Is Sunbathing Good For You?

  Tanushri Gukhool 10a

  Mr Terry

Contents page

Introduction……………………………………………………………............pg2

Ultraviolet radiation……………………………………………………………pg2

The sun can be good for you…………………………………………….…..pg2

The sun can be bad for you………………………………………………….pg2

Sun beds……………………………………………………………………….pg3

How the Skin Tans……………………………………………………………pg3

UV and your health……………………………………………………………pg4

UV sessions…………………………………………………………………...pg4

Risks…………………………………………………………………………....pg5

Who is most at risk?..………………………………………….……………..pg6

Health benefits………………………………………………………………...pg6

Tanning fakes……………………………………………………………….…pg7

Tanning myths…………………………………………………………………pg7

Conclusion……………………………………………………………………..pg8

Bibliography……………………………………………………………………pg9

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Introduction…

In this case study I will be analysing the different theories about sunbathing and staying in the sun for long periods of time. I will be looking at both for and against arguments and backing these points up with scientific evidence. I will also be analysing the reliability of the sources, as well as including my own personal opinions.

Ultraviolet radiation…

      UV light is radiation that can’t be seen and is beyond the violet end of the visible spectrum making UV an ionizing radiation. Ionizing radiation is high in energy and can also damage living cells, causing skin cancers and diseases.

The sun…

      The sun is the source of energy that all life on earth depends on, without the sun the earth would be unable to survive. The sun radiates electro-magnetic vibrations with different wave lengths. The wave lengths of heat rays are longer than the wave lengths for visible light. Ultraviolet radiation, which tans our skin, has even shorter wave lengths than these.

The sun can be good for you because:

There are lots of reasons why the sun can be good for you, here are some examples:

• Ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun is our main source of vitamin D, important for your bones, muscles and immune system

• Vitamin D may also have the ability to combat the development and spread of cancerous tumours

• Sunlight stimulates the pineal gland in the brain. This produces certain chemicals called 'tryptamines' which improve our mood

The sun can be bad for you because…

     There are also many reasons why the sun can be bad for you, e.g:

• Exposure to solar and artificial UV radiation is widely recognized as a leading and preventable cause of skin cancer.

• Exposure to high levels of sunlight, makes it four times more likely for you to develop cataracts in your eyes.

• Sunburn can change the distribution and function of disease-fighting white blood cells and damage our DNA.

      People react differently to UV rays; people with dark skin, brown easily as the skin produces melanin quicker. People with fair skin find it harder to tan because the body produces very little melanin. If the body stays in the sun to long, it will result in sunburn. Our skin repairs itself but if this happens too often, it may get exhausted and future sunburns may result in permanent damage to the skin.

The Quote is a reliable piece of information because it comes from the World Health Organization and they just research into the truth and rid us of the silly theories the media tend to come up with.

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UV and your health…

    Using sun beds can be safe if you follow certain rules that are given with the machine. One example of this is a Instruction book that comes with a Phillip sun bed.

UV sessions:

      You may have one UV session per day, over a period of five to ten days. After such a course you may rest the skin for a while. Approximately one month after a course your skin will have lost much of the tan. On the other hand you may prefer to have one or two sessions per week after a course has elapsed in order to keep a tan. What ever you may prefer, make sure that you do not exceed the maximum amount of tanning hours. For this solarium the maximum is 26 hours = 1560 minutes.

      If you take a 10 day course with 10 minutes session on the first day and 25 minutes’ sessions on the other nine following days. The entire course includes

(1 x 10 minutes)

If you sunbathe excessively, even small things that you think are harmless can be very dangerous, like sunburn. Each time our skin becomes tanned or burned, it damages individual skin cells. Some cells repair themselves by getting rid of damaged DNA, cells that can’t repair themselves, become defective cancerous cells. Ultraviolet light in the sunlight weakens the body’s immune system, making it difficult to destroy defective cells. They slowly grow to produce a cancerous tumour.

Exposure to high levels of sunlight makes you four times more likely to develop cataracts in your eyes. A cataract is a cloudy area in the lens of the eye. When a cloudy cataract forms over the eye, it stops light passing through the lens and reaching the back of the eye. In severe cases, it can result in blindness. Scientists found that people exposed to high levels of sunlight are up to four times more likely to get cataracts.

Taking into account all the information and research that I have gathered I side with both arguments. I personally believe that you need to be exposed to sunlight, to get your main source of vitamin D and to keep you calcium levels up, but in moderation. It has been proven in many scientific investigations, that the sun has an affect on your skin that cause cancer. Also that too much sun can cause serious damage to your skin, even if you cant physically see the damage.

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Resources…

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs287/en/

http://www.thesite.org/healthandwellbeing/appearance/yourbody/sunbeds

http://info.cancerresearchuk.org/healthyliving/sunsmart/staysafe/sunbeds/

http://www.sunbedassociation.org.uk/howtheskintans.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malignant_melanoma

http://www.sunbedassociation.org.uk/skintyping.php

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/hottopics/sunshine/index.shtml

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