Benefits of Sunlight – The sun is a celestial body that can produce heat and light by itself from the energy production process. In addition, the sun can also be said to be a geothermal source, so it can bring out a feeling of heat on the earth.
According to a report from National Geographic (2011), solar energy has existed for approximately 5 billion years, even since humans did not exist on this earth, you know. Because of its very long existence, creatures on earth have been taking advantage of sunlight for a long time without realizing it, even long before the existence of science. An example is to grow crops.
Sunlight, which is also known as solar radiation, consists of infrared light, visible light, and ultraviolet light which have different wavelengths. Of the three types of light, the type of light that humans can see is visible light.
Even though it produces heat, it turns out that the sun itself has benefits, both for animals and for humans. On this occasion, we will discuss the benefits of the sun for humans and animals. So, read this article to the end, Sinaumed’s.
Benefits of Sunlight for Body Health
Here are some of the benefits of sunlight for humans.
1. Improve Sleep Quality
The first health benefit of sunlight is its ability to help improve sleep quality. The body itself creates a hormone called melatonin which is very important in helping you fall asleep. Because your body only starts producing it when it’s dark, you’ll usually start feeling sleepy two hours after sunset.
Research then shows that an hour of natural light in the morning will help a person to fall asleep more soundly. In addition, sunlight also regulates circadian rhythms by telling the body when to increase and decrease melatonin levels. So, the more sun exposure you get, the better your body will be at producing melatonin when it’s time to sleep.
2. Reduce Stress
The second health benefit of sunlight is its ability to help reduce stress. Melatonin will also help reduce stress reactivity. Getting enough sun exposure will also help the body regulate melatonin naturally, thereby reducing stress levels.
So, by frequently doing something active when outdoors and exposed to the sun, such as walking, playing, and getting extra exercise, this will also help reduce stress.
3. Keep Bones Strong
The next health benefit of sunlight is its ability to help keep bones strong. One of the best ways to get vitamin D is to be outside and also be exposed to the sun. The body produces vitamin D when exposed to sunlight.
About 15 minutes in the sun a day is enough to get the benefits, especially for human bones. This can happen as vitamin D will then help the body retain calcium and prevent bones from becoming brittle, thin, or misshapen. Therefore, basking in the sun is also often what doctors recommend.
4. Lose Weight
The next health benefit of sunlight is its ability to help the weight loss process. Getting out and being exposed to the sun for 30 minutes between 8 am and noon is believed to be able to lose weight. Although there are still other factors that will achieve weight loss, exposure to the sun in the morning will also help speed up the weight loss process.
5. Strengthen the Immune System
The fifth health benefit of sunlight is its ability to help strengthen the immune system. Vitamin D is important for the immune system. With consistent sun exposure, it will help improve it. A healthy immune system in itself is known to help reduce the risk of disease, infection, and some types of cancer, and death after surgery.
6. Against Depression
The next health benefit of sunlight is its ability to help fight depression. There is a scientific reason for this. Being out in the sun is known to elevate mood. Plus, sunlight will also increase your body’s level of serotonin, which is a chemical that elevates your mood and helps you stay calm and focused. Increased exposure to natural light will also help relieve symptoms of seasonal affective disorder.
7. Reduces Blood Sugar
The next benefit of the sun is its ability to reduce blood sugar levels. Sunlight is a natural insulin that facilitates the absorption of glucose into the body’s cells.
This is what will stimulate the body to convert blood sugar into glycogen, and stored in the liver and muscles. This process then becomes the cause of low blood sugar levels.
8. Sunlight is rich in Vitamin D
The next benefit of sunlight is its ability to get vitamin D for free. When ultraviolet light is filtered on the skin, this light will then convert cholesterol deposits in the skin into vitamin D. Receiving exposure to sunlight in just 5 minutes is the same as providing 400 units of vitamin D to the body.
9. The sun dampens cholesterol content in the blood
The benefit of the next morning sun is to control cholesterol in the blood. This is a continuation of the process above. After the cholesterol under the skin is converted into vitamin D, the brain and body will then give a signal to the cholesterol in the blood to leave the blood and go to the skin. From this process, cholesterol levels in the blood will then be well controlled.
10. Sun Improves Respiratory Fitness
Increasing the capacity of blood to then carry oxygen and distribute it to tissues is one of the benefits of the sun. In addition, the benefits of sunlight for the body are also its ability to improve respiratory fitness because the amount of glycogen will increase after basking in the sun.
11. Makes the body less sick
When the skin is exposed to the morning sun, there will be an increase in white blood cells, especially lymphocytes, which are used in attacking diseases. Indirectly, antibodies will also increase. This condition will also last up to 3 weeks.
According to research, the way to get the benefits of the morning sun is to bask for 10 minutes in the sun. Doing it one to two times a week will help reduce the risk of catching a cold by 30-40%.
Benefits of Sunlight for Plants
Besides being beneficial for human health, it turns out that the sun is also beneficial for plants.
1. As a Source of Energy for Plants
The benefit of solar energy for plants is that it is the only natural energy source that will help plant development. The existence of solar energy itself is very important for plant growth. This can happen because the sun can provide nutrients to plants.
2. Helps the process of photosynthesis
Another important benefit of solar energy for plants is its ability to assist the process of photosynthesis. This process is also very important for plants. This is because the process of photosynthesis plays an important role in processing food for plants.
Through this process, plants will then convert energy from sunlight into chemical energy. In addition, the benefits of solar energy for plants include its ability to convert water, carbon dioxide and minerals into oxygen and organic compounds that are good for plants.
3. Oxygen Production
In addition to helping the process of photosynthesis, the benefits of solar energy for other plants is that it can help plants to produce oxygen. It has been known before, that one of the processes of photosynthesis is to produce oxygen.
Plants will convert solar energy into glucose. This glucose will then be stored for use in the process of photosynthesis. One of the results of this photosynthesis process is the release of oxygen which will be very beneficial for human and animal life.
4. Beneficial Good for Plant Cycle
The next benefit of solar energy for plants is its ability to regulate plant cycles. In other words, the plant will then respond to changes in available sunlight. This response will make the plant to produce flowers according to a schedule determined by sunlight.
5. The Best Source of Nutrition
The benefits of solar energy for plants are then as the best source of nutrition. Sunlight will also make plants carry out processes that produce the best food for their bodies. Plants that are exposed to enough sunlight will grow better than those that are not exposed to sunlight at all.
6. Activate Chlorophyll
Another important benefit of solar energy for plants is its ability to help activate chlorophyll. Chlorophyll itself is useful to help the process of photosynthesis. Meanwhile, with exposure to sunlight, chlorophyll will also be activated and make the photosynthesis process go well.
Closing
The benefits of the sun for plants and humans can be said to be very much. Therefore, it is very difficult to imagine if in the life we live there is no sun. If the sun didn’t exist, surely humans and plants couldn’t live, so no oxygen could be produced.
Because oxygen comes from photosynthesis, if the trees in this world run out, oxygen will run out too. Therefore, as fellow human beings, we should always try to protect the environment and not cut down trees carelessly.
Thus the discussion about the benefits of sunlight for plants and humans. Hopefully all the discussion above can be useful for all of us. In addition, after reading this article to the end, it is hoped that all of us will be exposed to the morning sun more often so that the body becomes healthier.
Recommended Books Related to Sunshine You Must Read!
1. What’s on Earth?: Water
Without water, humans, animals and plants would not be able to survive on Earth. Why is that? Let’s find out! Explore the water cycle and how to use and save water. Investigate the properties and forms of water. Make your own iceberg, water filter, mini pond and rainbow!
Book Series “What’s on Earth?” Contains interesting science facts. Equipped with various experiments to hone creativity, this book invites children to explore the world around them in a fun way.
2. Piping Drinking Water Supply Techniques
Water is a vital element in human life. The availability of water in nature is very abundant, but the availability of water ready for consumption is still relatively small. Therefore, to obtain water that complies with drinking water standards, an effective and efficient processing and distribution process is needed.
In this book the author tries to present an outline of drinking water supply techniques beginning with discussing domestic water demand and its availability, techniques regarding drinking water supply including networks and accessories, followed by a discussion of surveys or data collection needed for planning, and ending with system computation methods. piping network for drinking water and its simulation.
This book is intended as a reference material or to assist professionals in planning drinking water supply pipelines. This book is also expected to be useful for university students who are studying drinking water supply.
3. Harvesting Rainwater: A New Source of Drinking Water
The idea to write this book was sparked when Indonesia was hit by many problems, especially those caused by heavy rains. Flash floods occur everywhere, but then give way to prolonged dry seasons, forest fires and drought.
Communities find it difficult to obtain water, both for agriculture and for daily drinking water needs. Rainwater that falls abundantly for free is allowed to pass, even though this is a golden opportunity to be harvested.
If all Indonesian people were willing to get used to using water and were more enthusiastic about harvesting rainwater and processing it for their daily needs, especially drinking water for the family, great benefits would certainly be obtained.
4. Physical Education, Sports and Health for Grade 1 SD and MI
“Education is a process of human development that lasts a lifetime. Physical Education, Sports and Health are part of the overall education. The Physical Education, Sports and Health book series was created to provide opportunities for students to be directly involved in various learning experiences through systematic physical, sports and health activities.
That way, the determination and desire to create physically and mentally healthy students can be carried out properly. Systematic learning in this book is grouped into three parts, namely, theory, practice, and games. Theory is useful for providing technical understanding to students through direct observation in the field.
5. Science comic Smart Boy: Photosynthesis
What is the process of photosynthesis? Photosynthesis is the process of cooking food in green plants with the help of sunlight. Of course, not that easy a process of photosynthesis. The question is, what process actually occurs in photosynthesis? Then, what factors affect photosynthesis? Then, what are the benefits of photosynthesis for plants? Are you curious? In the Smart Kids Science Comic book, together with Felicia, Stevano, and Ncuz, the funny and resourceful monkey, you will learn about the process of photosynthesis. Come on, read this science comic book!
If you want to find various kinds of books about the earth, you can get them at sinaumedia.com . To support Sinaumed’s in adding insight, sinaumedia always provides quality and original books so that Sinaumed’s has #MoreWithReading information.