Working Out In the Park? Stay Protected From The Sun

woman drinking water after working out in the parkWith the gyms closed, more people are working out in backyards and local parks and discovering the pleasure of outdoor exercise for the first time. While enjoying the unusually clean and fresh air is a welcome break from gym air-con for many of us, it is important, especially with the weather warming up, to protect ourselves from the sun. Sure, you need to get that regular dose of vitamin D,  but a little too much of this is extremely dangerous. It doesn’t just affect your skin, your eyes can get a bad hit too. There’s the risk of suffering from skin damage, eye damage, and even immune system suppression regardless of how old you are. However, with the five vital ways of staying protected from the sun listed below, you will constantly be adequately protected from the sun.

Use Sunscreen

You may have heard this a bunch of times, but putting on sunscreen is a necessity and not a luxury. Trust us, this comes with many benefits. So, when it’s particularly sunny outside, slather on some sunscreen before leaving your house. Also, make sure that any part of your body that’ll be exposed has a generous helping about 30 minutes before you head out. This gives your skin ample time to absorb the sunscreen and provide maximum protection when you’re out. Even while you’re out, it’s still recommended that you reapply, especially when you’ve sweated some of it out.

Wear Sunglasses

Unlike our last point, people don’t hear this enough. One vital part of our body, which can easily get damaged as a result of prolonged exposure to the ultraviolet (UVA) rays of the sun, is our eyes. Research has shown that when the eyes are not well protected, UVA light can cause severe damage to your retina, harm your central vision, cause cataracts, and even saddle you with corneal sunburn. The best way to protect yourself is to use eyewear that provides your eyes 100% UVA protection.


Wear a Hat

The top of your head, especially if you have short hair, gets most sun exposure and is one of the most common places for sun damaged skin to occur, and this can lead to skin cancer. So always wear a hat or cap if you are going to be out in the sun for more than 15 minutes. This is very important if your hair is thinning on top.

Cover Up Properly

Besides protecting your eyes, it is also recommended that you cover up your body to some extent. It’s tempting to put on tiny clothes on a hot day, but you should actually be looking for something that offers maximum coverage and breathability. This doesn’t mean you can’t wear tiny clothes at all, just make sure you’re under the shade and limit your direct exposure to sunlight. Also, try to steer clear of clothes that boil you from the inside out because, once you start sweating, your body uses up its water reserve.

Stay Hydrated

For the human body to function properly, it needs about 64 ounces of water every day. You see, the risk of dehydration is high, especially as you go about your daily activities; in fact, on the hottest of days, your body heavily relies on its water reserves to regulate your body temperature. Based on that alone, staying hydrated, especially when under the sun, is an excellent way to keep the body forging forward. More so, taking a bottle of cold water when you’re thirsty is a lot more beneficial than taking soda. In fact, drinking fizzy drinks will make you even more dehydrated.

Avoid Strong Sunlight

Science and experience will tell you that the sun is most dangerous between the hours of 10 am and 3 pm. That’s exactly when the UV rays are particularly harmful and ready to wreak havoc on your skin and eyes. More so, severe exposure to the sun within this time frame can cause a whole lot of skin damage, eye damage, and also immune system suppression regardless of how young you are. So, one vital tip for staying protected from the sun is to avoid direct exposure within the time frame mentioned above.

Actively applying the above tips when outdoors will certainly keep your skin well-protected in order to maintain a healthy supple appearance.

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