Introduction To Sun Protection
Do You Know That Sun Protection Is Important For
All Of Us?
Sun protection isn't just for the ladies. In fact, it is
important for anyone who wishes to grow old gracefully to
protect themselves from the damaging rays. This is also to
protect ourselves from developing skin cancer.
All over the years, people finally came to realize that although
sunshine is an important part of most outdoor activities and
a great mood enhancer, however, excessive exposure can lead
to much unpleasantness. The most immediate consequence of
excess exposure from the sun we will notice is sun burn. In
a long term, excess exposure can damage the skin making it
prone to wrinkling and worse, developing skin cancer.
Why Is Sun Protection Important?
The experts will tell you that sun protection is actually
needed all the time and they're right. It is especially important
during the hours of the hours of 10:00 am and 3:00 pm, when
the sun is at its highest and when you having outdoor activities.
Many people are not aware that they can still get sun-burnt
even though the sun isn't shining. Overcast days are some
of the worst times for staying in the sun unprotected. And
because ultraviolet rays can reflect off certain surfaces,
people need protection from the sun when snow covers the ground,
as well as when in the water, when lying or playing on the
sand and even when on a cement or grass surface.
More About The UV Rays
Ultraviolet rays are the different wavelengths of energy
that are produced by the sun. Even though it is harmful, but,
all of us need the sun's energy to live. Fortunately, as life
on earth has evolved so we have the ability to tolerate UV
rays. The most important protection against the damaging ultraviolet
rays is the ozone layer, which is a layer in the stratosphere
that absorbs most of the various types of UV rays before they
reach the earth's surface.
Most of this radiation or energy from the sun is invisible
to our naked eye. The fact that the radiation is mostly invisible
is probably the reason why the rays harm us. It's just hard
to convince a person to protect against something that can't
be seen. Of all the ultraviolet rays, the two that are responsible
for skin damage are UVA and UVB rays. The sun also generates
UVC rays, but luckily these extremely damaging rays cannot
penetrate the ozone layer and therefore pose no threat to
humans.
The longer and more prevalent of the two, UVA rays are responsible
for long-term skin damage because they tend to penetrate into
the skin. Their strength remains uniform regardless of the
time of day or time of year. UVB rays are generally shorter
and they are the cause of skin tan or sunburns. Our bodies
need UVB rays to produce Vitamin D, which is an important
vitamin to our body. Their strength varies based on time of
day, time of year, altitude and also distance from the equator.
The UV Index is a scale which measures from 0 - 11, which
is from low to extreme, and it's used to determine the intensity
of the sun's radiation, especially the possibility that skin
will or will not redden when exposed to the sun for various
periods of time.
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