Journey XV Week 5
Finding the Perfect Balance
Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly and Lantana. Planted in my front flower bed is Lantana. With the summers sunlight and the recent rains it's growing like crazy and attracting plenty of butterflies. Water and sunlight seem to be the magic combination that helps complete the cycle of life.
“Just living is not enough....One must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower” — Hans Christain Andersen
Action: Daily sun exposure, which leads to positive vitamin D intake, is essential for your overall health. Try to get a few hours of sunlight each day and take note of how great you feel!
I'll be the first to admit, the summer season in Texas is my least favorite season. I'm confident my taste will change as I enter different stages of my life, because it already has. For example, when I was in high school I loved the summer because of course, I was out of school and laid out from 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.-three hours a day in my best friends pool. We squeezed lemon juice in our hair for highlights and sprinkled glitter in our Hawaiian Tropics tanning oil to attract more sun as we spent an hour and a half on our backs, then flipped to get an hour and a half on our stomachs. To say we were tan was an understatement! In fact, I am certain we were too tan and I pray that this doesn't come back to haunt me.
While my tanning phase in high school was certainly an addiction, I was definitely getting my fair share of vitamin D. I felt great and certainly thought I looked great too, but let's face it, three hours a day in the sun with glitter and Hawaiian Tropics tanning oil (no SPF) was a bit extreme.
As an adult I of course don't have the time, desire, patience nor means to lay out three hours per day, but I am trying to find the perfect balance of sunlight for Vitamin D intake. My personal findings are that I get a little depressed if I don't get at least three hours of outdoor sunlight per day, which typically doesn't happen during the summer due to the heat. This also means I don't get the exercise I need either, which plays a HUGE role in my overall quality of life. I of course spend time outside while iGniting but because of the abbreviated summer schedule, my time is limited and let's face it, its next to impossible to be outside from 10:00 a.m.- 6:00 p.m. without being in the water, which another magical and necessary summer essential!
The Harvard Medical School Family Health Guide says that research suggests that sunlight hitting your skin, not just your eyes, helps reverse seasonal affective disorder (SAD). In addition, there is a well documented relationship between low vitamin D and poor bone health and links have been made to everything from multiple sclerosis to prostate cancer. “Linking” low vitamin D with these diseases doesn’t prove cause-and-effect, but it suggests that possibility. In addition, the same DNA-damaging, sunburn-causing UVB wavelengths that sunscreens are designed to block also do some good: They kick off the chemical and metabolic chain reaction that produces vitamin D.
Furthermore, there’s also evidence that exposure when you’re young — perhaps before your 20th birthday — matters most. A large Scandinavian study of melanoma risk published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute in 2003 found that adolescence is the most dangerous time to get a sunburn. Recent sun exposure doesn’t seem to be associated with basal cell carcinoma, the mildest form of skin cancer.
So, where does this data lead me?
- I've already noticed that my body has acclimated to the summer heat and humidity because iGniting isn't near as difficult as when we started our summer Journey therefore, I need to make it a priority to spend three hours per day in the sun-- of course during the morning or later during the evening. This will get me exercising more which will also make me feel better!
- Convince Russell that we need a pool. That's going to be an easy one!!
- Responsible sun exposure is good, but glitter with Hawaiian Tropics tanning oil for three hours per day is a bit extreme. There's no doubt if I kept it up I'd look like "Magda" the sun-loving, over cooked character from There's Something About Mary. While this scene is not all about Magda, you'll be able to get a good look or two and a few good laughs as well.
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