It is starting to get warmer and the shorts from the bottom of the closet are coming out. I have heard that weather is a good indicator of the general mood, and seeing as the days seem to be getting more beautiful, all I see are smiles. But, remember, if the sun is out your sunscreen should be too.
We all welcome the sun and warmer weather, but if you are unarmed, it is not your friend.
Here are a few tips to keep you safe under the sun:
1) Wear sunscreen: I cannot stress enough how sunscreen is so important to healthy skin. Wear sunscreen that has a SPF of higher than 15 every time you go out in the sun whether it is summer or winter the sun is still out. There are so many sunscreens out there and some are even spray on so all you have to do is quickly spray it on your arms, legs, and face and within 15 seconds you are ready to go. So do not be lazy or else you can face an unending list of damages to your skin like sunburn peeling skin, freckles, blisters, sunspots, wrinkles, and even skin cancer.
2) Be careful of what kinds of sunglasses you wear: Yes sunglasses can be stylish but make sure they have the right UV protection or else they could be worse to your eyes than not having sunglasses at all. The whole point of sunglasses is to provide shade so that your eyes do not absorb all that light or UV. In darkness your eyes dilate to absorb more light and in bright areas your eyes constrict in order to allow less light into your eyes. Sunglasses allow your pupils dilate but if your sunglasses do not contain UV protection, your dilated eyes are absorbing more UV than it would be if you had no sunglasses. So don’t just wear those sunglasses because they were only $4.99 at forever 21. Make sure they have the right UV protection or else you could be hurting rather than helping.
3) Keep yourself hydrated: Recently, the Institute of Medicine reported that 8 glasses of water is actually less than what we should be drinking. In actuality we should be drinking 91-125 ounces of water a day, which is about 2.7-3.7 liters including food and drinking. More than half our body is water and the amount of water excreted by your body in sweat, urine, etc needs to be compensated with an intake of the same amount. The easiest way to get yourself to drink more water is to constantly have a water bottle with you whether is plastic or stainless steel. Also try to cut out those sugary drinks that in actuality make you thirstier.
The sun can do scary things but with the right precautions the sun can be great. Take advantage of the weather; don’t let it take advantage of you.
I heard that you should be drinking half your body weight in ounces every day. And also…someone told me that you need to alternate between water and like… Gatorade to keep your body’s electrolytes balanced…or something like that.
So you should drink lots of water but, if you drink too much water you’ll get sick.
Yes! it is true you can drink too much water. A condition called hyponatremia happens when there is an electrolyte imbalance but these cases are rare. So if you find yourself drinking a large quantity of water like if you are an athlete you should make sure that you drink electrolyte balanced fluids.
“So don’t just wear those sunglasses because they were only $4.99 at forever 21.”
Haha very true.
And you write an article on the importance of sunblock.
Remember when I used to be the one who ate sunblock for breakfast?