Sunlight ‘Can Boost Fertility’

Sunlight boosts fertility in both men and women, new research has shown.

Vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin, is vital in rebalancing female sex hormones and also improving sperm count in men, a report in the Daily Mail, quoting a Medical University of Graz (Austria) study, noted.

Researchers believe that exposure to sunshine could even save costly fertility therapy for some couples. Vitamin D can enhance levels of the female sex hormones progesterone and oestrogen by 13 percent and 21 percent, respectively, the report said. This helps control menstrual cycles, making conception easier, it added.

Vitamin D can also boost the healthy evolution of sperms' nucleus, increasing fertility in men. The levels of the male sex hormone testosterone are also enhanced as a result of exposure to sunlight, the study noted.

The findings of the research, published in the European Journal of Endocrinology, also explain why conception rates dip during winter and rise in summer months in some of the EU countries, the report added.

At the same time, experts also warned that too much exposure to sunshine will raise the risk of skin cancer. People could either spend more time outside in the sun - or they could take vitamin D supplements, which are a safe and cheap way to increase levels, leader researcher Dr. Elisabeth Lerchbaum said in the report.