Since ancient times, natural light was known to have positive physiological effects on the human body. It dates back to a time when the famous Greek philosopher and the Father of Medicine, Hippocrates, used the sun's rays in his naturopathic treatments for diseases. Heliotherapy is the practice of using sunlight to fight ailments and restore health.
In the early 20th century, heliotherapy was extensively used to treat diseases like tuberculosis, rickets in children and war-wounds. Its importance was formally recognized when Dr. Niels Finson got the Nobel Prize in 1903 for devising a method of ultraviolet therapy in tuberculosis-cure.
Heliotherapy involves using sun's ultraviolet rays to initiate Vitamin D production in our skin and thereby prevents breast cancer, osteoporosis, prostate cancer, psoriasis, acne, etc. The increased metabolism in the body due to vitamin D production also multiplies enzyme reaction rate, cell regeneration, tissue repair, blood flow speed and increased oxygen supply.
Some significant beneficiaries of Heliotherapy
Spinal Cord Injury patientsParalytic people suffer from severe loss of lower-extremity bone mass. Vitamin D causes Calcium (which is the most vital component of bone-growth) to be absorbed from the intestinal tracts. Vitamin D deficiency causes deformed bone-growth, increasing the probability of fractures.
Multiple Sclerosis patients - Studies reveal that people located in lesser sunlight-exposed areas are more prone to multiple sclerosis. For example, Norwegians living near the ocean and consuming vitamin D enriched seafood, report lesser cases of multiple sclerosis than those living inland.
Old Age patients - Vitamin D production in a body decreases with age. Studies say that this vitamin acts as a preventive agent against prostate cancer, which is the second most common cause of cancerous death in people over 75.
Athletes - Repeated researches in sports medicine have shown that routine exposure of athletes to the sun not only optimized their performance capabilities, but also significantly reduced the incidence and recovery time from minor injuries.
Apart from its medicinal virtues, heliotherapy signifies that Helios, or the sun, has always been a buoyant factor for perking up people's moods. This has been reflected over the ages in several poems, songs and movies. Interestingly, researchers have also found that exposure to sunlight increases the production of serotonin, a chemical that stimulates the human brain's pleasure centers, thereby uplifting our moods in moments of depression and anxiety. Herein remains the connection between heliotherapy and our mental well-being. |
