>It’s okay to get some sun but just baking under it for hours isn’t great. Shirt off for a run? Great. Swimming for an hour? Great.
That very much depends on your climate and skin type. In many circumstances, that kind of casual exposure can still result in dangerous levels of UV exposure.
I think it depends on your skin tone. Black people can get a lot of sun without burning. White people evolved in a cloudy climate and need less sun for the same health benefit (and also burn very quickly in midday sun in not cloudy climates).
If you maintain a base tan (equivalent to 2 hours in the sun or 10 minutes in a "standard" tanning bed, per week), the melanin is highly photoprotective for any additional UV exposure.
> * Shirt off for a run? Great. Swimming for an hour? Great.*
Tell me you don't live in Australia without telling me.
Doing that in Australia is basically the fast-track path to skin cancer thanks to the hole in the ozone layer.
Going back after ~10 years away I was staggered to experience the feeling of hot chilli peppers being ground into my skin after standing in the sun for ~5 minutes.
Yeah, I'm the same way. I love going outside and getting some exercise, even if it's just a long walk around the neighborhood. I never get anything close to sunburn, because I already have a crude sense of how long I can be out in the sun depending on the season and how exposed it's going to be. Sunscreen is great for those times when sunburn is likely, but under most circumstances, a hat and white long sleeve polyester shirts provide perfectly suitable protection for a few hours outside, even for a pretty light skinned white guy like me.
There's something about exercising outdoors that is incredibly effective at lifting my mood, well beyond the effect of doing the same indoors. For that reason you will find me outside all year round regardless of the weather.
Personally my rule of thumb is:
Be active in the sun.
It’s okay to get some sun but just baking under it for hours isn’t great. Shirt off for a run? Great. Swimming for an hour? Great.
Be active, get some sun