What Happens If You Never Go Out In The Sun?

Everyone has those lazy Sunday afternoons where you wake up, stay in your jammies all day and watch Netflix until it’s bedtime. While it’s a way to have alone time and relax after a long week, what would happen if you did that all the time; if you stayed holed up in your tiny apartment and your skin never saw the light of day? Life Noggin answers that question in its newest video. And no, you won’t die, but that doesn’t mean it’s OK to stay inside forever.

Even if it isn’t life threatening, getting out into the fresh air and daylight is important for your health. For starters, going outside gives you a good dose of vitamin D. Many vitamins are obtained through food, but vitamin D is absorbed in your skin by what’s known as a photosynthetic reaction from sun exposure. If you’re never, ever out in the sun, then you’ll definitely be lacking this important nutrient unless you add supplements to your diet. It’s pretty much impossible to get the quantities of vitamin D necessary just in food. Very few foods include vitamin D and the ones that do have it in very small quantities. However, some argue that vitamin D obtained from supplements aren’t as good as those synthesized by the sun.

So why exactly do you need it? Vitamin D is essential for supporting bones and also protects against chronic morbidities like cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Low levels of the vitamin can lead to poor bone health. Inadequate amounts also have been linked to multiple sclerosis and prostate cancer.

Aside from getting nutrients, being in the sun and spending time outdoors is important to your overall wellbeing and actually makes you adopt a better mood. According to Life Noggin, feeling the sun against your skin can help with seasonal affective disorder. Not only that, but the sun alters nitric oxide in your blood and skin, which in turn lowers blood pressure. Lower blood pressure helps lower your risk of heart disease.

Exposure to the hot ball of glowing gases has benefits, but too much sun is bad. Aside from the obvious sun damage and sunburns, too much of the natural light can damage your skin’s immune system. Excessive exposure can also lead to injuring your skin’s cell membranes and puts you at an increased risk for skin cancer.

Life Noggin reports that ultraviolet rays can damage your skin in just 15 minutes, which is why wearing sunscreen, hats and sunglasses is vital. Still, going outside is good for you as long as you don’t overdo it. You simply wouldn’t be as happy or healthy if you stayed inside. For more about why you need the sun, check out the video from Life Noggin.