tplqo68jRS6ocHdsgEbMGfThY0bE8_36yLYkgVB_ugSUqbL3uGxHxoCRJ4QAvD_BwE
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