This vitamin is made from cholesterol in your skin when it’s exposed to the sun. That’s why getting enough sunlight is very important for maintaining optimal vitamin D levels.
However, too much sunlight comes with its own health risks.
This article explains how to safely get vitamin D from sunlight.
The Sun Is Your Best Source of Vitamin D
There’s a good reason why vitamin D is called “the sunshine vitamin.”When your skin is exposed to sunlight, it makes vitamin D from cholesterol. The sun’s ultraviolet B (UVB) rays hit cholesterol in the skin cells, providing the energy for vitamin D synthesis to occur.
- Osteoporosis
- Cancer
- Depression
- Muscle weakness
- Death
These include cod liver oil, swordfish, salmon, canned tuna, beef liver, egg yolks and sardines. That said, you would need to eat them nearly every day to get enough vitamin D.
SUMMARY Vitamin D is made in the skin when it’s exposed to sunlight. Sun exposure is by far the best way to boost vitamin D levels, particularly because very few foods contain significant amounts.
Expose Your Skin Around Midday
Midday, especially during summer, is the best time to get sunlight.SUMMARY Midday is the best time to get vitamin D, as the sun is at its highest point and your body may manufacture it most
However, that creates a big dilemma because darker-skinned people need to spend longer in the sun than lighter-skinned people to produce the same amount of vitamin D.
SUMMARY Darker-skinned people have more melanin, a compound that protects against skin damage by reducing the amount of UVB light absorbed. Darker-skinned people need more time in sunlight to make the same amount of vitamin D as lighter-skinned people.
If You Live Far From the Equator
People living in areas farther away from the equator make less vitamin D in their skin.What’s more, people who live farther from the equator may not produce any vitamin D from the sun for up to six months a year during the winter months.
SUMMARY People who live farther away from the equator need more time in the sun, as more UVB rays are absorbed by the ozone layer in these areas. During winter months, they cannot make vitamin D from sunlight, so they need to get it from foods or supplements.
Expose More Skin to Make More Vitamin D
Vitamin D is made from cholesterol in the skin. That means you need to expose lots of skin to the sunlight to make enough.According to this recommendation, wearing a tank top and shorts for 10–30 minutes three times per week during the summer should be sufficient for most people with lighter skin. People with darker skin may need a bit longer than this.
Just make sure to prevent burning if you’re staying in the sun for a long time. Instead, try going without sunscreen for just the first 10–30 minutes, depending on how sensitive your skin is to sunlight, and apply sunscreen before you start burning.
SUMMARY You need to expose a sufficient amount of skin to sunlight to maintain healthy vitamin D blood levels. Wearing a tank top and shorts for 10–30 minutes three times per week is sufficient for lighter-skinned people, while those with darker skin may need longer.
Does Sunscreen Affect Vitamin D?
People use sunscreen to protect their skin against sunburns and skin cancer.However, because UVB rays are essential for making vitamin D, sunscreen could prevent the skin from producing it.
One possible explanation is that even though you are wearing sunscreen, staying in the sun for a longer period of time may cause enough vitamin D to be made in the skin.
SUMMARY In theory, wearing sunscreen may reduce the ability to produce vitamin D, but short-term studies have shown it has little or no impact on blood levels. That said, it’s unclear whether frequently wearing sunscreen reduces your vitamin D levels in the long term.
Dangers of Too Much Sunlight
While sunlight is great for vitamin D production, too much can be dangerous.
- Sunburns: The most common harmful effect of too much sunlight. Symptoms of a sunburn include redness, swelling, pain or tenderness and blisters (20).
- Eye damage: Long-term exposure to UV light can damage the retina. This can increase the risk of eye diseases like cataracts (21).
- Aging skin: Spending too long in the sun can cause your skin to age faster. Some people develop more wrinkled, loose or leathery skin (22).
- Skin changes: Freckles, moles and other skin changes can be a side effect of excess sunlight exposure (23).
- Heat stroke: Also known as a sunstroke, this is a condition in which the body’s core temperature may rise due to too much heat or sun exposure (24).
- Skin cancer: Too much UV light is a major cause of skin cancers (25, 26).
It’s best to apply sunscreen after 10–30 minutes of unprotected sun exposure to avoid the harmful consequences of excess sunlight. Your exposure time should depend on how sensitive your skin is to sunlight.
SUMMARY Although sunlight is great for making vitamin D, too much sunlight can be dangerous. Some consequences of too much sunlight include sunburn, eye damage, skin aging and other skin changes, heat stroke and skin cancer.
To maintain healthy blood levels, aim to get 10–30 minutes of midday sunlight, several times per week. People with darker skin may need a little more than this. Your exposure time should depend on how sensitive your skin is to sunlight. Just make sure not to burn.
Factors that can affect your ability to make vitamin D from sunlight include the time of day, your skin color, how far you live from the equator, how much skin you expose to sunlight and whether you’re wearing sunscreen.
For example, people who live farther away from the equator typically need more sunlight because the sun’s UV rays are weaker in these areas.
If you’re planning to stay in the sun for a while, it’s best to apply sunscreen after 10–30 minutes of unprotected sun exposure to help prevent sunburn and skin cancer.