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The health benefits of sunlight may outweigh the risk of skin cancer

(www.economist.com)
279 points petethomas | 25 comments | 19 Sep 25 04:46 UTC | HN request time: 1.088s | source | bottom
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calebm ◴[19 Sep 25 06:12 UTC] No.45298453[source]▶
I am very white, but getting sun feels very healthy for my skin. Obviously I don't want to get burned bad, but good sun exposure helps my skin feel softer and less inflamed. My grandfather also spent most of his days out in the sun gardening, and my mom was just commenting a few months ago about how surprisingly smooth his skin is (and he's 92).
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1. quaintdev ◴[19 Sep 25 06:21 UTC] No.45298491[source]▶
Anyone thinking of doing this, don't. There's a reason we don't directly look at solar eclipse. Here's a excerpt from [1]

> Usually we close our eyes in reflex due to intense light from the Sun, but on day of an eclipse, the intensity of sunlight is decreased and we can view the Sun through naked eyes. While we watch a solar eclipse without any protection to our eyes, the ultraviolet rays penetrate our eyes and cause retinal burn, leading to loss of central vision.

[1]: https://www.indiatoday.in/science/story/partial-solar-eclips...

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2. bob1029 ◴[19 Sep 25 06:26 UTC] No.45298528[source]▶
I've found the same with direct sunlight exposure. My distance vision is much sharper if I've been outside a lot recently. It seems similar to how exercise works elsewhere in the body. You can definitely get a neuromuscular reaction if the incident angle of the sunlight is direct enough. The trick (as with all forms of exercise) is moderation.
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3. yunwal ◴[19 Sep 25 06:37 UTC] No.45298590[source]▶
The comment above you said nothing about a solar eclipse
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4. avian ◴[19 Sep 25 06:49 UTC] No.45298641[source]▶
Recently I've received an email from my eye specialist addressed to all her patients urging people not to look at the sun. At the same time I've also seen a similar public warning published in local media.

Apparently there has been an sharp rise in people coming in with retinal damage from staring at the sun. They didn't go into details why someone would do that, but reading this on HN I can start to guess.

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5. codr7 ◴[19 Sep 25 06:59 UTC] No.45298695[source]▶
Until I see some definite proof, I'm going to put this in the FUD box.

There's seems to be a concerted effort at making people afraid of the sun. My guess is because the sun fixes a lot of problems, and problems mean profit.

Seriously, take a step back. If spending time in / looking at the sun was dangerous we wouldn't be here.

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6. codr7 ◴[19 Sep 25 07:00 UTC] No.45298708[source]▶
So suddenly during an eclipse, your eyes have no idea what's painful/harmful anymore? Trust your experience, it's the closest you're ever going to get to truth.
7. harperlee ◴[19 Sep 25 07:02 UTC] No.45298720[source]▶
Might it be that when outside you tend to look farther than when inside? So distance vision gets used more and body adapts. Similar to how kids that spend time outside are less shortsighted.
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8. herbst ◴[19 Sep 25 07:07 UTC] No.45298745[source]▶
Is this some kind of weird meta joke or are people actually arguing about staring into the sun in 2025?
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9. imp0cat ◴[19 Sep 25 07:08 UTC] No.45298751{3}[source]▶
Also, bright light will help the eye to focus. It's the same principle as if you were using a camera with a small aperture (and larger DOF, keeping more things in focus).
10. Arainach ◴[19 Sep 25 07:31 UTC] No.45298906{3}[source]▶
In a Solar Eclipse you're getting a tiny fraction of the sun's energy and it is still enough to very quickly cause long-term physical damage to your eyes. Looking at the sun during not an eclipse is even worse.
11. esseph ◴[19 Sep 25 07:37 UTC] No.45298943[source]▶
Where the fuck are these people coming from???
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12. esseph ◴[19 Sep 25 07:38 UTC] No.45298947[source]▶
An age of unenlightenment!
13. bloak ◴[19 Sep 25 07:40 UTC] No.45298954[source]▶
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bates_method#Sunning

Aldous Huxley was taken in, unfortunately: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Art_of_Seeing

I would guess it's dangerous nonsense, though there are plausible claims that shortsightedness is associated with not spending much time outside as a child so perhaps there's a slight link with something that isn't nonsense.

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14. spacechild1 ◴[19 Sep 25 08:11 UTC] No.45299191[source]▶
> there are plausible claims that shortsightedness is associated with not spending much time outside as a child

AFAIK that has nothing to do with the sun but rather with looking at things at a larger distance than at home.

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15. bloak ◴[19 Sep 25 08:42 UTC] No.45299379{3}[source]▶
That seems likely.

An obvious thing perhaps worth mentioning: if you're shortsighted (or longsighted) then you see better in bright sunlight because the iris closes, giving you greater depth of field, so that might make people think/feel that sunlight "cures" myopia.

(On the other hand, if you have excellent eyesight then you see better in less bright conditions because your vision is being limited by diffraction at the aperture.)

16. blooalien ◴[19 Sep 25 08:43 UTC] No.45299387[source]▶
> Is this some kind of weird meta joke or are people actually arguing about staring into the sun in 2025?

Why not? People are still arguing in 2025 that the vast majority of the world's climate scientists are wrong about climate change, and there are even some who unironically argue that the Earth is flat. Science is dead. Long live "Whatever I want to believe is true and you're all wrong!"

17. calebm ◴[19 Sep 25 17:12 UTC] No.45304035[source]▶
So just to clarify - yes, I do think looking at the sun directly for very short periods is good (especially if it's lower on the horizon). But overall, what I as trying to get at is that being outside and getting the bright light of the sun on your eyes is helpful. The best way to do this is on the water. When you look at the sun reflecting off the water, you are getting the bright light, but because the water is reflecting it, and the waves are constantly changing the angles, the sun like gets spread evenly over your eyes.

For the naysayers, if looking at the sun is so bad, why is it not considered bad to look at the sun's reflection on the water? Additionally, when the sun is low, if you look at the brightness of the sunlight, it is less bright than some artificial light sources, and doesn't hurt to look at. How could this be bad?

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18. Arainach ◴[19 Sep 25 18:01 UTC] No.45304560[source]▶
>why is it not considered bad to look at the sun's reflection on the water?

Who said it's not? It may hurt you as fast but it's still bad for you.

https://www.aao.org/eye-health/diseases/photokeratitis-snow-...

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19. Arainach ◴[19 Sep 25 18:02 UTC] No.45304570{3}[source]▶
We are truly in the dumbest timeline.
20. amanaplanacanal ◴[19 Sep 25 18:08 UTC] No.45304633{3}[source]▶
I'm fairly certain I saw an article recently on HN that claimed it was not the distance focusing which helped but just the exposure to brighter light.

Edit: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31722876/

21. amanaplanacanal ◴[19 Sep 25 18:11 UTC] No.45304664{3}[source]▶
Maybe not: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31722876/
22. htek ◴[19 Sep 25 18:17 UTC] No.45304730[source]▶
IIRC, reflection of the sun off water is 5% when directly overhead to about 65% when at a glancing angle (low on the horizon). I prefer to close my eyes and aim my face at the sun for about 10 minutes a day if I'm working indoors all day plus whatever incidental sunlight I get. I have SAD during the winter months and use a full-spectrum lamp, then.

People who spend more time in the sun have a low-moderate risk of melanoma, but higher risk of other skin cancers, vs those who spend more time indoors having a lower risk of non-melanoma skin cancer and a moderate-higher risk of melanoma cancer.

23. jraby3 ◴[19 Sep 25 18:26 UTC] No.45304817[source]▶
I don't think it's at all healthy to look directly at the sun.

But I have noticed that my eyes get weaker after spending a lot of time indoors, like if I'm sick. Getting enough time in sunlight seems to be heavily correlated with better eyesight, both in my personal experience fighting farsightedness as a man in his 50s and with studies done on children regarding nearsightedness.

24. mikestew ◴[19 Sep 25 18:26 UTC] No.45304818{3}[source]▶
My guess is because the sun fixes a lot of problems, and problems mean profit.

And there ya go, the rallying cry of every conspiracy theorist: "They don't want you to know, because money!"

Seriously, take a step back.

Yeah, seriously.

25. calebm ◴[19 Sep 25 20:31 UTC] No.45306186{3}[source]▶
Good point. It's all about balance though. People have been riding on boats on water for a long long time (most of it without the invention of sunglasses). And similar to the truck drivers who drive hours with one side exposed, or people who sunbathe a bunch - that is unbalanced. Staring at the sun at full brightness would be unbalanced. But I think never looking at it is also unbalanced. You can look at it, but keep your eyes moving - don't focus and stare at it for seconds (unless it's really low on the horizon, and then I think it is okay to stare at the sun).